In the broken industrial heartland of Poland, a mother and son long to be reunited after the father takes the son to an orphanage fearing for his safety.

Young Artur and his mother have an especially close bond, compensating in their own way for a life without hope and without the father; he returns unexpectedly and takes Artur to an orphanage without the knowledge of the mother. The harsh realities of the orphanage and fear are overcome by the comfort that his mother will soon come and take him away from this place. Meanwhile Marie (the Mother) left in her world full of demons fulled by alcohol and drugs tries to come to terms with the loss of Artur; Placed in a woman's refuge for her own safety she lives in the hope that she will someday be with Artur again if she can only sort out her destructive, abusive behavior. Their reunion turns into a test of humanity and hope which pushes the mother son relationship to the limits as their reunion is brought to a premature end. A mesmerizing human thriller set against the broken industrial heartland of southern Poland.—Lee Mackintosh Jones