ONCE UPON A TIME IN NOVEMBER

For several years now marches staged by patriots and right-wing extremists have taken place in the middle of Warsaw on Poland’s National Independence Day. In fall 2016 some 60,000 people took part in them and heavy, violent clashes occurred. Director Andrzej Jakimowski uses documentary images of the events of 11 November 2016, staging his social drama against this real-life backdrop. The story revolves around the law student Mareczek and his mother, a teacher. After being forcibly evicted from their Warsaw apartment, the two find themselves homeless and at the mercy of bureaucratic whims. The search for accommodation proves exceedingly difficult, since they are not qualified to receive any social assistance and Warsaw’s temporary shelters won’t let them in with their dog. In spite of their plight, Mareczek tries not to let his everyday life spiral out of control: he continues to go to university and meet up with his girlfriend. The result is an unsettling portrait of an aggressive society, one in which the prospect of social decline and exclusion is also frighteningly real for members of the middle class.