Agnieszka Holland directs this provocative World War II story that is both a character study and a mesmerizing cat and mouse game between a Polish Catholic farmer and a Jewish woman who has escaped a train bound for the Nazi death camps. Leon Wolny (Armin Mueller-Stahl) is a devout Catholic who lives in solitude, yearning for the company of a woman. When he stumbles across Rosa Eckert (Elisabeth Trissenaar) trying to steal food from him, he discovers that she has nowhere else to turn. Excited by her presence, Leon hides her in his cellar, at first as a favor, then against her will, and again as a man who has fallen in love for the first time. Each individual's strict religious beliefs spark intense debates, highlighting their extreme differences, yet their desperation keeps them together, eventually forging a strong emotional bond. Holland's film is a deeply engaging intellectual thriller, which pits two extremely opposing individuals against each other in a battle of wits, sanity, and emotion, featuring outstanding performances by Rainer Werner Fassbinder regulars Stahl and Trissenaar; the film was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Oscar.

Two opposites converge with heartrending results in this riveting psychological drama from Agnieszka Holland (EUROPA EUROPA) about a Polish Catholic bachelor farmer and a female Jewish concentration camp escapee. He offers her refuge, falling in love in the process; yet the complications of the war are more powerful than the tangled bond they form.

Theatrical release: March 1986.

DVD Features:

Region 1
NTSC
Full Frame - 1.33
Audio:
Dolby Digital 1.0 - German
Subtitles - English - Optional

Armin Mueller-Stahl: Actor/In USA
Elisabeth Trissenaar: Actress

Agnieszka Holland: Polish-Born Director/Screenwriter