Zanussi tries his hand at black comedy
Krzysztof Zanussi, renowned for exploring the fundamental questions of life, death and human nature, is set to surprise audiences this autumn. His new film – Serce na dloni (“The Heart on the Hand”) – is a black comedy, a far cry from the moral works viewers have come to expect from the filmmaker.
In the film, which began shooting two days ago, mortally ill multimillionaire Konstanty has only one way to recover – by undergoing a heart transplant. Fate offers him a lifeline when at the hospital, he meets Stefan, a desperate young man with suicidal thoughts. Konstanty comes up with a strategy to save himself: he tries to encourage the poor man in his self-destructive urges.
The screenplay, written by Zanussi, is adapted from a black comedy by Andrzej Mularczyk, whose novel Post mortem served as the basis for Andrzej Wajda’s Katyn [+see also:
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film profile].
Another surprising aspect of the project is the cast, largely made up of stars from various television series: Maciej Zakoscielny, Agnieszka Dygant and Borys Szyc, as well as a scandalous pop singer, who regularly appears on the front page of the Polish tabloids, Dorota Rabczewska, known as Doda. Ukrainian actor Bohdan Stupka plays the lead.
Ukrainian participation is not limited to Stupka’s role. Zanussi’s film is the first production to benefit from a cooperation agreement – signed on February 6 – between the Polish Film Institute (PISF) and the Ukraine National Cinematography Service.
Serce na dloni is thus produced by WFDiF, in collaboration with Studio Filmowe Tor, Monolith Films and SOTA Cinema Group (Ukraine).
(Translated from French)
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