Road movie about a religiously minded woman who joins forces with a skeptic. The two travelers are on a quest to uncover a truth obscured by a scandalous history. If that sounds like I’m describing 2013’s Philomena, you‘d be making the same associations as I. Yet there is a major difference. That Best Picture nominee was like a sentimentalized fabrication of Hollywood by comparison. Ida is the story of an orphaned teenager (Agata Trzebuchowska) in 1960s Poland on her away to becoming a nun. Before Ida’s vows can be taken, however, she is instructed to first pay a visit to her aunt Wanda (Agata Kulesza). Her only living relative has served Poland’s Stalinist regime as a former justice with an infamous reputation as a hanging judge.
A stark environment boldly highlights Ida’s introduction into a world she has never experienced. Through it all we are mesmerized by her face, a quiet 18 year old who has been fairly sheltered thus far in her young existence. Ida’s reactions are rather dependent on visual cues. Her beautiful but stoic countenance barely registering the range of varying emotions you know she deeply understands. Her devout behavior is a contrast to Wanda, a woman who smokes, drinks, and enjoys the company of men. Wanda reveals notable details of Ida’s life with an unblinking pragmatism.
Ida is an anti-movie in today’s world of visually enhanced 3D, color saturated computer generated imagery. Austere, black and white cinematography utilizes a 4:3 aspect ratio. It’s not in widescreen folks. Did I mention it has subtitles? It’s slow moving and subdued, but still a deeply felt contemplation. The production is full of beautifully composed compositions in somber detail. I sensed the inspiration of director Ingmar Bergman. You might perceive Roberto Rossellini. Ida’s spiritual expedition is an awakening. But it’s also an examination of her aunt. This is actually the study of two women: the worldly vs. the innocent. Their pilgrimage, both a physical and mental one, plays out over a scant 80 minutes. It definitely feels longer given the deliberate pace of the narrative. Still, the picture is never boring as Ida’s journey of self discovery is consistently compelling.
06-18-14
Fast Film Reviews 
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