Customer Reviews

The Lovers of the Year of the Tiger (Kochankowie Roku Tygrysa) [Reg.2]

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I didn't actually watch it, I bought it for someone... but they said it's great. So actually, it's their word not mine. Now if you buy it you can't blame me if it's bad.

Kochankowie Roku Tygrysa (The Lovers of the Year of the Tiger) is a historical drama set in 1913. Although the title gives away the fact that this is a romance, it is a subtle one. We get a hint of the outcome of the romance in the first few minutes of the film when, in the present day, an old man goes to the Polish embassy in China. He wants to visit Poland before he dies and asks them to read the story of why he is interested in going there.

The old man's story takes us back to 1913 in Siberia. At this time Poland isn't on the map because its neighbors have divided her lands amongst themselves for over a hundred years. And for just about as long, the Russians have been sending anyone they find troublesome to Siberia. Two Poles flee from the Russians who are chasing them and one of them (Michal Zebrowski) just barely crosses the river into Manchuria. A hunter finds him and brings him to his home to nurse him back to health. The hunter is an honorable man and discourages the romance before it begins by cutting his daughter's hair and having her dress as a boy. I will save the rest of the details to leave at last a little suspense but there aren't a whole lot of surprises.

Kochankowie Roku Tygrysa is unusual compared to other Polish films in that most of the movie isn't spoken in Polish and most of the actors are not Polish. Although I appreciate that it is spoken in Cantonese, as this adds a level of realism to the film. It is quite a change of pace for director Jacek Bromski, who often does comedies, but that isn't saying much as it is pretty unique compared to Polish cinema in general. Hopefully, we will see more movies about the Poles exiled to Siberia in the years to come.