Writer: Dan Gordon based on his stage play
Director: Louise Archambault
Oskar Schindler, it turns out, was not the only person working undercover in the Nazi regime to save Jewish refugees. One such saviour is the unlikely figure of Irena Gut Opdyke- a nineteen-year-old student nurse.
When the outbreak of the second World War interrupts her studies student Irena (Sophie Nélisse) returns to Poland to find her family home occupied by the invading forces and no sign of her family. At the factory to which she is assigned Irena’s Aryan features, catch the eye of pompous Nazi German officer Eduard Rügemer (Dougray Scott) who takes her as his housekeeper. Irena’s duties include supervising a dozen Jewish refugees who, in accordance with the clichéd perception of the regime, work as tailors.
The ambitious Rügemer acquires a luxurious chateau to host lavish parties, a development meaning the refugees are no longer required as tailors and are to be moved to concentration camps. Irena hatches an audacious plan. Rügemer is so careless, and the chateau so large, she proposes hiding the refugees in the cellar, under the noses of the invading forces.
Author Dan Gordon has adapted the script from his own stage play and certain theatrical aspects remain. Andrzej Seweryn, as Schultz, provides a counterpoint to Irena’s idealism and courage; offering weary advice on how to survive occupation by looking the other way and ignoring atrocities. Once his purpose is served, the character vanishes for most of the film. Likewise Maciej Nawrocki‘s Rokita articulates the Nazi approach to dehumanising their victims and portrays the single most shocking act in the film- murdering a mother and her baby with the casual comment the day could have gone more smoothly.
Director Louise Archambault ensures the refugees are portrayed as people not victims; upon meeting Irena each explains their previous occupation and background. The approach works really well towards the conclusion where the Nazi’s excessive Christmas party contrasts with the refugees holding skeletal but dignified Hanukkah celebrations. However, the naturalistic atmosphere limits suspense, the escape of the refugees through a forest loses urgency as each one pauses to say goodbye to Irena.
There is scope for dark humour in the film. Dougray Scott plays the self-pitying Rügemer as an almost comic figure, someone so arrogant as to be incapable of seeing the obvious. He praises Irena for single-handedly catering a massive party without realising she has a dozen helpers (in a nice touch strudel is prepared using a Jewish grandma’s recipe). Scenes of the refugees moving from cellar to attic without being noticed have potential for farce-like humour and, when the gormless Rügemer overhears them, he mistakenly assumes the house has rats and his choice of words leads to a possibly comic misunderstanding. However, director Archambault avoids letting the film slip into Jojo Rabbit satire even when Irena has to remind her guests, who request playing cards, chess and books, they are in a hideout not a holiday resort.
Archambault seems uncertain how to handle the most delicate plot development. Ironically, in real life, Irena Gut Opdyke was imprisoned after the war for collaboration with the Germans. The movie suggests she becomes Rügemer’s mistress as part of a deal to prevent him from turning the refugees over to the authorities. Yet the plot development is the least convincing part of the film- Irena does not show guilt or self-disgust and Rügemer has never displayed any sexual interest in his housekeeper.
Irena’s Vow is a showcase for the talents of Sophie Nélisse whose spectacularly expressive face makes clear the emotional impact of every gut-wrenching decision taken by Irena. Irena argues an increased risk of discovery is not sufficient to justify compelling a refugee to have an abortion. Nélisse becomes, therefore, the moral centre of the movie, articulating the viewpoint survival is not enough – one must also retain humanity.
Although too uneven to be completely satisfactory Irena’s Vow raises awareness of a little-known act of heroism and features a very strong central performance.
Kinoteka Polish Film Festival 2025 takes place in venues across London and the UK 6 March to 25 April. For further information and tickets:https://kinoteka.org.uk/
The Reviews Hub Score
Strong central performance
