Writers: Maria Zbaska and Kazimierz Zbask
Director: Maria Zbaska
It’s Not My Film opens with a reverse of the famous image from Lawrence of Arabia. Instead of a character emerging from heat-haze a pair of hikers appears against a grimy snowy background.
Written (with Kazimierz Zbaski) and directed by Maria Zbaska It’s Not My Film is a comedic off-centre depiction of efforts to save a faltering marriage between flawed yet likeable characters. The relationship between Wanda (Zofia Chabiera) and husband Janek (Marcin Sztabinski) has gone stale to the extent the latter constantly uses his laptop and Smartphone to avoid conversation. Janek does not want to start a new relationship because (in one of many wry observations in the movie) he cannot endure talking about his childhood with a new partner. Finances do not allow the couple to take a break from each other on separate holidays so Janek proposes a make or break arrangement – they hike along the 400 kilometre Baltic coast in winter and if either of them leaves the beach it will signify the marriage is at an end.
There is the impression Janek actually hopes the hike will break the marriage. He admits to buying the cheapest equipment as he had expected Wanda to refuse to participate. When hiking, he sets a rapid pace striding ahead of Wanda and so preventing casual conversation or bonding – they walk in isolation. Considering how Janek is shown to use the internet as a shield against unwanted intimacies it is surprising more is not made of the effect of enforced abstinence during the hike. The only time the mobile phone is used is a gag on first world problems when Wanda realises she has forgotten an appointment to have a bra fitted.
The characters are established early with Janek a grumpy personality glowering at Wanda’s giddy dancing around their apartment. But Zofia Chabiera’s layered performance demonstrates Wanda is the adult in the relationship. She refuses to excuse Janek referring to her by an obscenity despite his childish claim no offence was intended as he did so in a ‘cute’ manner. Janek uses Wanda as a confessor figure, admitting he has broken his own rules in the hope she will absolve him of guilt. In one of the more revealing comments Wanda tartly replies Janek should not mess up the trip by telling the truth.
Janek’s rigid obsession with rules and occasional sulks shows a childish aspect to his character. When the couple encounter a reclusive fisherman who refuses to leave his caravan and converses through a closed door Wanda can see the resemblance to Janek’s behaviour.
There is no suspense in the movie, a sudden storm does not imperil the characters but instead makes for a striking image of them wrapped in blankets blasted by a high wind. The pace is, as one would expect, pedestrian and the cinematography realistically bleak with minimal use of scenic images to provide relief from the repetitive trip which the couple endure. Encounters with other characters or changes in the bleak landscape are rare and brief tending towards the surreal- an abandoned fairground or Janek displeased by his solitude being broken by the appearance of a whacking great builder’s crane.
There is a low-key but constant good humour to the movie which ensures the viewer is on the side of Wanda and Janek and hopes their marriage can be preserved. The dialogue is sweetly combative with a dry wit- Wanda counters Janek’s claim he should be allowed to set the rules of the hike as he has more experience with the comment she has more doubts about the feasibility. The Vatican, it is observed, should give Netflix credit for helping marriages endure.
Movies involving a physical trip are generally taken as a reflection of an internal mental quest undertaken by the characters so it is encouraging It’s Not My Film gives the impression Wanda and Janek will be continuing their journey together.
Kinoteka Polish Film Festival 2025 takes place in venues across London and the UK 6 March to 25 April.
