The Criminal Who Stole a Crime (Zbrodniarz, który ukradł zbrodnię / Zločinec, který ukradl zločin)

The film is an adaptation of Krzysztof Kąkolewski’s novel, which was awarded in a competition organized by the Milicja Obywatelska (the Polish equivalent of the Czechoslovak Public Security). The method of robbery described here was so convincing that it served as a source of inspiration not only for the filmmakers but also for a group of bandits in Silesia at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s. In court, the criminals accused the author of the book that he should be tried as well. The story, partly inspired by fact, concerns the mysterious murder of a girl that occurred in a drunken den. The film’s gloomy atmosphere is reminiscent of a black chronicle from which we learn about the fate of people on the fringes of society. There are the unemployed, the poor, drunks and crooks, living in old, dilapidated houses that we prefer to avoid. The film’s paradocumentary style and expressive music underline the fatalism of a world from which there is no escape.

Iwona Łyko Plos

screening with dual subtitles (English and Czech)