La Dette

The Polish once again strike back with a truly unprecedented example of high-quality filmmaking, which looks like a spy thriller, but while watching it you find out that it’s a very good family drama. The entire movie I was in suspense about what would become of Marian Dziędziel’s character and I’m really glad that I waited for it until about an hour after midnight. The Mole is a model example of the current Polish stigma, which is as close to us as Poland itself is. That is a lot. That’s also why I give the film a decent four-star review, which proves how well Polish cinematography is doing these days. (17/04/2017)

Without flashbacks, without delving into the past, and yet it handles the hypocrisy and the effects of communist pressure and collaboration in the best way possible. Not only believable, but at the same time quite topical. The few shortcomings are covered by the snowy atmosphere, the slow pace and especially the characters. (26/12/2011)

Je m'attendais à quelque chose d'un peu différent, et à en juger par la pochette, je pensais qu'il s'agirait d'un thriller policier avec des connotations politiques, mais il en est finalement ressorti un genre de drame en huis clos se déroulant dans le cadre d’une famille confrontée aux ombres du passé. Quoi qu’il en soit, les Polonais ont maîtrisé le tout avec aisance une fois encore, en incorporant en plus cette fois des Français. Borys Szyc et Marian Dziedziel nous offrent des performances remarquables qui ont d’ailleurs été couronnées, à juste titre, de quelques récompenses. (08/01/2015)

I was very surprised by the Poles. They also deal with the specter of the communist and informant past, and they do so in a very successful way in this film. On the one hand, it could have been an American-style thriller, and it almost comes close to that, but in the end, it's still a human story that shows what we are willing to do for our families. (04/08/2017)