by BERTIE MANDELBLATT

Roman Polanski stars in Andrzej Wajda’s new film, Revenge, an utterly charming cinematic rendition of the classic Polish play of the same title (Zempsta). And, perhaps not surprisingly, he nails his role with a comic precision that’s astonishing.

The story is set in 17th-century Poland, in a castle shared by two feuding noblemen, the Cupbearer and the Notary. Polanski plays Papkin, the poetic dreamer/buffoon whom each rival uses as an intermediary in order to gain the upper hand. Polanski struts around the castle grounds, strumming ditties about kitties on his guitar, inventing stories of his superhuman bravery in battle, and gamely pursuing the lovely Klara, niece of the Cupbearer. Polanski flutters and cowers, boasts and pleads, never overacting and never descending to caricature. The key roles of the two rivals are also extraordinarily well played, particularly that of the sinister and corrupt Notary (played by Andrzej Seweryn.)

The plot is a complicated Shakespearean fairy tale involving two couples, a fortune that needs to settle somewhere and the twin evils of greed and hypocrisy (it needs no more explaining here). There is lots of dodging in and out of rooms, avowals of love, switching of allegiances, challenges to duels—the whole 17th-century nine yards.

The real visual treat is the way that the play has been translated into film. At once both lush and restrained, Revenge is at least partly filmed in a ruined castle in the early winter, and the many outdoor shots of the castle’s bleak, crumbling exteriors covered in snow are breathtaking. The costumes are spectacular, and exaggerated just enough to amuse, but costume changes are kept to a minimum. I got the feeling that the Merchant Ivory’s art directors could learn a thing or two about costume drama from this well-constructed period piece. :

Revenge plays two weekends only,
Oct 25–27 & Nov 15–17, in original
Polish with English subtitles at the Cinéma Beaubien

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