Kleine Tricks (Tricks, Sztuczki) 
Poland
2007
Opening 23 Jul 2009
Directed by:
Andrzej Jakimowski
Writing credits:
Andrzej Jakimowski
Principal actors:
Damian Ul, Ewelina Walendziak, Tomasz Sapryk, Rafal Guzniczak, Iwona Fornalczyk
A Polish film shown in German with English subtitles by Andrzej Jakimowski. Stefek is a smart little boy of seven. He and his sister Elka (18), who takes care of him, grow up in a small town in the countryside near Warsaw. His mother works all day and his father walked out on them when he was small. Elka works at night in a restaurant and learns Italian to find a job with the EU. He spends a lot of time with his sister and sometimes with her boyfriend Jerzy, a mechanic. Elka teaches him small tricks on how to influence destiny: how can you make the garbage bag magically go into the bin? How can you help a vendor sell all his apples at once? Stefek is smart and a fast learner. So he makes up a plan: he saw a man on the train platform and decides that he might be his father. Stefek starts to bribe fate to make the man stay longer and walk into the city past the store where his mother works.
This is a beautiful film about life, life in a small town being its purest. With most of the actors being non-professionals and since some of the characters are (auto)biographic, the film is very genuine. It is already highly decorated and was even nominated at the Oscars for “Best Foreign Film.” (Tina Grieben)
