A Year of the Quiet Sun (1985)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Maja Komorowska, Scott Wilson and Hanna Skarzanka star in this drama from the acclaimed Polish director Krzysztof Zanussi. World War II is on the wane, and a young woman (Komorowska) copes with the ravages of war and the demands of caring for her elderly mother by painting. When an American soldier, Norman (Wilson), meets her and sees one of her paintings, he's instantly captivated. He wants to marry her, but she can't leave her mother behind.
- Actors:
- Maja Komorowska, Scott Wilson, Hanna Skarzanka, Ewa Dalkowska, Vadim Glowna, Danny Webb, Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Tadeusz Bradecki, Jerzy Nowak, Jerzy Stuhr, Halina Slonicka, Wieslaw Michnikowski, Miroslaw Gaweda, Halina Labonarska, Zofia Rysiówna
- Directors:
- Krzysztof Zanussi
- Writers:
- Krzysztof Zanussi
- Others:
- A Year of The Quiet Sun
- Aka:
- Rok Spokojnego Slonca
- Studio:
- Studio Blu Sp. z o.o.
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- Award Winners, Lions on the Lido, A Brief History of Film...
- Countries:
- Poland
- Awards:
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Reviews (1) of A Year of the Quiet Sun
Another face of love - A Year of the Quiet Sun review by ML
This is a slow, unusual and uncomfortable film, but give it half an hour and it starts to get under your skin. Set in Poland in 1946, both the country and the people have been ravaged by war and the dismal betrayal of the Communist occupation, but love still finds a way to grow - like a flower between two paving stones. Norman (Scott Wilson) and Emilia (Maja Komorowska) are the atypical lovers, long past their youth, but for me Ewa Dalkowska stole the show as Emilia's mother, bed-ridden, but with a huge soul, prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to secure her daughter's future. Somehow desolate and hopeful at the same time.
The film is masterfully (but not beautifully) shot by Slavomir Idziak. His muted palette of blues and browns is somehow even less colourful than black and white, brilliantly evoking the colourless nature of those times. Kubrick's masterpiece "Barry Lyndon" (a film I treasure) feels sentimental in comparison.
Film reviewer Roger Ebert has a typically insightful review on his website: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-a-year-of-the-quiet-sun-1984