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9 February 2010

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"QUO VADIS"
Feature film by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 2001
languages: Polish  / English  / French 
 

None of the hitherto film adaptations of QUO VADIS by Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916), and there were already many of them, fully reflected the richness of thought and relations between Rome in the times of Neron, the then capital of the world, and the young Christianity. Two years ago, Jerzy Kawalerowicz undertook another attempt to film this novel, awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

Jerzy Kawalerowicz is one of the most outstanding Polish and European film directors. He was born in 1920 and he realised 17 films, among others MOTHER JOAN OF THE ANGELS, THE TRAIN, THE PHARAOH, PRESIDENT'S DEATH, AUSTERIA and THE PRISONER OF EUROPE.

He speaks about his newest film this way: "I was always interested in reconstruction of old, long gone worlds and presentation in such conditions of a hero trying to solve the eternal dilemmas. The main heroes of QUO VADIS contain almost everything that can be said about human characters, and the story touches the great eternal dilemmas of power, faith, love and responsibility. The exceptional drama of battle for humanity, taking place in Sienkiewicz's novel is topical nowadays as much as it was in the times of Roman Empire. It is therefore worth asking again: Quo vadis, homo?". An optimistic moment in this tragic film is the victory of faith and love and the prediction of the oncoming of a more humanistic world.

"Great shows are the essence of cinema. It is good that we were reminded of that. The art of film can not be limited to modest TV productions. I always repeat that a TV film is only information about the film. A film should be experienced in the cinema, one should concentrate his or her whole attention to the screen. That is why the return to big shows is a good thing. Especially when just like the level of the literature decides about the level of all scriptures, the level of cinema defines the level of the audio-visual culture", said the director in the interview for "Rzeczpospolita Daily".

Screen play and direction: Jerzy Kawalerowicz, director of photography: Andrzej J. Jaroszewicz, set design: Janusz Sosnowski, costumes: Magdalena Teslawska, Pawel Graczyk, interior design: Wieslawa Chojkowska, music: Jan A. Kaczmarek, montage: Cezary Grzesiuk. Cast: Pawel Delag, Magdalena Mielcarz, Boguslaw Linda, Michal Bajor, Jerzy Trela, Franciszek Pieczka, Krzysztof Majchrzak, Rafal Kubacki, Jerzy Nowak, Teresa Marczewska, Danuta Stenka, Piotr Garlicki and others.

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