"Ida is a novitiate - a nun in training - and has spent the majority of her life within the convent where she was raised as an orphan. She is innocent of wordly affairs, ideally suited for the life-long committment she is about to make. Before that can happen, however, she is given the task of visiting Wanda - her aunt, and last living relative - to learn the truth about her past, and a secret that could have significant ramifications for her future. What follows is a road trip-cum-metaphor, wherein the past proves ever present, and the soul of a nation wrestles with an identity laced with guilt.
"Upon their first meeting, the two women are shown to be a study in contrasts, each representing one side of an existential divide. Ida is the avatar of the spiritual; devoted to her faith and a belief in a divine and loving grace. Wanda, a former judge, is the embodiment of the secular; a former idealist who faith in a system of just governance has been ground down by years of harsh realities.
"In the early stages of their journey, it is Wanda that controls the agenda, pursuing the past through a series of aggressive 'interrogations' of subjects reluctant to open old wounds, or re-experience the discomfort of guilt. In between stops, she drinks like a fish, smokes like a chimney, and needles Ida over her impending 'sacrifice' to a set of vows that would hide her from the world, rather than demand she pick a side and play the game. Ida bears most of this in silence, allowing Wanda to vent her frustrations like a psychologist patiently waiting for the truth to emerge. And, before too long, we, too, begin to realize that underneath Wanda's aggression and near-masochistic hedonism, lies a deep and ragged psychic wound.
"It is here that the power dynamic begins to shift. Ida becomes increasingly curious about the world she has entered, and begins to insert herself more directly into her surroundings. As the revelations pile up, Wanda's once indomitable will begins to fracture and wane, and it is Ida's spiritual solidity that steps in to gently guide them both to their final destination.
"But the story doesn't end there. The past is always with us, you see - history is, after all, a collection of moments we experience forever. For Wanda and Ida, history has given each exactly the thing they needed most. For Wanda, the truth is a final chapter; closure to a lifetime of pain and regret. For Ida, it is an empty page; an invitation to embrace a gift given in a moment of mercy and shame. The only question remaining: 'Will she accept?'" ~ Donald G. Carder
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