Iwona Petry in Andrzej Zulawski's "Szamanka" [1996 Poland]

Andrzej Zulawski raked up controversy (again) through one of his later works back in Poland, in the dark psycho-sexual drama "Szamanka" [Eng. Trans: Female-Shaman]. Sometimes you wonder what makes a director pick up disturbing material to work with, especially if he doesn't come across as a tormented soul - I mean, you don't expect him to be if he'd just fathered a child with someone like Sophie Marceau, his long-term partner. To call this film 'intense' is a bit of an understatement - it is a vigorously fetishistic treatment of a dark fantasy - of primeval mysticism, lust, and possessiveness.

Storyline:
Michal, a university anthropologist meets a mine-engineering student looking for a place to rent - he's subletting his brother's apartment - and they have casual sex within an hour of meeting. They already have partners, but this encounter would become an obsessive habit and upset the apple cart. Michal and his team have unearthed a perfectly preserved bronze age shaman, he is fascinated by it and spends a lot of time understanding the way the shaman met his end - apparently it was voluntary. Michal sees in his lover (she isn't given a name - people call her 'the Italian' because she worked in an Italian restaurant) traits of a female-shaman and develops a growing fascination with her, more specifically her sex - he implies on more than one occasion that she's nothing but sex on legs, yearning to be satiated, by him. He moves in to her apartment but one day realises she will be his death. By drawing parallels between Michal's twin-obsessions - his work and the girl, Zulawski is trying to define wilful self-destruction, the same way the mummified shaman must have met his end.

The film makes no apologies for its depiction of erotic scenes - in fact it revels in it. But at the same time, it technically manages to stay within the confines of mainstream acceptance. A lot of what's going on is implied, but enough to raise a few eyebrows. Several techniques from his earlier films like "Possession" and "Le Femme Publique" are also applied here, to varying degree of success. There is also this intense chemistry between the lead actors that is not often seen in his earlier films, they're completely comfortable in each other's presence, which helps deepen their characters' intimacy. This is another 'marmite-like' confrontational and unforgettable film from the Polish master of controversy. It is a disturbing yet incredibly intimate portrait of an obsessive and erotically charged relationship, and therefore, Recommended Viewing..!

However this DVD is hard to come by, and the ones available are letterboxed and not exactly cheap. But if like me you can't wait for a remastered anamorphic release, you may check one out here:
ebay DVD Link




Compilation: Iwona Petry and Agnieszka Wagner
Despite my efforts, at over 26 mins this must possibly the longest compilation I've made here so far. Several blog-related scenes have not been included and this is just a sampler of the almost 2-hour long film. Some of the sex scenes become tediously repetitive unless you like to see Ms Petry's overzealous depiction of orgasmic spasms. Some of the scenes need no descriptions as they're plainly visual.



Scene Guide:

• The first encounter - Michal points out to 'the girl' how wet she already is and decides to do something about it. The girl is played by the ravishing Polish beauty, Iwona Petry. They both admit later to be already engaged.
• The girl with her boyfriend, who tries all kinds of ways to satisfy her. He fails again, and after they're disturbed by some nuns, she leaves him for good as he can no longer afford to subsidise her.
• The rest of the scenes are fairly visual and require no further explanation.
• Prepositioned by a man at the cafe, the girl flashes at him and walks off, not realising the poor fella is disabled.
• Funny scene as she answers the door bottomless - she was shaving her nether regions so that Michal could look at her with equal fascination as the hairless mummy he's obsessed with - only to see it is an admirer from college who's come asking for a date. She tells him she has a boyfriend and that she's shaving her vagina as it was getting all prickly while having sex. The love-struck guy leaves broken-hearted.
• This time she goes to his flat to make him happy because he had been in love with her (and to get back on Michal for allowing his brother's gay friend to have fun with her).
• Michal's girlfriend Anna tries to win him back, and it almost works. Anna is played by the beautiful Agnieszka Wagner.

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Iwona Bielska & Grazyna Dylag in "Na Srebrnym Globie" [1976-1987 Poland]

Andrzej Zulawski had to halt production on his sci-fi epic, "Na Srebrnym Globie" [Eng. Title: On the Silver Globe] due to objection from Polish authorities - they had also destroyed the sets and any material they could lay their hands on. The film never actually got completed - but was nevertheless released a decade later in 1987, as winds of change swept across the Eastern Block. The screenplay for roughly a fifth of the film had never been filmed, which is instead narrated by Zulawski himself using some roving outdoor footage of modern-day Poland.

Storyline:
A group of humans crash-land at a habitable planet they were heading for, and some of the crew die in the process. The survivors - three men and a woman, with no way of communicating with their space stations let alone harbouring thoughts of returning to earth, decide to stay put and foster their own new civilisation. They take turns bearing children through the lone woman to increase the population, but notice the newly born age significantly faster than themselves, and within a matter of years, they had already fathered several generations, which hints at widespread incest. The children are puzzled as to why their parents don't die - and begin to perceive them as Gods, and a new religion is formed, later to even branch out into several sects.
Despite the fact that the 'elders' never acknowledge their 'divinity', they could do very little to persuade and change the course of events. Some later day humans also arrive at the planet and find a tribal population, and learn that some women are captured and forced to interbreed with a conquering bird-like species who communicate telepathically. The 'Sherns' treat humans as inferior, and the half-breeds called Morques are used as drones to attack humans and kidnap more women.

Based on a novel written by Zulawski's own uncle some sixty years earlier, it explores in anthropological detail a different take on human evolution, religion, and civilisation itself. It is a film of its time, and in many ways resonates with the works of directors like Alejandro Jodorowsky and Federico Fellini, more so the former in its audacity and confrontational nature. Unfortunately the English subtitles are sometimes confusing and you'd have to rewind to try and make sense of some of the dialogues. But while there are instances of genuine insight, some of the ramblings appear to be of someone totally confused. But whatever it is, it is a magnificent piece of visual art - particular care had been taken with the cinematography and lighting to project this 'alien' world. This is not a low-budget production - a lot of effort had been put into the production design, make-up, and art direction - for e.g., even the fire in the planet is deemed to be of a different colour - and why not. The film is also a visual feast with highly stylised characters, stunning scenery, and the magnificent costumes which would have done a Fellini or Jodorowsky proud.

Most of the scenes have been put together with surviving footage, what they could keep away from the government's hands - they had to be stashed away in studio staff and lab technician's homes. As a result of this some scenes have jump cuts, sometimes with just a single word of dialogue in a segment patched with another to make a coherent sentence. And it is partly because of its incompleteness that the message it carries is far more potent than it may be otherwise. The film has been lovingly restored for posterity in the Zulawski box-set, from which the below compilation was made. For lovers of independent cinema, this will be an excellent addition to their library. Needless to say, Recommended Viewing..!
Amazon Box-Set Link




Compilation: Iwona Bielska and Grazyna Dylag
The Gothic-style scenes are dark but rich in detail - the caps and graphic actually don't do the video quality enough justice.



Scene Guide:

• Martha, one of the survivors after her spacecraft crash-lands, is given the responsibility to procreate. Martha is played by Polish actress Iwona Bielska.
• Many years later, the High Priest's daughter Ihezal submits to a visiting astronaut - she perceives him as a messiah who'd arrive, as foreseen in their scriptures. Ihezal is played by Grazyna Dylag.
• Some additional surreal scenes of Ihezal, first where a ritualistic orgy is in progress, and later with the earthling-lover who she deifies. Towards the end we see her with one of the bird-like aliens.

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Malgorzata Braunek & co in Andrej Zulawski's "Diabel" [1972, Poland]

I'll start Andrzej Zulawski's filmography with one of his early (and rare) films, "Diabel" [Eng. title: Devil]. This is not my favourite Zulawski film - his next feature, "L'important c'est d'aimer" certainly is. But there's a surreal quality to this otherwise shocking film - Andrzej Zulawski is no stranger to controversy, but even by his standards it is shocking. It was promptly banned in Poland and remained so until the fall of communism - even if the film is set in the 18th century, its message is allegorical and could relate to any corrupt and cruel regime.

Cruel too is the film - depicting mindless acts of violence, debauchery, and pain. It is also highly stylised, reminiscent of Alejandro Jodorowsky's "El Topo", and the costumes and make-up as outlandish as Federico Fellini's "Satyricon". Some of the dialogues come out absolute bonkers through the subtitles - I'm not sure if they'd have been any more intelligible for a Polish audience. The film nevertheless is a fascinating piece of cinema - the images are vivid and some of the scenes will stick with you long after you've put the DVD away. But I don't think I'll be watching this again any time soon - life's depressing as it is! The compilation below is from the DVD in my Zulawski Box-set - it is not remastered - and the quality is only so so. However, if you're looking for something challenging, confrontational, and outrageous, "Diabel" is definitely Recommended Viewing.

DVD Order Link [PAL]




Storyline:
A man clad in black (the Devil?) makes use of the chaos when Poland is invaded by Prussia, to free political prisoner Jakub, a young nobleman and dissident of the monarchy. The man seems to know everything about Jakub, his family and friends, and persuades him to return home. He also kidnaps one of the prison nuns and forces her to accompany Jakub, who returns home only to discover his father'd just killed himself, his fiancée is now married to his best friend - she's also pregnant by God-knows-who, his mother had been a whore since running away from home when he was little, and his sister is a nymphomaniac, 'engaged' to a half-brother none of them knew they had. We see Jakub growing insane as he watches his life crumble - who wouldn't, and it is the sinister man in black who seems to appear out of nowhere to show Jakub these awful truths. He definitely seems to have a hidden agenda...




Compilation: Malgorzata Braunek, Hanna Parzonka, Iga Mayr, and Bozena Miefiodow
Some of the nude scenes are not particularly pleasant - view at your own discretion.



Scene Guide:

• Brief nudity - Jakub is shown his newly wed fiancée's bedroom, while she's with her husband - his hitherto best friend. We soon realise that she isn't interested at all in having sex with her husband. The fiancée is played by Malgorzata Braunek.
• Jakub's sister is pleased to see him, but she's also changed, and is being abused by her half-brother, no one knew of his existence until he showed up with their mother recently - the mother had fled home when Jakub was young. The sister is played by Hanna Parzonka.
• Jakub visits her mother in the brothel. When he asks for her, she doesn't recognise him and presumes he's one of those young clients who fancy older women - he finally manages to stop her. The mother is boldly played by Igar Mayr.
• A Turkish performer at a travelling circus entices Jakub, and just when they get going, they're are interrupted by her boyfriend (also from the circus) - but Jakub has by now started to perceive things differently, and kills them both. The Turkish woman is played by Bozena Miefiodow.
• Unidentified nudes - it's the mother's turn to get her throat slashed this time, while this bizarre family are spectators at an orgy of sorts.
• Another brief scene of the sister (with more signs of abuse), and Jakub has now had enough...

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