FEBRUARY 24 • 2022 | 49
I
n the World War II romance and musical
I’ll Find You, love conquers all.
Set for theatrical release on Feb. 25,
the 1-hour and 56-minute film — inspired
by the true stories of musicians in 1930s
and 1940s Poland — offers a heartwarm-
ing twist on the classic Romeo and Juliet
story, this time set in the midst of war-torn
Europe.
Since childhood, Catholic opera singer
Robert Pulaski (Leo Suter) and Jewish
violinist Rachel Rubin (Adelaide Clemens)
have been inseparable. The film, directed
by Martha Coolidge and filmed in Krakow
and Lodz, opens just before the 1939 Nazi
invasion of Poland.
We begin the film by learning about the
ever-evolving story of Pulaski and Rubin.
Pulaski, absent for two years following an
awkward kiss with Rubin where he pro-
fesses his love to her, finally returns home.
Yet he finds Rubin moved on with her life,
engaged to a Jewish man, David Rosenfeld,
until Pulaski’s unexpected visit changes
plans — and Rubin’s feelings.
Jumping back in time, I’ll Find You trav-
els to the childhood years of Pulaski and
Rubin, when they first meet watching a
street performer put on a show with a bear.
Rubin, fiery and opinionated, tells Pulaski
how awful it is that a bear should perform
like that, while Pulaski argues that the bear
could have a much worse fate — he could
have been hunted instead.
Pulaski then heads to music school,
where he is a new student. Unsurprisingly,
Rubin walks through the door, enrolled in
the same class as Pulaski. Immediately, the
two are at odds. Rubin, who excels at violin,
overshadows Pulaski, who at the time hasn’t
truly found his calling in music. Pulaski
complains to his father that he wants to quit
music but continues anyway.
At the school, the music students practice
in a secret room, hidden behind a bookcase
and unlockable with a key nestled inside a
book on Chopin. Later, this room would
come to serve a much more important pur-
pose; but for now, it’s where Pulaski finally
begins to drop his defense.
Performing at a Christmas event, Pulaski
finally draws up the courage to apologize to
Rubin, who accepts the gesture. At the same
event, Pulaski sings and stuns the room
with his incredible opera voice, a voice that
he didn’t realize he had. Pulaski’s true musi-
cal talent is finally revealed, putting him
in the same ranks as Rubin as he embraces
opera singing.
Growing up, the two dream of perform-
ing together at the legendary Carnegie Hall
in New York City. Yet as the film fast-for-
wards to the present, when they’re once
again adults, their dreams are put on hold
as news of an imminent German invasion
takes hold of Poland.
ESCAPING POLAND
Realizing time is limited and growing closer
to Rubin following his return, Pulaski tells
her she shouldn’t marry Rosenfeld, that he’s
not right for her. As both families plan their
PHOTOS BY JAROSLAW SOSISNSKI
In war-torn Europe, one man
stops at nothing to save
the love of his life.
I’ll Find You
ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER
ARTS&LIFE
FILM REVIEW
Connie Nielsen as Lena
Moser-Drabowska in I’ll
Find You.
Stellan
Scarsgard
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