Irena's Vow (film)

Irena's Vow
Official poster
Directed byLouise Archambault
Written byDan Gordon
Based onIrena's Vow by Dan Gordon
Produced byBeata Pisula
Tim Ringuette
Nicholas Tabarrok
Jeff Sackman
Berry Meyerowitz
StarringSophie Nélisse
Dougray Scott
CinematographyPaul Sarossy
Edited byArthur Tarnowski
Music byAlexandra Stréliski
Production
companies
Darius Films
Entract Studios
K&K Selekt
Distributed byElevation Pictures
Release dates
  • September 10, 2023 (2023-09-10) (TIFF)
  • April 19, 2024 (2024-04-19)
Running time
121 minutes
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.2 million[1][2]

Irena's Vow is a 2023 Canadian-Polish war drama film, directed by Louise Archambault. Written by Dan Gordon who also wrote the Broadway play Irena's Vow,[3] the film stars Sophie Nélisse as Irena Gut Opdyke, a Polish nurse who helped to shelter and protect Jewish people during the Holocaust by hiding them in the cellar of the home where she was employed as a housekeeper by Nazi German officer Eduard Rügemer (Dougray Scott).[4][citation needed] The cast also includes Andrzej Seweryn, Eliza Rycembel, Maciej Nawrocki, Aleksandar Milicevic, Tomasz Tyndyk and Nela Maciejewska.[citation needed]

The film was shot in 2022 in Warsaw and Lublin, Poland.[5][6] It premiered in the Centrepiece program at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival in September.[7][8] The film was released in Canada on April 19, 2024.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 84% of 32 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10.[7] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9]

Christy Lemire of RogerEbert.com gave the film three out of four stars and wrote, "Sophie Nélisse brings powerful subtlety to the title role in Irena's Vow, accomplishing so much with her eyes, her presence, her ability to shift demeanor and tone quickly depending on the situation."[10]

Awards and nominations

2023 Winner: Audience Award,
Vancouver International Film Festival

2023 Winner: LIUNA People's Choice Award,
Windsor International Film Festival

2023 Nominee: WIFF Prize in Canadian Film,
Windsor International Film Festival

References

  1. ^ "Irena's Vow (2024)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved May 19, 2024.Edit this at Wikidata
  2. ^ "Irena's Vow". The Numbers. Nash Information Services, LLC. Retrieved May 19, 2024.
  3. ^ Grynienko, Katarzyna (April 29, 2022). "Louise Archambault's 'Irena's Vow,' Starring Sophie Nélisse, Dougray Scott, Shoots in Poland – C&E Europe News in Brief". Variety.
  4. ^ Kay, Jeremy (May 9, 2022). "Sophie Nélisse, Dougray Scott to star in Quiver's wartime drama 'Irena's Vow', as WestEnd launches sales". Screen Daily.
  5. ^ "Louise Archambault de retour d'un tournage de film tout près de l'Ukraine" [Louise Archambault returning from a film shoot near Ukraine]. Radio-Canada (in French). June 9, 2022.
  6. ^ Vlessing, Etan (September 13, 2023). "Toronto: 'Irena's Vow' Director Sees Ukraine Crisis Through Second World War Lens". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 21, 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Irena's Vow". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
  8. ^ Hazelton, John (August 10, 2023). "TIFF sets Centrepiece line-up of international cinema". Screen Daily.
  9. ^ "Irena's Vow". Metacritic. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
  10. ^ Lemire, Christy (April 15, 2024). "Irena's Vow". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved May 1, 2024.