241. I Never Cry (Jak najdalej stad); movie review

 

I NEVER CRY (JAK NAJDALEJ STAD)

Cert 15

97 mins

BBFC advice: Contains strong language

Many British and Irish people will have opinions on Eastern European immigrants but how many of us really know what they go through?

Does anyone think about the psychological impact on divided families or even whether the decision to move to a new country turns out to be as financially advantageous as hoped?

Piotr Domalewski's I Never Cry digs into both issues and adds the tragedy of death at work and the lack of insurance for foreign workers.

It focuses on Zofia Stafiej who plays Ola, an angry 17-year-old who is desperate to pass a driving test and buy a car.

Indeed, she has been promised that her father is raising the money for her via the wages he is earning in Ireland.

And then comes the call that he has died in a work accident.

With her mother (Kinga Preis) unable to speak English and committed to looking after Ola's disabled brother (Dawid Tulej), it falls upon the teenager to fly to Dublin to sort out her father's affairs.

She does this resentfully and receives a very cold welcome from those who are either trying to duck responsibility for her father's death or are too wrapped up in their own lives to care.

I Never Cry has been compared to the movie of Ken Loach because it shines a light upon society's underbelly.

It shows how rules surrounding habitable accommodation and workers' rights simply don't apply to immigrants even across the EU.

It also probes how the relationship between father and daughter has broken down to the point that she just wants his money to buy the aforementioned car.

Thankfully, there are at least moments during which she asks what he was like as a person, so little did she know him.

And what can be in no doubt is that Stafiej is utterly compelling and convincing as a youngest who is lost in more ways than one.

Reasons to watch: Topical, engrossing drama

Reasons to avoid: The relentless aggression of its lead character

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 7.5/10

Did you know? The Polish minority in the Republic of Ireland numbered approximately 122,515 (2.57% of the population) according to 2016 census figures.

The final word. Piotr Domalewski: "My friend was the son of an emigrant and he had to go abroad to pick up his father’s body and I was brought up in an area of Poland from which thousands of people emigrated for work, so I know “Euro-orphan” families, as we call them, very well." Cineuropa

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