★★★½ (3½ out of 4)
In Paweł Pawlikowski’s exquisitely observed and acted “Fatherland,” Poland’s entry in the Oscar race for Best International Film, calibrates the smallest gestures to find meaning and provocation in what isn’t said. A few friends of mine have found this new incendiary device from Pawlikowski to be off-puttingly cold and calculated, even at a scant 82 minutes. I can see their point, if you just give “Fatherland” a surface read. Look deeper, and you will likely be pulled up short by the flesh-and-blood emotions roiling underneath.