'Wesele', a.k.a. 'The Wedding Day' is the marriage of modern xenophobia with World War 2 genocide. Director (and writer) Wojciech Smarzowski continuously weaves those time zones together but never with exhaustion and always with clarity. That dexterity alone makes him one of the smartest movie makers. He now competes with Italy's Paolo Sorrentino for my favourite European director.
Smarzowski's filmography shows him to be a human of conscience. I highly recommend that you follow this with his 'Wolyn' a.k.a. 'Hatred' (made relevant by the current Ukraine/Russo War on Poland's border). And, if your heart doesn't burst, you could turn that into a triple billing with director Thomas Vinterberg's 'Celebration'(1998). Although the latter's topic is familial, there's style and editing kinship with 'Wesele'.
Considering the rise of racism in Europe. 'Wesele' is both warning and a modern parable. Can we change? Can we lose the worst parts of us? Of course we can.
Plot summary
The story of a WWII tragedy in a Polish village mixed with the story of a wedding taking place in the same place 100 years later. A bitter look at a xenophobic community that forgets its own history.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
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'Wesele' confirms Wojciech Smarzowski as Poland's best director
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Tragic past hauntingly revisits present in The Wedding Day.
The Wedding Day/Wesele - quite an astonishing work from provocative Polish writer/director Wojciech Smarzowski - powerfully melding tender, raw roots & memories, seemingly forgotten, only to have them tear back into brutal awareness through repeated re-livings - re-experiencing a past in need of, even demanding acknowledgement. A movie that will long remain with me.