MUG

MUG (TWARZ), 2018
Poland| DCP, Color, 91’ | Polish
Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
Cast: Mateusz Kosciukiewicz, Agnieszka Podsiadlik, Malgorzata Gorol

Mug is a black comedy that depicts the story of Jacek, a man who suffers a tragic accident and becomes immortalized as the first person in Poland to receive a face transplant. Jacek’s life is turned upside down when his face is severely injured when he falls from the top of the gigantic Jesus sculpture that he has been working on in his small town in Poland. Once he is out of the hospital, we encounter a completely new side of the Catholics in this small town. As in her earlier films, director Malgorzata Szumowska offers her observations on how the Catholic Church shapes the reactions of families and society when faced with differences. Caricaturizing the small town culture of Poland, the film won the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlinale Film Festival in 2018.