Barbara Białowąs is drawn to dangerous relationships and knows how to make sex look attractive. In 365 Days, though, we find little understanding of the people involved, and the romance cannot survive that neglect.
Fi1m perspective
In 365 Days (2020), sex looks attractive long before the central relationship looks credible. Barbara Białowąs and co-director Tomasz Mandes give the physical encounters more care than the reasons for them. We were repelled by the film's invitation to accept kidnapping and captivity as a plausible introduction to love. A film can explore such a relationship, but this one asks us to believe in the attraction without doing the work to persuade us.
Her feature debut, Big Love (2012), which she also wrote, was already concerned with toxic relationships. It followed work in shorts and documentaries, and divided critics between those who found it provocative and those who found it sensational. The later erotic romance continues that interest in damaging attachments. Pięć Kobiet (2021) continued her documentary work, a part of the career that a judgement based solely on 365 Days would miss.
Białowąs uses handheld camerawork to bring emotional scenes closer, and cinematographer Bartek Cierlica is a recurring collaborator. In 365 Days, though, physical intimacy does little to clarify what the characters feel. Tomasz Klimala's screenplay, adapted from Blanka Lipińska's novel, gives the relationship too little care. Białowąs and Mandes never find convincing behaviour to support its central proposition. The awkward performances matter more than the polish of the sex scenes, because we need to believe in these people when they speak as well as when they undress.
She continued with Mandes on 365 Days: This Day (2022) and The Next 365 Days (2022), completing the trilogy. That sustained partnership matters when judging her: the first film's choices are shared, and its failures cannot sensibly be assigned to one director alone. Nor does one poor film settle the value of the documentaries or the earlier feature. Do not choose 365 Days for a romantic evening.
Biography
Barbara Białowąs is a Polish film director and screenwriter. She was born on 20 August 1978 in Opole and studied cultural studies with a film specialisation, followed by film directing, at the University of Silesia in Katowice.
She began her career with short films and documentaries in the mid-2000s, including Landryneczka (2005) and the documentary Moskiewska żona (2005). Her feature debut was Big Love (2012). She is president of the Association of Female Filmmakers.
Białowąs is best known for co-directing the erotic drama trilogy adapted from novels by Blanka Lipińska: 365 Days (2020), 365 Days: This Day (2022) and The Next 365 Days (2022), all made with Tomasz Mandes.
