It all began in Wadowice. The museum house of St. John Paul II– Supernatural film "The Primate of Poland," directed by Polish director Michal Kondrat ("Divine Mercy," "Two Crowns"), stars Slawomie Grzymkowski ("Alarm," "War Victim"), Adam Ferency ("Cold War," "Pornography"), Marcin Tronski ("And the Violins Stopped Playing") and Katarsyna Zawadzka ("Bod obnovy"), and centers on the life of Cardinal Wyszynski after he spent three years imprisoned by the Communists, when he had to initiate a struggle for religious freedom.
This blessed cardinal, ordained a priest in 1924, suffered religious persecution by the Nazis during World War II, when he was also chaplain of the hospital of the insurgents of the Polish National Army. After the war, he was ordained bishop and was given the title of "Primate of Poland".
However, the end of the war did not bring peace to the Church in Poland, but persecution by the Communist Party continued. Cardinal Wyszynski was imprisoned in 1953, and subsequently placed under house arrest.
The film focuses precisely on this stage of the protagonist's life, with a shocking beginning: the brutal torture by the Communist party of the Polish bishop Antoni Baraniak, who had a close relationship with both Cardinal Wyszynski and the future John Paul II.
However, the development of the film does not stop at these violent episodes, but at the tense relations between Wyszynski and the government, which wants the Primate to use his influence to get the Polish people to vote in the elections. Meanwhile, the Cardinal is under constant surveillance. Spied on by microphones in his place of residence, the tentacles of the party reach even his closest collaborators, so he will need all his expertise and intelligence to carry forward relations with the government, without allowing the party to infiltrate the Church, but at the same time seeking a balance so that the Polish people do not suffer repression and religious freedom is not limited.
In the background, we witness the progress of a young Karol Wojtyla until his election as Pope, the violent repression of workers' demonstrations against the communist government in Gdansk and Gdynia and the celebration of the thousandth anniversary of the baptism of Poland, an anniversary that the government intends to eclipse through parallel events of a political and atheistic nature.
The development of the story maintains interest at all times, with a leading actor who approaches his role with sobriety and excellence.
Wyszynski was recently beatified on September 12, 2021. Although for logical reasons he has been overshadowed by the figure of St. John Paul IIThis film is a magnificent tribute to his important legacy. In fact, John Paul II addressed him, after he was elected Pope, with these words: "There would be no Polish Pope [...] if it were not for your faith, which did not shrink from prison and suffering".
