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5.0 out of 5 stars
There is something chilling about this women in unifom with a totenkopf patch on her cap, October 11, 2009
Passenger (Pasazerka) is a story about a woman named Liza who returns to Europe after being away for many years. On the luxury liner she seems a woman who reminds her of the past that she would rather forget and one her husband had no idea about. During Would War II she was in the German army and an overseer at Auschwitz.
The story goes back to show us what she is like during the war. As an overseer, we see she takes a liking to a Polish woman named Marta who is a political prisoner at Auschwitz. It turns out her fiancée is also imprisoned there but they are forbidden from seeing each other. Between all the miseries that take place in the Nazi death camp, a love story of sorts also occurs.
There is something chilling about this women in unifom with a totenkopf (death's head) patch on her cap. Liza looks the other way occasuionaly and lets the lovers enjoy a few moments together but the fact that Marta remains defiant only outrages her. Although there are a few instances where Liza shows kindness, she also enjoys playing god in which she gives succor in one instance and brings torment the next. If looks could kill Liza would be lethal.
Passenger has more than a few unforgettable scenes. One that stands out for me is when international inspectors come to the camp to see how the prisoners are treated. Marta is chosen as a detainee that they will interview but she can hardly say a word to their questions knowing they will not be able to change her situation. Furthermore, another scene shows an orchestra of prisoners playing beautiful music while the other prisoners are slopping in the mud; there is something ironic and strange at these images that show such contrasts between the neatly dressed guards and their prisoners who are treated so inhumanely.
Passenger is Andrzej Munk's last film, who died in a car accident before it was completed. Witold Lesiewicz completed the project using what was available and a few parts show only still photos, which give the movie the feeling of looking through a photo album, while he narrates what was probably intended in these parts. As powerful as the movie stands now there is a little part of me that grieves the fact that if Munk lived to finish this film it would have been even better.
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