
Escape From "Liberty" Cinema
BackYear of participation | 2011 |
Program | Retrospectives |
Producer(s) | Andrzej Sołtysik |
Director(s) | Wojciech Marczewski |
Script | Wojciech Marczewski |
Director of Photography | Jerzy Zieliński |
Music by | Zygmunt Konieczny |
Sound | Mariusz Kuczyński, Joanna Napieralska |
Edit | Elżbieta Kurkowska |
Cast | Janusz Gajos, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Teresa Marczewska, Piotr Fronczewski, Władysław Kowalski, Michał Bajor, Jan Peszek, Jerzy Binczycki, Artur Barciś |
Production company(-ies) | Crone Film Production A/S TV Polski Tor Film Studio |
Synopsis
The film is set just before the end of Poland's communist regime. The central character is a provincial censor, a tired, sloppy, lonely man, whose wife has long since left him. For him, censorship is both an art and a game, but he does not enjoy it. During the screening of a sentimental Polish melodrama called Daybreak at the “Liberty” cinema across from the censor's office, the actors start to rebel and refuse to speak their lines. This is anarchy, and when the censor is unable to control the situation, senior party officials are called in. Eventually a film critic notes that the situation reminds of The Purple Rose of Cairo by Woody Allen and brings a reel of the film to demonstrate. The officials watch the film with amusement until another mix-up occurs: the second projector is turned on accidentally and superimposes Daybreak over Purple Rose.
Awards
European Film Award for Zbigniew Zamachowski (1991), Grand Prix (Avoriaz IFF, 1992), Award for the Best Film and for the Best Main Role - Janusz Gajos (Burgos IFF, 1994)