A sibling rivalry and a random act of savagery provide the backdrop for Polish director Greg Zglinski to explore primal themes of cowardice, guilt and redemption in Courage, a modern-day take on the story of Cain and Abel employing two of Polish cinema’s hardest-working male stars.
Robert Wieckiewicz is Fred, a rough, unschooled sort who manages his ailing father’s internet empire in a quiet suburb of Lodz and resents his college-educated younger brother, Jurek (Lukasz Simlat). Feeling that he has pulled more than his fair share of parental-care duty, Fred also feels bitter about Jurek’s two hyperactive kids, since he hasn’t been able to have a child with his hairdresser wife, Viola (Gabriela Muskala).
As the antagonistic siblings take the train to town, a gang of hooligans boards and harasses a young woman (Karolina Kominek). Although Fred tells Jurek not to get involved, the younger man tries to intervene and is beaten for his troubles. Slow to react and hesitant in the face of the youths’ violence, Fred fails to save his brother from an even worse fate. - Alissa Simon, Variety
