F*CKING BORNHOLM

The atmosphere on Bornholm is tense right from the start, especially between the egocentric Hubert, played by star actor Maciej Stuhr, and his eternally-aloof wife Maja. A conflict arises between the children when one of the little ones tries to persuade the other to have oral sex. Where did he get that idea from? His dad's computer. No longer able to be held in check by the goodwill between Dawid and Nina, his girlfriend-to-be who is a few years his junior, the situation threatens to escalate. Director Anna Kazejak demonstrates a keen psychological sense for the toxic undercurrents of interpersonal routine and the rift between male and female modes of communication: “The way I see the world and the relationship between men and women is that even if both sides have the best intentions, and they have a positive attitude and want to communicate, it’s very difficult for them. Sometimes, it’s impossible. (…)  Agnieszka Holland has said in many interviews that apart from all of the conflicts happening in the world now, there is also a global conflict between two forces: male and female. It lies in a fact that many people are already aware of: that after a very long period of male domination, women have become empowered and want their voices to be heard. They demand a social existence. And that is having a big impact on our lives and on the way we communicate, because we are drifting apart in our needs. I can see it clearly in the generation of forty-somethings that I belong to.“  (quoted from Cineuropa, https://cineuropa.org/en/interview/427495/)

Text: Bernd Buder
English: Peter Rickerby

Kammerbühne: original version with English subtitles + German simultaneous translation