Kuba (Mateusz Banasiuk) is shown early on as a bit of an
outsider in his girlfriend’s world, not mingling at an art showing, but instead
sneaking off outside for some air. It is there that he meets Michal (Bartosz
Gelner), an incredibly attractive man, and the two share a joint. There’s a
nice moment when his girlfriend, Sylwia (Marta Nieradkiewicz), goes out for a
smoke, and we expect her to see Kuba straight away. After a moment she glances
to her left. And the camera holds on her a while as she watches. The steady
shot builds up tension until finally we see what she sees – Kuba and Michal
talking, sharing a smoke just inside another door. From the look on her face,
there might be more significance to this seemingly innocent act. But then she
smiles, and when she goes to him, there are several other people there talking
with them, so the tension is relieved, at least for the moment.
This film is actually excellent at building emotional
tension through steady reaction shots. It’s not afraid to hold on a character
for a significant amount of time. And it works in part because of the strong
performances by the three leads. It also doesn’t hurt that all three are
attractive, and that they’re able to express so much with simply a look.
Kuba and Michal begin spending time together, and Sylwia
is often alone. It is interesting, because at first the film isn’t explicit
about just what has or hasn’t happened between them; nor is it explicit about
what Sylwia knows or doesn’t know. And so we begin to imagine perhaps more than
what’s actually happened, and in doing so we come to identify with Sylwia, as
she might be doing the same thing. There is a wonderful scene where the three
of them are eating, with Michal and Sylwia seated opposite one another. At one
point she just stares across at him. He must sense her eyes on him, but he
doesn’t look up, doesn’t meet her gaze. And it’s then you begin to think more
has happened than what we’ve seen. But what’s wonderful is that it’s the
emotional bond between Kuba and Michal that we as the audience are sensing and
responding to, not any sort of physical act. And it is the same thing that
Sylwia is responding to.
I also like that this isn’t one of those films where a
man one day meets another man and suddenly realizes he’s gay. Kuba’s passion is
swimming, and there are early scenes with him and another man in the locker
room by the pool. These are quick encounters that lack passion and love, but
show that he is already trying to deal with conflicting feelings and drives. By
the way, there are some nice underwater shots in the pool.
Kuba’s home situation strikes me as a bit odd. He still
lives with his mother, and Sylwia has moved into his room with him. It is the
relationship with his mother that seems unusual, particularly because of the
scene where he is giving her a massage in the bathtub. Then interestingly we go
more into Michal’s world, first learning of a strong relationship between him
and his mother in a scene where she actually asks about Kuba. And we meet the
rest of his family, including a father who has not been as understanding and
supportive. The contrast between the two mothers in their reactions to the new
relationship sheds a lot of light on how each of the men approaches the
relationship.
The heart of this film really lies within the excellent
performances by the three leads, particularly by Marta Nieradkiewicz as Sylwia.
You feel for all three characters, but her pain seems the strongest. She’s
aware of what she’s losing, and tries desperately to hold on. And I absolutely
love the very ending of this film.
Floating Skyscrapers was written and directed by
Tomasz Wasilewski, and was released on DVD on September 30, 2014 through TLA
Releasing and Canteen Outlaws. It is presented in Polish with English
subtitles. The DVD includes the film’s trailer.
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