Inheritance

One is immediately impressed by the look of this film. The opening sequences looks wonderful, with credits listed beside small, shifting squares of grainy film footage. The panoramic shots of Warsaw juxtaposing the old and the new were also beautifully realised. The light in Poland is exceptional for these kinds of shots and Porembny clearly understand this. The interiors were lovingly rendered, with the framing, lines and colours beautifully balanced and contrasted. My favourite little 'director's tag' was when the camera pans along the ceiling lights in the car park and then pulls down to reveal the figures of two men walking underneath them.

In another sequence red streaks of tail-light follow in a car's wake as it drives through the foggy night; it looks like mercurial dragon's breath.

The story is engaging without being enthralling and the acting is very solid, although it may have been more naturalistic if the performers were speaking in their native Polish tongue rather than English.

All in all, an extremely good piece of work from Edward Poremdny in his first feature film.