A peerless chronicler of the ills of Polish society, Wojciech Smarzowski turns his fierce gaze on relationships of coercive control and domestic violence. Vivacious, luminous Gosia (Agata Turkot) meets recently divorced politician Grzesiek (Tomasz Schuchardt) on a dating site. When the two finally meet, they quickly fall in love and are married, living their dream life. However, nothing is as it seems. Her husband’s rampant darkness takes charge, gaslighting leading to excuses and forgiveness as her marriage becomes a prison. Never gratuitous, the film, filled with branches of Kieślowskian consequences to Gosia’s choices, is an intense indictment of the institutions that side with the charming, influential monster destroying every particle of Gosia.

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of IFI Kinopolis Polish Film Festival 2025.