What if becoming your hero meant losing yourself completely?
In 1969 a young writer decides to write an essay on a well known Polish writer, who had to leave the country in the 50's, later living, working and dying in exile. He slowly assembles the character and even the exterior appearances of his idol until his own identity tragically disappears.
Acting
Pieczyński's disturbing physical transformation
Direction
Falk's claustrophobic descent into obsession
Cinematography
Muted palette mirroring identity dissolution
Director
Feliks Falk
Krzysztof Pieczyński
Tomasz Sołtan
Ewa Żukowska
Ilona Iwicka
Jerzy Kamas
Karol 'Olo' Panasiuk
Tadeusz Huk
Witek, przyjaciel Kortona
Witold Dębicki
Maniek, przyjaciel Kortona
Jerzy Wasiuczyński
Żabicki, przyjaciel Kortona
Janusz Gajos
Józef Winiecki, redaktor naczelny
Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
cenzor
Krzysztof Zaleski
Grobny
Ernestyna Winnicka
kobieta w tv
Katarzyna Walter
dziewczyna Sołtana
Piotr Machalica
właściciel pokoju wynajmowanego przez Sołtana
Jerzy Fedorowicz
członek redakcji
Ryszard Sobolewski
redaktor wydawnictwa
Grzegorz Warchoł
asystent reżysera
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Poland's communist era, the film subtly critiques how state censorship forced writers into exile and internal exile. Falk uses the personal obsession to mirror national identity fractures.
Pieczyński reportedly spent weeks studying footage of the real writer's mannerisms, then refused to break character on set—method acting that disturbed the actual crew.
PL
