In Darkness

In Darkness

Directed by Agnieszka Holland

With Robert Wieckiewicz, Benno Furman, Agieszka Grochowsha, Michal Zuraski and Kinga Preis

There are hundreds of stories about the Jews and the Holocaust, however it remains nearly impossible for us to sense the miseries they suffered. In director Agnieska Holland’s film “In Darkness,” you experience the hellishness and terror of existence of a small a group of Jews in Poland during World War II. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign film this year.

Imagine living in a noxious sewer infested with rats, filth, stink and unyielding dampness, shrouded in darkness for 14 months. In 1943 in Lvov, Poland, as thousands of Jews were being rounded up to be shot to death or herded into death camps, one small group of 14 escaped to a sewer. This is a chronicle of what happened.

They form an unlikely alliance with Leopold Socha (Robert Wieckiewicz), an anti-Semitic Catholic sewer worker who understands the maze of the sewers like no one else. Socha is a petty thief who steals and hides his loot from his wife, Wanda (Kinga Preis). He discovers the Jews cowering in the sewer and senses a business opportunity. 

They offer to pay him a huge sum each week if he will provide them with food, water and other necessities. The film shows the shift in his sentiments from capitalizing on their misery to genuine and selfless concern for them and their well being.

“In Darkness” shows how this trapped group tries to live a “normal” life. The few children play games and sing, there are religious services, there is sexual activity. They, although horribly filthy and living in sewer sludge, manage to maintain their dignity.

Socha has to keep them hidden one step ahead of the suspicious Germans. The close calls are totally unnerving to watch. “In Darkness” has all the elements of a thriller. You don’t know what will happen next.

Director Agniezska Holland captures the wretchedness of the group’s underground existence. Much of her movie takes place in oppressive darkness.

The film seems all the more authentic because Holland has filmed it in the three languages used: Polish, German and Yiddish. The characters often don’t understand each other, as it would have happened. All actors do convincing work. Robert Wieckiewicz’s Socha illustrates the complexity of human behavior. In very small shifts his sentiments change as he becomes more humane.

“In Darkness” provides an unflinching and honest look at a horrifying event. It is spellbinding to watch, capturing the aura of what these people endured. It can be tough to watch, but it is worth it.