Le cinéma polonais, de l'après-guerre à Solidarnosc Retrospectives 2003

The Constant

Constans

Krzysztof Zanussi

Poland

1980 Fiction 1h38

Witold is the son of a mountaineer who died while climbing the Himalayas. Like his father, he has the same passion for mountain climbing. Obsessed by unwritten rules and laws, he studies mathematics in order to illuminate the mysteries of probability and discovers that there are certain eternal values, or constants...

With : Tadeusz Bradecki, Zofia Mrozowska
Screenplay : Krzysztof Zanussi
Image : Slawomir Idziak
Music : Wojciech Kilar

Production : Ensemble Tor
Distribution: Tor Films, Film Polski

Before the establishment of martial law in December 1981, Zanussi managed to finish and distribute The Constant, the culmination of the sort of series that began with Illumination. "Variation and the unforeseen are always present. A scientific man by profession and intellectual by temperament, Zanussi gives in to mystery. And the artist that he is wants as well to show that there exists an other constant than God, or at least one that is simultaneous to God, which is death. At the time the film was released (1980), the metaphysical aspects of the film were overshadowed by the social and political climate. The prize for best director at the Cannes Film Festival allowed Zanussi to be officially recognised" (T. Sobolewski).