The Crossroads

Before her feature debut, Dominika Montean-Pańków worked on Television Theatre projects, a unique cornerstone of Poland’s cultural history, in addition to directing the short film Cienie (2023) and the documentary The Voice (2022), which was awarded at the 25th Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival. Her newest film won the Young FIPRESCI Jury Prize at the 40th Warsaw Film Festival.

Eighty-year-old Tadeusz (Jan Englert) is a retired doctor living in a big house with his wife Helena (Anna Romantowska), where they plan to host the wedding of their beloved granddaughter (Martyna Byczkowska). Their relationship and family life is put to the test by a car accident. In particular, Tadeusz’s long-lasting marriage and the bond with his middle-aged son Marek (Michał Czernecki) starts deteriorating little by little as the tension grows.

The multi-layered story provides an engaging experience full of reflections. Dealing with the guilt of causing someone’s death is certainly the main theme, but there's more drama under the surface, such as cross-generational trauma and a study of a marriage in crisis. Communication between family members is poor, as they mainly try to satisfy their own needs and don’t bother with understanding their supposed loved ones. It presents a family dynamic that many Poles might relate to, as the country’s cultural tradition sees staying married as a value in and of itself, even if it’s an unhappy union. At the same time, the film doesn’t lean on the issue too heavily, making it a universal experience.

Jan Englert makes quite the comeback to the big screen with a convincing leading role, as in recent years he was mostly limited to supporting parts, TV gigs and some theatre. His subtle and multidimensional performance doesn’t allow the audience to easily categorise Tadeusz as good or bad. On the one hand he tries to make it up to the family of the deceased, but on the other he is disregarding his wife and son’s needs. Other characters are also properly developed, and each has unique traits - Helena is self-doubting and anxious, while Marek is competitive and focused on his career. The only character that is easy to interpret is Tadeusz’s young and optimistic granddaughter, Justyna.

The cinematography by Bartosz Świniarski is consistent albeit ordinary, with its chief concern not distracting the viewers' attention from the events on screen. A style perfectly suited to a family drama, where the importance lies in the dialogue and emotions. Despite being aesthetically simple and classically structured, the richness of the presented themes as well as their commentary on the state of contemporary society means The Crossroads is well worth watching. The crossroad is not only the site of a fateful car accident, but most importantly a metaphorical place where each member of this family finds themselves at various stages of the story. In the end, it’s difficult to imagine which direction they might choose, but the distinct hope is that Justyna, the youngest of them, won't repeat the mistakes of her parents and grandparents.