Extras review

This mediocre romantic comedy sees a Chinese film crew setting out their stall in a sleepy Polish town, where they’re on the lookout for gloomy-faced locals to serve as background players in a doomed love story entitled Sad Wind In The Reeds. Director Michael Kwiecinski and writer Jarsoslaw Sokol show only marginal interest in the Oriental characters, focusing instead on the off-screen emotional predicaments of the extras: Bozena (Kinga Preis) has to deal with the return of former boyfriend Roman (Bartosz Opania); a middle-aged widow still grieves for her dead husband; and a shy young woman is drawn to an equally timid man. Despite affecting moments – like a rueful Roman revealing why he abandoned Bozena years earlier – this is slight, trite and outstays its welcome. Where’s Ricky Gervais when you need him?