I sadly have to give this movie not the best grade. I was looking really forward to seeing this movie, as it turned out that this was the first movie of the Polish film series that I had went to see. So I was filled with anticipation. But the movie was incredibly underwhelming.
In one of the first scenes, the protagonist falls out of a train, into what we learn is the town/village in Poland where he came from ( or did he?) prior to World War II. This person seems to be running from some people (real/imagined) as he makes it down one of the streets in the village. A bit later, he is actually chased down the street by a dog. Then he goes into a man’s house where the man doesn’t recognize him. Nevertheless,after talking and convincing the man that protagonist did actually remember him prior the war- the man let’s him stay.
This movie at it’s best is an existential analysis of who our protagonist is in regards to how he views his own identity, and how other’s view him. To some people he is seen as a prophet- especially is he ‘makes some children feel better’ (although if you ask me, it was just coincedence). To others he is nothing but a charlatan; someone on the lamb, a drifter, etc. All of this really highlights, who is this man? And perhaps to a larger degree, who are Polish men after the war? Who are Polish men who served in the war? What happens to men who might have lost their way post war?
BUT THE WAY THE MOVIE GOES ABOUT THIS HAS SUCH A CONFUSING WAY TO IT. The character ( and everyone else) seemed so confused about who this man was- that it gave the movie a very confusing feel. It was hard to focus, and I was itching to get out of the theater. In fact, once the movie was over, EVERYBODY rose from their seats to get out. Nobody seemed to have felt moved enough to see the credits, or sit with their emotions for a bit. Some people let out some exasperated groans.
But some scenes did move me a bit- and didn’t leave me as exasperated.
The scene at the end where the villages hear from his wife about how he is drifter who has abandoned his family, and consequently drive ( and stone) him out of town is a little hard to watch.
And perhaps the larger message it carries is that in post War-Polish society, a man doesn’t know who he is, doesn’t know his place in society, nor do these communities who lent these men to the war effort know these men anymore. Furthermore, the sad truth of the matter is that post-War II Polish society has a bit of a general disturbed, distrustful state, and can turn on their fellow Polish man via Primitive ways- as we witnessed with how the Protagonist was not only run out of town, but stoned by the town, too.
This movie in some ways reminds me of the post World War II Polish society’s version of the movie Taxi driver, starring Robert Deniro. True Robert Deniro’s character was a lot more deranged than our protagonist in Jump (in addition, this protagonist is more fumbling, rather than deranged).
In sum, the movie tries to tackle some big questions, but the flow of the film could have been less confusing.
Grade: C-
