Olivier, Olivier

Olivier, Olivier - 2003-09-21 Director: Agnieszka Holland France, 1993, Color, 110 minutes Director Agnieszka Holland, who is considered one of the founders of the Polish cinema's new wave, made this film following the success of "Europa, Europa," which was introduced in these pages, within the same general framework, that is, using biography with extraordinary peripheral issues and incredible images in broad and beautiful dimensions. This mysterious film, based on a true story, solidified Agnieszka Holland's position as one of the leading filmmakers in the world. With this film, like "Europa, Europa," she demonstrated a particular expertise in the realm of themes of role reversal and identity ambiguities in the political-psychological horizon of modern Europe. The story of the film is as follows: Olivier, a nine-year-old boy, spends his calm childhood in a warm family with a loving mother, a hard-working father, and a kind older sister. One day, Olivier suddenly disappears, and his family cannot find any trace of him. The tragedy of this loss tears the small family apart. Six years later, Olivier miraculously reappears in Paris as a 15-year-old street youth. This unexpected return gathers the broken family together, but initially, Olivier's sister is suspicious of him. Is this the injured angel of her brother or a fraudulent con artist? Olivier, Olivier tells a captivating and profound story on screen that focuses more on the new psychological tensions that have afflicted the damaged family than on the plot's cleverness. However, this is just one aspect of this highly watchable film, which layers the true core and gives it a semi-legendary, semi-science fiction quality. If you decide to watch this film, expect to see numerous references to the science fiction film E.T.