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Fatherland poster

Fatherland
Ojczyzna

 Seen during the film's original release Seen in a theater or cinema 4K digital
Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski
Produced by Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Mieli, Edward Berger, Lorenzo Gangarossa, Ewa Puszczyńska, Jeanne Tremsal, and Dimitri Rassam
Written by Paweł Pawlikowski and Hendrik Handloegten
With: Sandra Hüller, Hanns Zischler, August Diehl, Anna Madeley, Devid Striesow, David Menkin, Joachim Meyerhoff, Enno Trebs, Theo Trebs, Waldemar Kobus, and Daniel Wagner
Cinematography: Łukasz Żal
Editing: Paweł Pawlikowski and Piotr Wójcik
Music: Marcin Masecki
Runtime: 82 min
Release Date: 03 September 2026
Aspect Ratio: 1.37 : 1
Color: Black and White

As with Ida and Cold War, the latest in writer/director Paweł Pawlikowski's trilogy of historical films lures us in with its austere yet gorgeous black-and-white photography (less strictly composed for the bottom third of the frame this time) and makes us ponder a history most folks outside of Poland won't be too familiar with. No matter. This brief 82-minute picture about German novelist and social critic Thomas Mann (Hanns Zischler) and his daughter Erika (Sandra Hüller) returning to Germany in 1949 after living in America during WWII makes us hungry to learn more about these events, while capturing immediately relatable emotions. Phenomenal acting. Gorgeous cinematography. An exquisite final scene.

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