21/02/2022 - BERLINALE 2022: Polish directorial duo Anka and Wilhelm Sasnal make a case for escaping, even if it’s only in one’s own head

The Forum’s We Haven’t Lost Our Way [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Anka and Wilhelm Sasnal is, in a way, a typical Berlinale offering: ambiguous, complex and slow. But there is a sense of mystery here that lifts it a little, giving it an almost sci-fi feel, as two very confused people are drawn to an odd place. One they call the Burning Lake, apparently.

Going away seems like a good idea for Eryk and Ewa (Andrzej Konopka and Agnieszka Żulewska, the latter even icier here than she was in Silent Land [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Aga Woszczyńska
film profile]) – actually, they might desperately need it. Where they are at the moment, there is no love and no occupation, as Ewa clings to odd jobs that she hates, and Eryk just left his university job, despised by his co-workers and students alike. They are no longer together, but something, a small notebook, will bring them closer again, if only through words.

They both seem unhappy, stuck. And yet they both feel that they deserve much more than they are getting. There is a sense of superiority to their detachment from life’s everyday problems and from the people around them, unless the latter are willing to part with some money, of course. Which, frankly, makes them rather odd protagonists to follow, difficult to read and occasionally annoying. But the directors don’t seem to mind and, inspired by the 1961 novel To Warmer Lands by Swedish author PC Jersild, they create a road movie where the road might only be imaginary.

After all, these two people – while obviously restless – are also extremely passive, unable to make significant changes and commit to them for a longer period of time. Eryk, perennially gloomy, complains about people not doing enough, and yet the last time he tried to help, he “almost” managed. So why would they all of a sudden embark on a life-changing journey? Still, they sure can read, tracing letters on a page with their fingers, and maybe for now, it’s enough. It's funny how everyone is surrounded by books here, or talks about them. They do provide some company and escape, and sometimes that’s the best most can hope for – especially when growing old all alone, like one of the characters Ewa decides to care for.

While the story limps along, at least there is some fun to be had with all the mentions of this strange place. There is a description here and a blurry photograph there, but the film is sometimes too slow to catch up with what it’s teasing. A no-budget proposition, very short at just 73 minutes, it does feel like a sketch more than a complete tale - a short story, rather than a proper novel. This lake could be some kind of purgatory, for all we know, an ultimate destination that there is no coming back from. And perhaps this is really a last goodbye.

We Haven’t Lost Our Way was produced by Balapolis and co-produced by Krakowskie Biuro Festiwalowe (both Polish outfits).