Simple Things

Grzegorz Zariczny is a bold explorer of the cinematic landscape, making films somewhere on the border between feature and documentary. His work, which goes beyond the rigid framework of film language based on micro-observations, shows people and their desires, fears, and weaknesses; in place of judgment, he offers empathy and understanding. In Simple Things, he observes the authentic relationship between Błażej, Magda, and their daughter, Ali, and introduces a catalyst in the form of a fictional uncle (Tomasz Schimscheiner)—the brother of Błażej’s deceased father—who shows up to help the young couple renovate their country house. This is a starting point for reflection on family relationships and on resolving painful issues from the past. With the sensitive cinematography of Weronika Bilska, the largely improvised, symbolic story about the search for foundations on which to base one’s own family brings to mind Andrzej Kondratiuk’s “Gzowo films,” as it reflects on the confrontation between the bittersweet everyday life of human fate and the vastness of the universe.