IN DARKNESS directed by Agnieszka Holland, written by David F Shamoon from the book by Robert Marshall, with Robert Wieckiewicz and Maria Schrader. 145 minutes. Subtitled. A Mongrel release. Opens Friday (February 17). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NNN
Director Agnieszka Holland sets out to redeem the reputation of Poles during the Nazi occupation in this true story about a sewer inspector (Robert Wieckiewicz) in Lvov who hid a dozen Jews underground.
The actors are excellent, the tension sometimes unbearable, and Holland and her team do wonders depicting the murk and rat-infested slime of the underground tunnels where most of the action takes place. Some elements test our credulity. A sequence in which one of the men in hiding goes above ground has elements that were obviously added to raise the stakes when they’re plenty high enough as it is.
This is a harrowing film and, at nearly two and half hours, a lot to take. But it’s an important story told with deep conviction. No surprise it’s Oscar-nominated in the foreign-language category.
