Scrap

This sober but searing examination of the life of a reject from Poland's post-Communist new dawn draws on an expressive use of dour industrial landscape and well-integrated music. Paszek is the injured steelworker forced into penury, who sets about fixing his battered car with the help of a fellow hostel dweller, the aged, alcoholic Garda. Generosity and plain insight lift the film out of miserablism, and the focus is on credible characters and emotions. Bleak but affecting, with a confident integration of professional and non-professional players.