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

The Saragossa Manuscript

Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie

Jerzy Wojciech Has

Poland

1965 Fiction 2h05

In Zaragoza, during Napoleon's campaign in Spain, two officers from the opposing camps meet. Together, they examine an elegant manuscript, lay down their arms and begin to read. And thus we enter into a fantastic world from another time...

With : Zbigniew Cybulski, Joanna Jedryka, Iga Cembrzynska, Aleksander Fogiel, Barbara Kraftowna, Kazimierz Opalinski, Franciszek Pieczka
Screenplay : Tadeusz Kwiatkowski d'après le roman de Jan Potocki
Image : Mieczyslaw Jahoda
Editing : Marek Krol
Music : Krzysztof Penderecki

Production : Kamerafilm Unit
Distribution: Jeck Films

Jerzy Wojciech Has (1925-2000) studied painting at the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts and took a course in filmmaking. After directing numerous documentaries (1947-1950) and educational films (1951-1956), he distinguished himself as a director, along with Andrzej Wajda and Andrzej Munk. However, his films did not fit entirely into the politically engaged movements of his time. Rather, they dealt more with the metaphysical aspects of identity and the human experience. "In this work, where History serves only to provide a backdrop for the imagination, Has blends realism and fantasy, picaresque vigour and surrealistic inventiveness. He perfectly renders abundance and visionary delirium in a film where each story fits into the next, where its labyrinthine plot never ceases to take your breath away and amaze you with its visual cleverness and dramatic developments" (M. Marie).