User Reviews

"Meska sprawa" or "A Man Thing" is a Polish 25-minute short film from 2001, so it has its 15th anniversary this year. The writer and director is Slawomir Fabicki and as this one managed to score an Academy Award nomination, it is probably Fabicki's biggest success so far. This is a fairly good achievement, so it's a bit sad that he did not manage a big career afterward, not even in Poland really. This is the story of a teenage boy who gets humiliated by pretty much everybody in his life, especially bad by his father who keeps beating him violently. He does not find any solace in friends or the coach of his football team, but just in a little stray dog from the local animal shelter. I remember really loving this one the first time I watched, but this time today I "only" ended up liking it. The way the coach fights violence with violence towards the end is very telling and the final shot with the boy near the dog, locked away from the outside world is pretty perfect. it shows that the boy does not fit in the ruthless world outside and you can guess easily that it's probably a lie that the dog won't get killed by the man in charge at the shelter. Neither he nor the dog should leave this cage because they will be in for something bad if they do. Sadly, the 20 minutes before this ending are not as good, which is why I cannot euphorically recommend this one. But I can still recommend it without enthusiasm. Worth checking out and better and more touching than "The Accountant" for sure.

I watched this title in one limited screening in the Polish Institute in London. Despite the short length it was very emotional and raised up a serious issue about child abuse, particularly in post-communist Poland, though it could be applied to any country. The actors, especially the main lead but also his gyms teacher were excellent and despite the pessimistic ending it left a glimmer of hope of how an abused child can find comfort even in something all the others discard as insignificant.

I felt the same impact as with the film Lilja-4ever and also the short animated film "Dog", by Suzie Templeton.

A gem and shouldn't be missed.