Describing the dramedy as “a love letter to Poland,” the 40-year-old American-Polish director/actor introduced the trailer in a YouTube video, saying: “Hi Poland. This is Jesse Eisenberg. I am so excited to share the trailer for my new movie A Real Pain with you.”

Filmed entirely in Poland, the road-movie tells the story of two mismatched Jewish cousins—David (played by Eisenberg) and Benji (played by Culkin)—who travel across the country in search of the pre-Holocaust life of their recently deceased grandmother.

Inspired by Eisenberg’s own 2007 backpacking trip and his own family history, the road trip sees the pair visit Warsaw, Łódż, Krasnystaw, and Lublin, during which they uncover previously unknown places and facts about their ancestors as well as about their own strained relationship.

They also visit the harrowing site of the former Nazi death camp Majdanek, leading them to question their own private pains compared to the suffering of the camp’s victims.

Since its premiere at the 2024 Sundance Festival in January, the film has been named by critics as “one of the best Sundance movies ever,” with acclaimed review site Rotten Tomatoes describing it as “a powerfully funny, emotionally resonant dramedy that finds writer-director-star Jesse Eisenberg playing to his strengths on either side of the camera.”

In May of this year, Eisenberg revealed that after making the film, he applied for Polish citizenship. He told the Głos Wielkopolski newspaper he had applied for it in August 2023 and was “waiting for the final signature.”

He said: “My family is from the southeast, from Krasnystaw, my wife’s [Anna Strout] family is from Łódź. We wanted to have a greater connection to Poland. I would like to work here more.

“Growing up, I’ve heard stories of the Polish relationship with my Jewish family, and all the stories were great: we were best friends with the Poles.

“My family lived in Krasnystaw up until the war, one person survived the war and moved to Szczecin. Unfortunately, she passed away from COVID, so it was quite recent.”

According to Rollingstone.com, the premiere of ‘A Real Pain’ is scheduled for October 18.