At the heart of All Our Fears is spirituality. The protagonist Daniel (Dawid Ogrodnik) is an artist, farmer, and most importantly a queer young man. He literally wears his queerness on his sleeves as his jacket proudly displays the rainbow colors. For the people of his village, he is a Satan-like figure who lures impressionable minds into his ‘queer cult’. In reality, he is a savior of young queer people who suffers from queer-related bullying and domestic violence. He suffers from within to give a voice to the voiceless. His strength also comes from his grandmother (Maria Maj) who offers him unconditional emotional support.
Tragedy strikes when Daniel’s close friend Jagoda (Agata Labno) hangs herself from a tree to escape the pain of incessant bullying by the people of her village – the people that she grew up with; the people that she saw every day. According to Daniel, her suffering was akin to that of Christ. He believes that the people of the village are responsible for her suicide and he includes himself among the wrongdoers. In a moment of inspired grief, Daniel cuts down the tree in which Jagoda hanged herself and makes a cross out of it – a symbol of suffering as well as resurrection.
Daniel decides to organize a Way of the Cross procession so that Jagoda’s soul can attain peace. Interestingly, Jagoda never believed in the concept of heaven and hell after death. According to her, all the good and the evil reside on this earth – within people.
The film is inspired by the works of the Polish gay visual artist Daniel Rycharski who has a knack for highlighting the sufferings of the queer youth through his avant-garde art. The film skillfully combines peaceful rural landscapes and the simmering tension within the handful of queer residents of the village. Similarly, Daniel’s art is easy on the eyes but more often than not it conveys a melancholic message – a clarion call for action.
The trump card of the film is that it dares to hold religion accountable for suppressing the voice of the queer community and isolating them. However, the protagonist Daniel is a devout Catholic who radically believes that religion and the queer community can co-exist if both the parties make an effort – pushing for a Utopian idea of ‘Christ’s rainbow’. Even in his lowest moments, he doesn’t give up on religion. And therein lies the inherent conflict of the film. Directors Lukasz Gutt and Lukasz Ronduda create a world inhabited by believers, non-conformists and queers, and they all find common grounds to share – fear, guilt, and possible redemption.
The final image of the film stays with you – a still image of multiple crosses with pieces of clothing wrapped around them. Each cross and a piece of clothing represent a queer individual who suffered from hatred and intolerance and ultimately decided to kill himself.
P.S. AL OUR FEARS is screening at Miami’s OUTshine Film Festival in person and online
Review by David Lagachu Queeruru Correspondent David Lagachu lives in Assam, India “I am constantly trying to find a perfect balance between academia and my love for writing about films, pop and queer culture. I consider myself a global citizen and would love to be a part of a significant history of mankind.” i@maglobalcitizen
