298. Cale Szczescie; movie review

CALE SZCZESCIE
Cert 12A
109 mins
BBFC advice: Contains infrequent strong language, moderate sex references, brief violence

Ok, I give in. There is room at the cinema for whimsical romantic comedies.
Indeed, I was taken along by the unlikely story of Tomasz Konecki's Cale Szczescie and even laughed a couple of times in the right places.
Its publicity blurb claims that this is a story of love which appears in unexpected circumstances.
No kidding. Widower Robert (Piotr Adamczyk) somehow attracts the attention of a TV celebrity (Roma Gasiorowska) by playing the triangle in an orchestra.
Thus, the beautiful fitness guru becomes part of the lives of both the dad and his ten-year-old son (Maks Balcerowski).
Even Robert feels this is off-kilter because she is the flamboyant star who everyone wants to meet and he is an aspiring jazz composer who has never had the confidence to make it.
She is the epitome of sport and he is the antithesis.
Nevertheless, a beautiful woman is throwing herself at him and even his son is encouraging him to break out of the grief of losing his wife.
Can life really be this simple? Well, for quite a while it appears that it can.
When the truth dawns it comes as a surprise to everyone, including the audience (well, at least me).
During interviews, Adamczyk suggests that there is significant depth to Konecki's film.
I am afraid I cannot agree but, nevertheless, it has style and panache and is much more engaging than I had expected.

Reasons to watch: Light-hearted but engaging romance
Reasons to avoid: Not enough happening

Laughs: Two
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 6.5/10

Did you know? After the Communist takeover, jazz in Poland was initially repressed and forbidden from the radio. Musicians learned about jazz by listening to a shortwave radio broadcast of Willis Conover's Voice of America Jazz Hour or smuggling jazz records from abroad.

The final word. Piotr Adamczyk: "This film carries emotions and humour and something deeper - something that will affect each of us."

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