Ida

What happens when everything you know and believe about yourself and your history changes in a moment? For novice nun Anna, just before she takes her vows, the prioress informs Anna that she is actually a Jewess named Ida who’s parents were murdered in the war. Before she is alloed to take her vows, Ida is told that she must go and meet her aunt Wanda, a famous communist judge and prosecutor, and learn about her family.

This is an incredibly beautiful movie. Everything about this film is stunning. For those who are used to typical American filmmaking, the contrast is stark and immediate. Shot in black and white, the images are expertly crafted to aid and highlight the story being told, and the lighting is perfect. The film is simple, stark, elegant and powerful.

Ida is a story of exploration. It’s about the beautiful, broken, messy elements of discovery. The realism of this film is what drew me in. Beyond the beauty, the way the film depicted going into the chaos of the past mesmerized me.

For Ida and her Aunt Wanda, entering into the past is a beautiful and hard thing. Not only do they enter into their own pain but they also enter into the pain of those who they love, Ida’s parents. To learn what happened to them is to learn of the horror that they went through.

Learning the pain suffered by loved ones, can have various effects on those who are privy to it. In my own life, the knowledge of what a loved one had suffered during a severe car accident is something that has greatly impacted the way I function and view life. That experience has made it harder for me to pursue life in a hopeful and free manner, because I constantly live with a vivid awareness of how rapidly it can all break apart. However, other people in my life with similar experiences have been strengthened in their resolve to live each moment to it’s fullest because it might be their last, which is such a beautiful thing. In the end Ida offers these two alternatives, telling them in a way that honors each.