BFI Flare 2023: ‘Bread and Salt’ Review
Stars: Tymoteusz Bies, Jacek Bies | Written by Damian Kocur, Marta Konarzewska | Directed by Damian Kocur
While studying at the Warsaw Academy of Music, Tymoteusz (Tymoteusz Bies) returns to his hometown for a visit. Surrounded by his friends and younger brother Jacek (Jacek Bies), his group makes a beeline for the new kebab shop opened up by two Arabic immigrants. As tensions rise throughout the summer, Tymoteusz assesses where he stands in the gap between a familiar past and an ever-changing present.
It’s possibly fair to say that those rocking up to a mid-month film festival without much idea of what’s on the schedule might not be too au fait with Polish cinema. Classics such as Ida and Interrogation are heralded as worthy watches, yet the visual imagery of Polish culture instead often comes from BBC News clips of homophobic policies and immigrants who are despised by the Brits. In a roundabout way, Damian Kocur’s Bread and Salt feeds into this outside thinking. Centring around a group of teenagers at odds with the local outsiders, Polish youth are displayed in exactly the heinous, stereotypical way that we imagine they might be. Taunting and beating the kebab shop workers to a pulp, the group (as a whole) toe a line between out-and-out violence and calculated, manipulative tension-building. While this may or may not be an accurate depiction of modern-day Polish youth, the most interesting point of note is Tymoteusz himself.
Though the overall outward perception may not leave much to be desired, Tymoteusz represents a more nuanced, individual conflict. Simultaneously trying to befriend the two outsiders while standing by and watching the others decimate them, he represents the type of person who is quick to perform. Claiming to be the bold ally and hero needed in a moment of desperation, they often can’t see themselves how they actually are — silent and complicit. Considering the cast is made up of non-professional actors, it’s a stunning feat to get a film that’s as stunningly direct and considered as Bread and Salt. Through a visual lens that looks pre-packaged for a MUBI deal, the naturalistic styling of the narrative and ensemble feels as though viewers are a fly on the wall for a less-than-typical summer at home. Often using their real names, the dedication to both music and teenage rites of passage is quietly joyous yet loaded with ulterior motives. A leopard can’t change its tune, and Tymoteusz certainly proves the myth to be a reality.
Whether it’s a harsh light on a contrived perception or a shrewd exploration of what’s really lying under the surface, Bread and Salt is nonetheless a compelling piece of Polish cinema. Taking metaphorical cues from its chosen namesake, its deep-dive into open-arms Europe is a visceral bite out of what is often swept under the carpet.
**** 4/5
Bread and Salt screened on March 24th – 26th as part of this year’s BFI Flare Film Festival.
