The Polish Bride

***

Reviewed by: Angus Wolfe Murray

The Polish Bride
"Full of quiet dignity."

The question is: can a man with the conversational skills of wet hay become an object of desire?

Anna (Monic Hendrickx) runs beaten and bleeding from the city into dank countryside. She looks a mess and is exhausted when she stumbles onto Henk's farm. Since his mother died, he has lived alone and shows every indication of being incapable of social, or any other, intercourse. He doesn't bother with small talk. He doesn't bother with talk at all. She is Polish and has escaped from a brothel. Henk (Jaap Spijkers) is a knight in oily overalls. He doesn't ask questions. He doesn't look on her as a sex object.

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This Dutch film, written and directed by the Algerian-born Karim Traida, is full of quiet dignity. Hendrickx's boyish features are as expressive as Spijkers' aren't.

The Beauty And The Beast, with its underlay of sweetness, exists at the story's core. In real life, the farmer would have hated her obsession with housework and she would have died of boredom. Instead, his honesty heals her hatred of men, which only goes to show that nice guys can win.

Reviewed on: 19 Jan 2001
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The Polish Bride packshot
A woman becomes romantically involved wth a farmer after hiding out on his farm.
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Director: Karim Traida

Writer: Kees van der Hurst

Starring: Jaap Spijkers, Monic Hendrickx, Rudi Falkenhagen, Roef Ragas, Hakim Traidia, Soraya Traïdia, Jaap Spijkers, Monic Hendrickx, Rudi Falkenhagen, Roef Ragas, Hakim Traidia, Soraya Traïdia

Year: 1998

Runtime: 86 minutes

BBFC: 15 - Age Restricted

Country: Netherlands

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