Grief, romance, and poignant rediscovery in 'The Property'

Movies about Jews returning to Eastern Europe to try to reclaim property or reconnect with their roots have now become a mini-genre. First, there was Treasure with Lena Dunham and Stephen Fry, which looked at a father-daughter trip to Poland a couple of decades ago; and now, opening in theaters around Israel on December 5, we have Dana Modan’s The Property, about a granddaughter and her grandmother making the trek back to Warsaw almost 20 years ago.

Still to come are Jesse Eisenberg’s A Real Pain, about two cousins, played by him and Kieran Culkin, who also head for Warsaw to honor the memory of their grandmother, and Adir Miller’s The Ring, about a father who takes his daughter to Hungary to reclaim a piece of jewelry. 

Why these movies are all coming out now, at a moment when antisemitism is on the rise all around the world, is an interesting question. 

All these movies had to be in the pipeline already when the war with Hamas and Hezbollah started over a year ago, and it’s hard to imagine just what triggered the interest right now, both abroad and in Israel. In any case, the whole issue of Jews returning to Eastern Europe is interesting, and the quirky The Property makes a valuable contribution to this subgenre. 

Many readers will instantly recognize The Property as an adaption of an acclaimed graphic novel by Rutu Modan, Dana’s sister. 

Plot of the film

At the film’s center are two women coping with shared grief: Regina (Rivka Michaeli), who fled Poland and settled in Israel years ago, and her granddaughter, Mika (Sharon Strimban), a young woman at loose ends, both of whom are mourning the loss of Regina’s son, who was Mika’s father. 

The ostensible purpose of the trip is for Regina to get back her family property in Warsaw. Now that the Cold War is over, there is hope that nationalized property can be returned. But the trip stirs up deep and conflicting emotions in Regina. As soon as they arrive, she infuriatingly insists that the trip was a mistake and that she wants to go home. At first, she won’t even leave their hotel room, but when Mika goes out on her own, Regina heads off into the city, and we begin to understand that her torment is about much more than an apartment. 

Unexpectedly, in the middle of wintry Warsaw, romance, both new and old, blooms for both women. Mika meets a young, handsome tour guide (Piotr Pacek) – all the tour guides in these four movies are extraordinarily helpful and appealing – who writes graphic novels, and soon they are spending time together that doesn’t involve looking at monuments. Regina reconnects with a friend from her youth, Roman (Andrzej Seweryn), and it becomes apparent to Mika that Roman may hold the key both to her grandmother’s heart and their property. 

What this charming movie makes clear is that so often, when people look deeply into their past, the reality is much more complicated than they remember. 

This aspect of The Property is reminiscent of Avi Nesher’s 2016 film, Past Life, where two sisters go to Poland to try to learn about their father’s wartime experiences and discover a very human story that played out alongside the Holocaust. 

The Property paints a portrait of a changing Poland following the fall of the Berlin Wall. Mika understandably dreams that there may be a family fortune hidden away there, as she begins working with a detective who may be able to help. But she finds out that her grandmother’s story is about much more than money. 

The two lead actresses are perfectly cast and do exceptional work. Michaeli, who is best known for comedy, is simply great as a woman who hasn’t gotten more rational or less demanding with age, but who retains her dignity and style. Strimban, who was in the movies All I Can Do and the TV series, Six Zeros, is the perfect low-key foil, an independent 21st-century young woman who taught krav maga (self defense) in the army but who yearns for love, even if she can’t admit it to herself.

Dana Modan is an actress and writer who created and starred in the series Significant Other, about a married couple working on their relationship, and she captures the way family members bicker with each other really well. 

The Property often veers off into directions you most likely won’t expect and there are no easy answers or clear villains in the way it plays out. Family history, with all its messiness and secrets, is front and center and Jewish history is the backdrop in this offbeat comedy/dramedy.