Mug – Twarz (2018)

Directed by: Malgorzata Szumowska | 91 minutes | drama, comedy | Actors: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Malgorzata Gorol, Roman Gancarczzyk, Dariusz Chojnacki, Robert Talarczyk, Anna Tomaszewska, Martyna Krzysztofik, Iwona Bielska

‘Mug’ (in the original Polish language, called ‘Twarz’, which means something like ‘face’) is about Jacek in his twenties. Like many of his peers, he has not yet resigned himself to a future like that of the older generation: he is adventurous, feels trapped in the Catholic community and would like to move to London. He is lucky in love: his girlfriend Dagmara is just as free-spirited as he is and together they often go wild on the dance floor.

Jacek’s open view of the environment around him is at odds with that of his family members (although his married sister repeatedly shows that she understands him) and his penchant for playing hard rock loudly in his car doesn’t exactly make him a welcome sight. guest in the village. At Jacek’s job – he is a construction worker – he is busy building the largest Christ statue in the world – but his church-going villagers associate Jacek with the devil.

Then, just when everything seems to be running smoothly and the butterflies in Jacek’s stomach are fluttering about at top speed, disaster strikes. Jacek has a horrific accident on the construction site and is in the hospital for months. That period is quickly brushed through by filmmaker Malgorzata Szumowska: we get fragments of Jacek’s condition and how his environment reacts to it. Jacek’s face appears to be so damaged that he needs a face transplant, the first in Poland. The successful operation of the operation puts Jacek in a unique position and makes him a willing victim of the media circus. However, many of his facial and bodily functions are not working yet – speaking, for example, is difficult, but that takes time. When in a hospital conversation that much of the medical costs are for their own account – because no precedent has been set yet – the family has no choice but to turn to the only safety net that apparently exists: the church community.

But as fantastic as the Polish media thinks Jacek’s success story is, in the village he is practically ignored. And even within his family, Jacek can hardly count on support, with a very extreme measure from his mother. Jacek’s response to that is worth gold, by the way. Szumowska perfectly manages to find the balance between humor and compassion in ‘Mug’; nowhere does she ridicule Jacek, but she also avoids that you only think he is pathetic. The tone of the film does change after the accident, but in addition to the incredibly humorous opening, where consumerism is made fun of, there is still plenty to chuckle after the dramatic event. Szumowska also justly criticizes the narrow-mindedness of her religious compatriots, because apparently you can think and do anything, as long as you confess your sins to come to terms again. The worst part is that most don’t even realize how limited and hurtful they are.

The acting is sublime, especially of course lead actor Mateusz Kosciukiewicz (Jacek). But Agnieskza Podsiadlik (his sister) and Malgorzata Gorol (Dagmara) also impress. Kudos also to the make-up: you really have to look a few times to realize that it is really the same actor before and after the face transplant. The camera work is also striking: by keeping what is just outside the field of view blurry, Szumowska underlines the shortsightedness of the characters even more. It is a black view of humanity, of course somewhat exaggerated, but just like the Jesus image that really exists (it is in Świebodzin), this could also be taken from life.