One chess game. 28 minutes. Your entire existence questioned.
Short TV film upon the story of Ludwik Niemojski of the same title, which was a part of his "Incredible Stories". It tells about Bartolomeo, brilliant chess player, who had ruined his private life because of his passion for chess.
Acting
Łapicki's unraveling—chess genius as psychological horror show.
Direction
Zakrzewski's claustrophobic staging turns a game into cosmic struggle.
Director
Andrzej Zakrzewski
Andrzej Łapicki
Bartolomeo
Jan Kreczmar
Englishman
Kazimierz Rudzki
Author
Mieczysław Czechowicz
James
Bogumił Kobiela
Artist
Ewa Wiśniewska
Angelica
Wojciech Rajewski
Jacobo
Ryszard Barycz
Bartolomeo's Friend
Leonard Andrzejewski
Sailor (uncredited)
Hanna Giza
Woman in Angelika's House (uncredited)
Tadeusz Kosudarski
obserwujący grę Jacoba z ojcem Angeliki (uncredited)
Andrzej Krasicki
Sir Edward (uncredited)
Konrad Morawski
Chess Demonstration Guest (uncredited)
Czesław Mroczek
Chess Demonstration Guest (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Part of Polish TV's 'Incredible Stories' anthology—communist-era surrealism smuggled through genre packaging.
Niemojski's original story channels Kafka through a chessboard; the adaptation keeps the paranoia but adds visual metaphor that 1967 Polish television had no budget for, yet somehow achieves.
PL
