Written and directed by Pawel Podolski, co-written by Lynn Kucharczyk, the story of a shy vampire, Monia, who has one night to convince Mirek, a suicidal vampire she created and accidentally sentenced to eternal life, to immortality. She is helped by Czarek, a totally mortal boy who loves life very much. Starring: Magdalena Maścianica, Michał Sikorski, Bartłomiej Kotschedoff, Małgorzata Rożniatowska, Wojciech Machnicki, Jolanta Wołłejko, Katarzyna Skolimowska and Agnieszka Kudelska.
Firstly, who doesn’t love a good flick that comes in at under eighty minutes? In a world of slowly growing runtimes, it’s always nice to take a trip into the past with a short, swift feature and that’s exactly what you get with Life for Beginners. Secondly, it’s hard not to immediately draw a line from this to Ariane Louis-Seize’s Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person, the two would make a fantastic double bill. They both turn the classic vampire film on its head and instead use it to create a lowkey romcom. They’re also both charming, funny and highly entertaining.
Magdalena Maścianica and Michał Sikorski are an adorable duo as Monia and Czarek. There’s such a sincere clumsiness and awkwardness to their characters and it’s utterly endearing. To watch them stumble through this chaotic, yet unexpectedly quiet, evening is really enjoyable. Maścianica makes for an excellent lead, her character is sweet, quiet and sympathetic but she’s not meek or submissive, which is a great combination that we didn’t used to see much of. While Sikorski’s Czarek is a bit of a mess, he’s your classic screw-up, he has the best of intentions but maybe doesn’t make the best choices, and Sikorski makes him undeniably lovable. Together they create a warmth and a genuine chemistry which makes it easy to be glued to Life for Beginners.
Then you add Bartłomiej Kotschedoff to the equation to fill the chaotic quota and they make a fantastic trio. His depressive vamp adds a nicely sarcastic, dark sense of humour to the mix. With great performances at its core, paired with the great writing from Pawel Podolski and Lynn Kucharczyk they create a story which can easily stand on its own, and doesn’t require the excess blood, guts and or bitey-nature that many others may feel a need to lean on. Part of that is definitely Podolski’s direction and the lovely, humble, grounded cinematography from Ernest Wilczyński.
Aesthetically it’s managing to keep within the mundanity of everyday life but add some extra personality, especially with its lovely colouring. It keeps its feet firmly on the ground, while having a little fun. Podolski does so well to create something that’s relatable while adding plenty of understated quirks. Things are kept simple enough to flow well and not overwhelm itself with obvious jokes or overreaching attempts at mayhem. The plot plays out naturally, and doesn’t rush, while still managing to up the ante and bring a little more intensity as things progress.
Life for Beginners is funny, entertaining and satisfying viewing. It keeps such a tight runtime without ever rushing, the story doesn’t feel over-simplified, it hits the right notes, it takes its time and is extremely charming. The understated vampire flick is basically its own subgenre at this point, it’s a wonderful one, and this is another brilliant addition. Pawel Podolski and Lynn Kucharczyk create an earnest romcom, but with teeth, that’s led by two endearing performances from Magdalena Maścianica and Michał Sikorski.
FilmCarnage.com 