Tricks

A fatherless boy tries to tempt fate in Tricks, a pitch-perfect portrait of working-class life in a Polish provincial town – and of growing up as the much younger brother of an adored older sister. The charming, bittersweet narrative unfolds from the point of view of siblings Stefek, 6, and Elka, 18, and Elka's car mechanic boyfriend Jerzy during a sun-drenched summer. Stefek's worldview is shaped by Elka's constant bargaining with destiny, which she attempts to shape in slyly practical, semi-magical ways. Acknowledging, "she knows tricks," the boy experiments on his own. One day, Stefek notices a commuter changing trains who reminds him of his absent father. He structures a risky game with fortune, designed to make the man remain in town and reach his mother's shop. (Accent Film Entertainment)