Agnieszka Holland first gained international acclaim for her 1990 film, Eurpoa Europa. For that, she earned a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. The true story featured a boy in Nazi Germany who tried to conceal that he is Jewish by joining the Hitler Youth movement. Holland’s newest release is also set during the Holocaust and is based on another true story about Jewish people doing whatever they must to survive under Hitler’s rule. The film is called In Darkness and it centers on a low-wage Polish man who, initially for money, helps hide a group of Jews in the sewer system beneath their city — putting himself and his family in grave danger. It’s a gripping story that’s beautifully filmed.
In her interview with Bob, Holland said that she felt the main character, Leopold Socha (portrayed by Robert Wieckiewicz), is an immoral man. It’s delightful to see his progression, how when the Jewish people in hiding run out of money, he’s faced with a decision: desert them or help them without getting paid. It’s worth theater time, if for no other reason, than to watch that evolution on screen.
-Ariana