The Revenge (film)

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Zemsta
Directed by Andrzej Wajda
Produced by ArkaFilm, Kredyt Bank, Telewizja Polska, Vision
Starring Roman Polanski
Janusz Gajos
Andrzej Seweryn
Katarzyna Figura
Daniel Olbrychski
Distributed by MGE
Release date(s) 2002
Running time 105 min
Language Polish
IMDb profile

The Revenge is the English title for Zemsta, a film released in 2002, directed by Andrzej Wajda.

This film is based on a perennially popular stage farce by the great Polish playwright and poet Aleksander Fredro. Raptusiewicz (Janusz Gajos) resides in one half of a castle with the other half inhabited by his hated rival Regent Milczek (Andrzej Seweryn). Raptusiewicz wishes to marry Podstolina (Katarzyna Figura), the widow of the Lord High Steward, for her money, while Podstolina herself seeks a wealthy match. Regent Milczek's wish, on the other hand, is to bring about the union of his son Waclaw (Rafał Królikowski) with Podstolina. To complicate matters more, Waclaw is in love with Klara (Agata Buzek) - ward and niece of Raptusiewicz, who took her in following the death of her parents - and the feeling is mutual. The plot thickens when Klara turns into Papkin's (Roman Polanski) declared object of love.

Written in a sharp, ironic style, The Revenge portrays those national characteristics that in time brought on many of Poland's national tragedies. Written for the stage, Wajda has changed very little and transferred practically the entirety of the work to the screen.

Contents

[edit] The Play

Real events inspired Fredro to write the play. In November of 1828, Fredro married Zofia Skotnicka, whose dowry included the title to half of a castle located in Odrzykon in the province of Galicia. In 1829, when looking through the archives of the castle, he happened on court records related to a dispute dating from the 17th century between the owners of the castle's two halves - Jan Skotnicki and Piotr Firlej. The conflict was long and relentless. It ended after more than thirty years with the marriage of Firlej's son to Zofia Skotnicka, an end similar to that adopted by Fredro in his play.

[edit] Trivia

  • The original story took place in Kamieniec castle, which is currently located in Odrzykoń [[1]], while the movie was filmed in Ogrodzieniec castle, located in Silesia province, Poland.
  • The plot bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the main subplots (two families feuding over a piece of property, which is resolved by the marriage of the two young heirs) of the Polish epic poem Pan Tadeusz, which also débuted in 1834.

[edit] Cast

[edit] See also

[edit] External links


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