The Polish Bride review

Why you can trust 12DOVE Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

Battered and bleeding Polish prostitute Anna (Hendrickx) is found in a ditch by taciturn Dutch farmer Hank (Spijkers). The latter takes in the terrified girl, cleans her up and allows her to stay as long as she likes. Anna, though troubled by flashbacks of her past experiences, busies herself with housekeeping duties and begins learning Dutch. Meanwhile Hank, who faces foreclosure on his land from the banks, is visited by Anna's former `employers' - and they insist that she returns to `work'...

Set in the Gronigen Highland region of Holland, The Polish Bride is a spare, sensitive and atmospheric work. As he charts the gradual development of the unlikely relationship between its two very different protagonists, Algerian-born director Karim Traidia imbues the whole with nostalgia for a vanishing agricultural existence. The dialogue may be minimal, but the performances are nuanced, the attention to detail near forensic and the resolution emotionally moving.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine.