The “Aftermath” of Evil
By Skip Sheffield
“Aftermath” is set in 2000, but the story, inspired by Jan
Gross’ “Neighbors,” is firmly rooted in the Holocaust of World War II.
More than any other country, Poland was affected by the Nazi
persecution of Jews. There once were 3 million Jews in Poland. A large
number of those were part of the 6 million or more souls lost to the Holocaust.
Co-written and directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski in 2012,
“Aftermath” tells the back story of 120 of those martyred souls in a small Polish town.
Pasikowski fashions the story as a mystery-thriller centered
on brothers Franciszek (Ireneusz Czop) and Jozef (Maciej Stuhr) Kalina.
Franciszek had left the town and fled to America 20 years ago, after the
death of his father. Jozef remained in Poland, tending the family farm.
The film begins with the return of Franciszek to his home
town to investigate strange circumstances involving his brother, whose wife has recently left him. Shortly after
disembarking the bus, Franciszek’s luggage is stolen. It is a sign of more
trouble to come.
Josef is in trouble with local authorities for destroying a
road. The reason Josef ripped off the asphalt was that he discovered the road’s
foundation was made with tombstones from a now-vanished Jewish cemetery. Though
Josef is a devout Catholic, his moral outrage is such that he has taken it upon
himself to save and restore the tombstones and recreate the cemetery.
This does not set well with the villagers. “Accidents” begin
to happen to the Kalina brothers. When it comes time to harvest the wheat the
community’s harvester is mysteriously “broken.” When the brothers decide to
harvest the wheat the old-fashioned way, by hand, the field catches fire.
As the hostility of the villagers rises, so does the
animosity between the two brothers. If it weren’t for the town’s kindly,
tolerant older priest (Jerzy Radziwilowiez) the Kalina brothers would have no
friends at all.
The truth is the town holds a terrible secret, and Jozef’s
mission to make reparations to murdered Jews threatens to expose that secret.
“Aftermath” is quite controversial in Poland and
banned outright in some places because it is perceived as anti-Polish. The
truth of the matter is the Nazis were not the only villains in the Holocaust.
They were aided and abetted by sympathizers and people fearful for their own
self-preservation. An evil as monstrous as the Holocaust was, it tainted all
around it. Rather than being anti-Polish, this film screams “Never again!”
Three stars
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