Film Preview
by Staś Kmieć
Dwie Korony (Two Crowns), a film about the life of Fr. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, a Polish Catholic martyr who died at Auschwitz concentration camp, received its world premiere in May at the Marché du Film – the annual distributor showing at the 70th Cannes Festival. It premiered in the United States on September 12 at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan; followed with two weekends of showings at Film Noir Cinemas in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, along with select showings in New Jersey leading up to the Polish premiere on October 13; after which it will have screenings in Chicago.
Dwie Korony (Two Crowns), a film about the life of Fr. Maximilian Maria Kolbe, a Polish Catholic martyr who died at Auschwitz concentration camp, received its world premiere in May at the Marché du Film – the annual distributor showing at the 70th Cannes Festival. It premiered in the United States on September 12 at the Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan; followed with two weekends of showings at Film Noir Cinemas in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, along with select showings in New Jersey leading up to the Polish premiere on October 13; after which it will have screenings in Chicago.
Shot in
Poland, Italy and Japan, the cast includes prominent Polish actors Adam
Woronowicz, Cezary Pazura, Artur Barciś and Dominika Figurska. Kolbe became an
Auschwitz prisoner in 1941.The priest, who had German roots, refused an offer
to be added to a list of “ethnic-Germans.” He sheltered over 2,000 Jews in a
Polish monastery which German occupiers eventually shut down, and was
imprisoned.
At Auschwitz, Kolbe offered to take the place of a fellow
prisoner randomly selected to receive the death penalty with nine others in
retribution for the escape of three prisoners. He spent two weeks without bread
and water in the camp’s starvation bunker, before being given a lethal
injection. He was canonized in 1982 by Pope John Paul II.
The feature-length
docudrama, directed by Michał Kondrat, depicts the life of Fr. Maximilian from
childhood to his heroic decision. The storyline is depicted by acting
scenes that are interspersed with interviews. "Maximilian did everything
for love of God and man, and his whole life was a beautiful story and adventure
with God," said Kondrat. “I am glad that through this film the world
and also Poland will have the chance to be re-acquainted with Father Kolbe’s
exceptional life.”
The title was taken from the view Kolbe had in
childhood. The Blessed Mary appeared to him and asked him to choose one of two
crowns. He chose both - one white, symbolizing purity and the other red,
symbolizing suffering.
Two prior films on the subject were: Życie za Życie,
Maksymilian Kolbe (Life for Life) directed by Krzysztof Zanussi (1991), and
Mariusz Walter’s 1974 short filmScena Zbiorowa ze Świętym (Collective scenes
with a Saint).
Information on showings of Dwie Korony can be found at:
www.facebook.com/FilmDwieKorony
