8 May 2003

After all of the hoopla in Poland over last year's release of Andrzej Wajda's cinematic take on Aleksander Fredro's play Zemsta (Revenge), non-Polish speakers can finally watch the movie with English subtitles-on DVD-and see what all the hype was about.

Zemsta is adapted from a classic Polish stage farce, set in the 17th century, when noblemen were drained of their ancestral legacies. It's the story of cranky Cześnik (Janusz Gajos) and bilious Rejent (Andrzej Seweryn), as feuding neighbors who inhabit separate parts of a crumbling castle and live to make each other miserable.

Cześnik tries to reverse his fortunes by enlisting Papkin (Roman Polanski) to help in wooing a buxom, presumably wealthy widow (Katarzyna Figura). Dressed in a three-cornered hat and a military uniform that he probably filched, Papkin fusses, flutters, genuflects and heaps on the B.S.

He wants the world to believe he's a fabled warrior and deadly swordsman-in fact he's a coward. He'd like to be seen as a studly Casanova, when in reality he's a simpering midget whom woman deride.

Besotted with Cześnik's pretty niece Klara (Agata Buzek), Papkin tries to win her ("You are the morning dew that restores life to the withering desert lily"), ignoring the fact that Klara promised her heart to the Rejent's son Wacław (Rafał Królikowski).

There's also the bumbling character of Cześnik's "secretary" (Daniel Olbrychski) to throw the proverbial monkey-wrench into all of the machinations, in some of the film's funniest sequences.

There aren't many surprises in Zemsta, at least not for those familiar with MoliŻre or Shakespearean comedies that traffic in thwarted lovers, mistaken identity, closed-door couplings and the long-simmering feuds of obstinate parents. It's an enjoyable ride nonetheless.

Now for the bad news...the subtitles. The heart and the humor of the play lies in the use of language and the rhyming couplets therein. Apparently Vision Entertainment (who released the DVD) decided that the poetry of the work was not that important when translating the screenplay. The subtitles act as "Cliff Notes" for the action taking place on the screen-a brief guide to the rather complex twists and turns of the plot. Much of the inherent humor is lost in the translation, not to mention any trace of rhyme or wordplay. Couldn't someone find a previous translation of Fredro's work and use it as a blueprint instead of hiring a non-native-speaker (Wajda film scholar Christopher Caes) as a translator? All of this aside, it's thanks to the oft-times brilliant acting by the cast (Polanski and Olbrychski are standouts) that the film retains the light and funny tone that Wajda and Fredro intended.

The DVD itself is well presented with cute animated menus and a veritable treasure trove of special features on this two-disc set. Unfortunately all the extra features (behind-the-scenes footage, interviews, excerpts from stage productions of Zemsta, production notes and much more) are all in Polish without the benefit of subtitles. This is a shame, considering that these are the type of goodies that are the main selling points of films on DVD.

Overall the DVD set was a pleasure to watch if only for the quality of the acting, the superb costumes, the stunning sets and set design and the nimble direction. Alas, one would really have to learn Polish to fully appreciate the work and the verbal sparring of Fredro's text. Owning this DVD might provide the impetus to do just that.

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