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Szamanka
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Wikipedia article
'Szamanka' is a 1996 erotic drama film directed by Andrzej uawski and adapted from a screenplay by Manuela Gretkowska. The film, which was controversial upon its release in Poland, follows the obsessive relationship between an anthropology professor and a strange young woman only known as the "Italian". The title is the feminine form of the word "shaman" in Polish.
Plot
In Warsaw, a student only known as "the Italian" (Polish: 'Woszka'), played by :pl:Iwona Petry, is on the search for an apartment. The Italian, a beautiful and free spirit, is originally from the countryside. During her search, she meets anthropology professor Micha (Bogusaw Linda), who agrees to rent to her an apartment that was occupied by his brother. The business is concluded by a violent sex scene between the two in the empty apartment.
Micha is engaged with Anna (Agnieszka Wagner), an architect and the daughter of his boss. During excavations with his students and his younger colleague Juliuz (Pawe Delg), they find the well-conserved, more than two thousand years old corpse of a shaman. In the laboratory, they study the mummified body, which is covered in mystical tattoos and is found to have a pouch of hallucinogenic mushrooms. They try to determine the cause of the shaman's death, which does not seem to be natural since the back of his skull has been crushed. They speculate the act was perhaps done to release his spirit after death.
Micha's life is turned upside down by the discovery of the shaman's body and his increasingly obsessive love affair with the Italian. He breaks up with his fiance Anna and his friends. He tries to tame the Italian, but she resists his attempts at domination. In the laboratory, the researchers consume the shaman's mushrooms, and in a delirium attempt to bring him back to life. In a moment of illumination, Micha speaks with the spirit of the shaman who reveals that he was killed by a woman who wanted to capture his magic power.
Micha, who now regards himself as free and lucid, breaks up with the Italian. She bludgeons him to death, crushing the back of his skull, like the shaman's, and she eats his brain.
Production
The screenplay had been written by Manuela Gretkowska, a Polish writer and feminist. The screenplay had initially been rejected by Polish Television due to its "controversial" content. The production was then financed by 'Canal + Polska', 'Visa Films', the French 'Compagnie des Films', and several private investors.
Actor Iwona Petry was chosen by Director uawski after he met her accidentally in a caf in Warsaw. Petry was at the time a sociology student, with no previous acting experience. Although there were rumors in the Polish press that uawski used voodoo to improve the performance of Petry, she was in fact trained by French coach Harmel Sbraire, who had previously worked with Juliette Binoche. Bogusaw Linda was chosen for the role of Micha because of his star status in Poland. uawski and Linda had a difficult relationship on the set and the two were even bitterly commenting on each other in the Polish press. Nevertheless, after completion of the film uawski called Linda a "charismatic actor".
The soundtrack was written by composer Andrzej Korzyski, who had also written the soundtrack for uawski's previous films
'Possession', 'The Silver Globe', and 'My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days'. It is an electronic score and relies on two main themes. The first main theme, 'Szamanka', is used primarily in mood transition scenes. The second main theme, 'Zdrowas Mario', is used first in the sex scene between the "Italian" and Micha.
The film was shot in Warsaw and Krakw. In Warsaw, shooting took place at the Warszawa Centralna railway station, in the Praga Pnoc district, and in the main administration building of the Polish railway PKP. In Krakw, the film was shot at the Central Station and the University of Science and Technology.
Responses
The film generated some controversy in Poland due to its explicit depiction of sex and its criticism of traditional morality and Catholicism. Due to its scandalous nature, it was nicknamed "Last Tango in Warsaw" by Polish critics. Polish authorities permitted only a limited release, allowing just two late screenings a day in select theaters. In Poland, the film sold about 400,000 tickets. In France, the film had a limited theatrical release and sold 11,150 tickets.
'Szamanka' was also screened at the 53rd Venice International Film Festival.
'Variety' wrote that the picture "may please rebellious youth at home and the voyeur crowd abroad, but few others will sit through this overlong study of straining faces, quivering limbs and random violence, whose larger message somehow gets lost as the number of sex scenes reaches double digits."
See also
* Cinema of Poland
* List of Polish language films
References
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