Pornografia

Based on the novel by Witold Gombrowicz, writer/director Jan Jakub Kolski's Pornography is set in the Polish countryside during WWII. Witold (Adam Ferency), the narrator, is at a gathering of his intellectual artist friends in Warsaw, where he meets Frederick (Krzysztof Majchrzak), a mysterious, but charming, stranger. They hit it off, so Witold invites Frederick along as he goes to visit the home of his friend Hipolit (Krzysztof Globisz) and his wife Maria (Grazyna Blecka-Kolska). Witold and Frederick become obsessed with arranging the coupling of Hipolit's beautiful teenage daughter, Henia (Sandra Samos), and an equally beautiful young man, Karol (Kazimierz Mazur), who is working at the farm. But Henia is engaged to Vaclav (Grzegorz Damiecki), who is visiting with his deeply religious mother, Amelia (Irena Laskowska). As the two middle-aged gentlemen scheme, Germans fight with the Polish resistance, led by Siemian (Jan Frycz), in the woods nearby. Hipolit supports the resistance and his household is thrown into chaos when he is ordered to "liquidate" Siemian to prevent him from talking if he's captured by the Germans. Meanwhile, Frederick's obsession with Veronika, a pretty young maid at the house, masks a dark secret from his past. Pornography was shown at the 2003 Venice Film Festival and selected for the 2003 New York Film Festival. - Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide