Sweater (2020)

Directed by: Magnus von Horn | 105 minutes | drama | Actors: Magdalena Kolesnik, Julian Swiezewski, Aleksandra Konieczna, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Tomasz Orpinski, Lech Lotocki, Magdalena Kuta, Dominika Biernat, Katarzyna Dziurska, Wiktoria Filus, Bartosz Sak, Edgar Griszczuk, Dorota Zienae Cycinke

You get tired just looking at it. In the Polish drama ‘Sweat’, thirty-year-old Sylwia is a fitness idol of the most energetic kind. In the first five minutes we see her going wild as an instructor during a massive workout in a kind of shopping center. As an influencer on social media, Sylwia earns money and free beauty products, which she has to promote to her 600,000 followers on Instagram. Once home she is welcomed by the love of her life, the good dog Jackson.

Despite the success, Sylwia is pretty much the loneliest person in Poland. We see how that comes about in the first half of ‘Sweat’. The film covers three days in Sylwia’s life, in which we see how complicated and superficial the life of an influencer can be. In one of the most beautiful scenes, Sylwia meets a fan who uninhibitedly pours out her heart to her. If Sylwia then wants to tell something personal about herself, the fan knows absolutely nothing about it and quickly runs away. We also see a typical Polish birthday party at Sylwia’s family. Then you understand why the fitness idol has chosen the spotlight: nobody sees her in her family and she is not taken for granted.

In the second half, the filmmakers’ inspiration seems to run out. As in the first half, the scenes are on the long side, but they are less poignant, less focused on the excesses of social media. Now it’s more about Sylwia’s clashes with a stalker, the dark reflection of herself: just as lonely but completely unsuccessful.

The lack of inspiration is largely made up for by Magdalena Kolesnik’s great acting performance. Filmed in extreme close-ups, we see all the doubt, hope, discomfort, joy and sorrow that belong to Sylwia’s life. While you as a viewer have to swallow something at the beginning of this unstoppable bundle of energy, you develop more and more sympathy for her and you suffer with her just as hard.

The film even manages to make you feel relieved when Sylwia finally lets go of what she loves most. Despite the hellish stomping music, despite the excess of energy, we are happy that our heroine is finally happy in her fitness role. A handsome filmmaker who made it happen.