Pawel Pawłikowski (Cold War) won an Oscar for his stunning monochrome drama about a young trainee nun investigating her family’s past.
1960s Poland. On the cusp of taking her vows, a noviciate nun (a superb debut performance by Agata Trzebuchowska) is told by her Mother Superior that she will be accepted into the church after she has visited her aunt. The young and prim Anna soon finds herself in the presence of the middle-aged Wanda, her mother’s sister, a raven-haired sensualist. She discovers her real name is Ida, which triggers a journey into her family’s past, which Pawłikowski uses to reflect on Poland’s own recent history. With its stunning black and white photography and cropped Academy ration imagery, Ida is an extraordinary, beautifully paced and melancholy film.
★★★★★ “Wondrous with life and drama” - Nigel Andrews, Financial Times
★★★★★ “Feels more like a restored and rediscovered classic than a new movie” - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
