"all that i love," poland, dir. jacek borcuch
it can be difficult to stick to a resolve to see the more "film festival" of the film festival films when the festival makes it into its final week. "all that i love" will probably get distribution on dvd, and maybe even a limited theater run, but i went and saw it anyway. it's a crowd pleasing story about youth, love and fighting the good fight, which in "all that i love," set in poland in 1981, means standing alongside the solidarity party as the "commie cops" of the polish state declares marshal law and sends combat regiments to break solidarity's strikes in gdansk. will the ruskies invade? it doesn't matter: we have punk rock! janek, the teenage protagonist of the film, wants to play music (the film is titled after the name of his band). he wants to smooch his girlfriend. the trouble (well, in addition to the nationwide political unrest, although the film is completely devoid of any sense of political tension) is that his dad's a military man. the navy commissar doesn't like janek's freedom preaching lyrics, and janek's girlfriend's activist father doesn't like his daughter hanging out with the son of a uniform. "all that i love" is part autobiography, which might explain why borcuch directed janek to act with such unctuous juvenescence. but who casts himself as so untrammeled and charming? regardless, both janek and his father give strong performances that highlight the individual challenges posed to persons and families hoping for better futures under the strong hands of oppression and social conformity. should they stay or should they go? that song's from '81, right?
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