Persona non grata (2005)
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | persona non grata |
| Country of production | Poland , Russia , Italy |
| original language | Polish , Russian , English , Spanish |
| Publishing year | 2005 |
| length | 113 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Krzysztof Zanussi |
| script | Krzysztof Zanussi |
| production | Iwona Ziułkowska-Okapiec |
| music | Wojciech Kilar |
| camera | Edward Kłosiński |
| cut | Wanda Zeman |
| occupation | |
| |
Persona non grata is a Polish feature film from 2005.
action
Wiktor Leszczyński is the Polish ambassador to Uruguay . His wife Helena had left Montevideo because she was suffering from high blood pressure . In Warsaw , she dies unexpectedly of a stroke . Viktor has them cremated. At the funeral ceremony he meets his old Russian friend Oleg. Oleg began his diplomatic career for the Soviet Union in Poland over 20 years ago , while Wiktor worked underground for the opposition. The friendship between Viktor and Oleg is strained by two suspicions from Viktor. Viktor is convinced that Oleg had an affair with his wife Helena and at the same time spied on the Polish opposition for the Soviet Union. After Helena's death, Wiktor hopes that Oleg will tell him the truth about it. However, Oleg leaves him in the dark.
After the funeral, Wiktor returned to his post in Montevideo. Emotionally burdened by the death of his wife, he finds it difficult to find his way around again. Only his German shepherd Hippolytus has remained. The loneliness is only broken when the young consul Waldemar arrives with his Russian wife Oxana. They move into the guest rooms of the ambassador's residence and Oxana reminds Wiktor of his Helena.
The focus of the diplomatic work is on the conclusion of a contract for the sale of helicopters to the Uruguayan military . Competitors of the Poles are the Russians, who send Oleg to Uruguay as Deputy Foreign Minister. The Polish Deputy Foreign Minister is also arriving. During this time, Viktor suspects that the Polish embassy has been infiltrated by a Russian spy. The Russian delegation appears to be able to conclude the contract successfully. Wiktor takes his friend Alfredo into his trust. Alfredo is an Italian consul and is supposed to use his security department to find out who the spy is in the Polish embassy. Victor sets up his own little traps and now suspects Oxana of industrial espionage for the Russians. However, Oxana had only copied files out of distrust of her husband. After this suspicion, the couple leaves the residence and moves into a hotel. Waldemar informs Wiktor that the Italians have signed the contract for the sale of helicopters.
When Viktor's shepherd dog also has to be put down, Viktor finally loses his strength. He retires for the night and his wife Helena appears to him. The next morning the servants found his apartment locked. Wiktor has disappeared without a trace. After a few hours, he returns to the residence barefoot in pajamas . He had taken the urn to the sea and given his wife's ashes to the wind. The worried employees greet him, but he leaves them alone and sits down at the piano in his apartment. Some time later, the staff found him lying dead on the ground.
Reviews
“In a consequent continuation of his beginnings as an advocate of a 'cinema of moral unrest', Zanussi tells of an old man who, after the death of his wife, becomes entangled in the web of suspicion and treason that has long hung over his life. The fact that the protagonist is a former dissident and now the Polish ambassador to South America gives the director the opportunity to not only hint at the intertwining of personal and political betrayal in the past and the present, but also to prophesy for the future ... It is a film who describes the disorientation of the elderly in the present as quietly and precisely as the incipient corruption of the younger ones. "
"Really bad Methuselah cinema from Poland, in which people only talk about jealousy, betrayal, religion and communism."
Awards
The film took part in the competition at the Venice International Film Festival in 2005 , but did not receive any awards. After the premiere in Venice, the film was shown at the Polish Film Festival Gdynia . Zanussi was honored with the jury award and Nikita Michalkow received the award for best supporting actor. In 2006, the film won four Polish film awards and received six other nominations. Jerzy Stuhr was honored as best supporting actor. The film received further prizes for the best editing, the best sound and Wojciech Kilar for the best film music.
Web links
- Persona non grata in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- official homepage
- Persona non grata on filmpolski.pl (Polish - with numerous photos)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated September 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated September 4, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
