Orphan Anna spent her childhood and youth in a Polish convent. Before taking her vows to become a nun, she decides to meet her only living relative, Wanda. From her, Anna learns that she is Jewish and that her parents were victims of the Holocaust. Together, they embark on a journey to uncover the tragic details of their family's fate. However, the past can sometimes begin to influence the present in the most unpredictable ways.
Among other films, including those by Pawlikowski himself, "Ida" is distinguished by its special inner concentration, reminiscent of the concentration of a praying nun with rosary beads. As a documentarian accustomed to using reality as a plastic material, the director is interested in dialogue with history and with the very space of the filming, making this minimalist and transparent film simultaneously extremely observant.
Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.