---
title: "Ida"
year: 2013
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/ida"
fi1m_score: 85
critics_score: 83
critics_reviews: 20
published: "2026-09-17T08:07:45.048272+00:00"
updated: "2026-09-17T08:07:45.337709+00:00"
region: "US"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ida (2013)

Directed by Paweł Pawlikowski · 1h 22m · MPA PG-13 · Drama

**Fi1m score: 85** · Critics 83 from 20 reviews

*In a sentence:* A family visit that makes life in a convent look comparatively straightforward

> Paweł Pawlikowski’s spare drama finds painful feeling in the encounter between a novice nun and her aunt. The two lead performances reward its quiet attention, though the careful framing sometimes keeps us further away than we would like.

## Synopsis

In 1960s Poland, Anna (Agata Trzebuchowska) is an orphan preparing for life as a nun. Mother Superior (Halina Skoczyńska) presides over the convent, while Anna has an aunt outside it: Wanda (Agata Kulesza). Anna discovers her Jewish roots and joins Wanda on a journey into her family’s past. She wants to discover what happened to her parents during the Nazi occupation, but the search also brings questions about her religious vocation. Travelling with her aunt takes her beyond the convent and into a country still living with the consequences of the war.

## Review

Paweł Pawlikowski’s *Ida* is a moving, sometimes frustratingly spare film about a young woman discovering how little she knows about her own family. Anna has a religious vocation; her aunt Wanda has experience that makes such certainty difficult. Their journey through 1960s Poland gives the director a way to approach wartime history without making either woman deliver a lecture. We recommend it for the performances and the patient attention to faces, with a warning that its reluctance to explain can occasionally leave a character too far away.

Agata Trzebuchowska plays Anna with a reserve that suits someone confronting a past she did not know was hers. The screenplay, by Rebecca Lenkiewicz and Paweł Pawlikowski, puts questions of Jewish identity and Catholic faith into a family relationship. That helps because Anna has to make sense of Wanda as well as unfamiliar facts about her parents. Her quietness is persuasive, though we sometimes wanted more access to the young woman behind it.

Agata Kulesza gives Wanda enough force to disturb that quiet without overwhelming her companion. The aunt’s self-destructiveness makes her an uncomfortable guide for the novice, and the performance never makes her easier company for our benefit. We found her painful to watch: she can help Anna confront the past and still seem unable to live with it herself. The contrast between the women carries the film through passages where a little more dialogue might have made their history easier to follow.

Łukasz Żal and Ryszard Lenczewski photograph the women in black and white, using the narrow Academy frame to make us attend to a face. The off-centre compositions can look severe, and their stillness gives us time to look at both women. Mostly, that patience pays off: a slight difference between their expressions becomes worth noticing. Occasionally the arrangement looks so deliberate that we catch ourselves studying the framing when we should be thinking about Anna.

Production designers Katarzyna Sobańska and Marcel Sławiński keep the surroundings spare, giving the period a convincing everyday plainness. It matters that the places these women pass through do not demand admiration at every stop. Jarosław Kamiński’s editing is similarly economical, getting the film through its journey in 82 minutes without making the central relationship feel hurried. We could have used a little more time with the people outside that relationship, but expanding the film simply to explain its history would have been the wrong remedy.

Kristian Eidnes Andersen’s music belongs to a film willing to leave long stretches to silence, and that restraint is welcome. There is already enough sadness in the women’s faces without further prompting. As a historical drama, *Ida* trusts a small encounter to matter without having to declare what it represents about an entire country. Anna’s vocation is taken seriously, and learning about her family is allowed to complicate her faith without settling the matter for her.

This is a short film that needs more attention than its running time might suggest. Anyone hoping for a brisk investigation with the comfort of settled answers should approach it cautiously; the interest lies in what Anna and Wanda can bear to understand about each other. Give it an evening when silence is welcome, and leave the phone in another room.

*Fi1m score 85, published 17 September 2026.*

## What the critics say

The consensus on Ida is firmly positive: all twenty reviews favour the film, with praise clustering around its black-and-white photography, precise framing and two lead performances. Most critics find that Pawlikowski’s spare storytelling gives the exploration of faith, identity and Polish history considerable emotional force. Agata Kulesza’s Wanda draws particular praise for her complexity, while the relationship between the two women makes the historical suffering personal rather than remote. The silence and restraint are widely seen as sources of feeling, not obstacles to it.

The differences concern how much that restraint allows through, with enthusiasm ranging from warm approval to emphatic praise. Vulture finds the short running time leaves the story lacking in fullness; The Playlist notes an emotional distance, and Paste suggests the subdued approach limits its resonance. These are reservations within favourable assessments rather than outright dissent: the critics largely agree on the craft, but differ over how deeply it moves them.

### Reviews we read (20)

- **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film spare, haunting, and uncompromising, an exceptional work of artistry with potent emotions and indelibly beautiful images. He praises its pared-down exploration of identity, trauma, and Polish history through a young woman’s search. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-ida-review-20140502-story.html)
- **Screen Daily** (90/100, inferred): Pawlikowski returns to his roots with an exquisitely photographed and precisely told story about a young nun's journey of personal and national reckoning in 1960s Poland. It reaffirms his status as an important world auteur through compelling characters and austere black-and-white imagery. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/ida/5060113.article)
- **Sight and Sound**, Catherine Wheatley (90/100, inferred): Pawlikowski condenses European and cinematic history into a spare, haunting minimalism that functions as an ineffably potent road movie of the soul. The film is elevated by two extraordinary lead performances, particularly Agata Kulesza as the complex, self-destructive Wanda. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/film-week-ida)
- **The Hollywood Reporter**, Todd McCarthy (90/100, inferred): The critic praises Pawlikowski's delicate, quiet handling of heavy historical themes through a young woman's perspective in 1960s Poland. He singles out the stunning black-and-white cinematography and Agata Kulesza's vivid performance as the aunt for particular acclaim. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/toronto-review-ida-629434/)
- **The New Yorker**, David Denby (90/100, inferred): The critic hails the film as a compact masterpiece defined by silence, portraiture, and fervent austerity that evokes anger and mourning. He singles out its charged return to Polish history and themes of acknowledgment over revenge. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/ida-a-film-masterpiece)
- **The New York Times**, A.O. Scott (NYT Critic’s Pick): The critic praises the film as a concise, folk-tale-like drama about an orphan novice uncovering family secrets in postwar Poland. He highlights its alert handling of historical absurdities and horrors alongside its simple narrative strength. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/02/movies/ida-about-an-excavation-of-truth-in-postwar-poland.html)
- **Film Comment**, Graham Fuller (85/100, inferred): Pawlikowski’s stark black-and-white road drama carries the weight of 20th-century Polish history through the story of a novice nun uncovering her family’s wartime fate. The film is singled out for its Bressonian austerity and visual beauty achieved through Academy ratio framing and spartan mise-en-scène. [Read](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-ida-pawel-pawlikowski/)
- **Total Film**, James Mottram (85/100, inferred): Pawlikowski returns to form with a deeply personal tale set in 1960s Poland, centering on an orphaned nun exploring her background with her aunt. The director paints the world with delicate brushstrokes in evocative monochrome. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/ida-review/)
- **Empire**, David Hughes (80/100, inferred): Pawlikowski returns to Poland for a story of a young woman discovering her parents' fate during the Nazi occupation. The film features deep emotions beneath a bleak surface and benefits from a captivating central performance and striking monochrome compositions. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/ida-review/)
- **Little White Lies**, Glenn Heath Jr (4/4/4): Pawlikowski has crafted a uniquely spartan film that charts the ripple effect of history on the everyday person. Faith and sin reside in the same striking, stark frame, and the film powerfully lingers thanks to its treatment of trauma, reconciliation and iron will. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/ida)
- **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (4/5): The critic describes the film as an eerily beautiful black-and-white drama that feels like a restored classic. It is praised as compelling, with superb performances and a miraculous sense of location and period. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/sep/25/ida-pawel-pawlikowski-nun-road-movie)
- **Time Out**, Tom Huddleston (4/5): Tragedy hangs like smoke over this spectral, startling return to form, built of sparse, painterly snapshots in an off-kilter frame. It is bleak and unforgiving but also richly sympathetic and deeply moving. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/ida)
- **Vulture**, David Edelstein (80/100, inferred): The review describes the film as an eerie, out-of-time coming-of-age story with a stark, arresting visual style reminiscent of classic European cinema. It commends the potent portrait of repression and buried pasts while noting the short runtime leaves it somewhat lacking in fullness. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2014/05/movie-review-ida.html)
- **Slant Magazine** (70/100, inferred): Pawlikowski is commended for his empathetic exploration of illusions as emotional anchors amid brutality and loss. The review highlights the film's classical black-and-white aesthetic and its insightful contrast between the two women's responses to traumatic revelations. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/ida/)
- **Variety** (70/100, inferred): The critic describes the severe drama as an ultra-restrained homecoming that delves into Poland’s troubled history through a convent-bound orphan discovering her Jewish roots. It connects anti-Semitism and faith questions in a festival setting. [Read](https://variety.com/2013/film/markets-festivals/film-review-ida-1200595465/)
- **Consequence** (A): The critic calls it a riveting, challenging, rewarding meditation on faith, identity, and history in 1960s Poland, praising the authentic performances of the two leads and the director's confident, timeless black-and-white style reminiscent of classic cinema. [Read](https://consequence.net/2014/05/film-review-ida/)
- **HeyUGuys**, Matt Seton (85/100, inferred): The review calls Ida a poignant and understated gem that succeeds as an intense character study despite its short runtime. It singles out the meticulous framing and the way the film raises profound questions for the audience. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/ida-review/)
- **The Playlist**, The Playlist Staff (B+): The critic finds the film stylistically arresting with remarkable assurance and a striking central performance, noting its personal authenticity as a homecoming project. They single out the evocative cinematography and subtle handling of heavy themes but note some restraint that holds the viewer at a distance. [Read](https://theplaylist.net/review-pawel-pawlikowskis-striking-evocative-ida-20140430/)
- **Eye for Film**, Rebecca Naughten (80/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's still, painterly black-and-white visuals that capture quiet contemplation. She highlights the strong performances and how the story explores Poland's hidden past through the bond between the two women. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/ida-2013-film-review-by-rebecca-naughten)
- **Paste**, Tim Grierson (6.7): The critic finds it a touching, low-key story of personal transformation with wry humor and sadness, praising the lead performance and gorgeous black-and-white cinematography in a square frame, but notes the subdued approach may make it less resonant. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/ida-2013-tiff-review)

## Details

- **Director:** Paweł Pawlikowski
- **Director:** Paweł Pawlikowski
- **Screenplay:** Paweł Pawlikowski, Rebecca Lenkiewicz
- **Cinematography:** Ryszard Lenczewski, Łukasz Żal
- **Editor:** Jarosław Kamiński
- **Music:** Kristian Eidnes Andersen
- **Production design:** Katarzyna Sobańska, Marcel Sławiński
- **Costume design:** Aleksandra Staszko
- **Producer:** Piotr Dzięcioł, Eric Abraham, Ewa Puszczyńska
- **Cast:** Agata Trzebuchowska as Anna; Agata Kulesza as Wanda; Dawid Ogrodnik as Lis; Jerzy Trela as Szymon; Adam Szyszkowski as Feliks; Halina Skoczyńska as Mother Superior; Joanna Kulig as Singer; Dorota Kuduk as Kaska
- **Runtime:** 1h 22m
- **Certificate (MPA):** PG-13
- **Release (the US):** 2 May 2014
- **Genres:** Drama
- **Budget:** $1 million
- **Box office:** $15 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_vrlpWB4Vo

## Where to watch in the US

- Amazon Prime Video: streaming
- MUBI: streaming, hd
- Tubi: free, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: add-on
- Apple TV: add-on, hd
- The Roku Channel: add-on, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: rent $2.99, sd
- Apple TV: rent $3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy $9.99, sd
- Apple TV: buy $12.99, sd

*Checked 2026-09-17.*

Also available in: BE, CA, CH, CO, DK, FR, GB, IE, IT, KR, MX, NL, NO, PA, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## Awards

- Academy Awards 2015: Best Cinematography (nominated); Best International Feature Film (won)
- International Submission to the Academy Awards 2015: International Submission to the Academy Awards (nominated)
- European Film Award for Best Actress 2014: European Film Award for Best Actress (nominated)
- European Film Award for Best Cinematographer 2014: European Film Award for Best Cinematographer (won)
- European Film Award for Best Director 2014: European Film Award for Best Director (won)
- European Film Award for Best Film 2014: European Film Award for Best Film (won)
- European Film Award for Best Screenwriter 2014: European Film Award for Best Screenwriter (won)
- European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film 2014: European Film Award – People's Choice Award for Best European Film (won)
- Lux Prize 2014: Lux Prize (won)

## If you liked this

- *Winter Light* (1963): Another short, unsparing examination of faith, with little comfort offered by certainty.
- *The Spirit of the Beehive* (1973), Fi1m 87: A child’s watchfulness gives a troubled national past an unsettling domestic scale. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-spirit-of-the-beehive.md)
- *Secrets & Lies* (1996), Fi1m 88: Family history unsettles another young woman’s identity, with considerably more talking. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/secrets-and-lies.md)
- *Phoenix* (2014): For another intimate reckoning with wartime history, carried by a watchful lead performance.
- *The Quiet Girl* (2022): For patient attention to a young face, and feeling that arrives without fuss.

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/ida