The Revenge (film)

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Zemsta

The Revenge is the English title for Zemsta, a film released in 2002, directed by Andrzej Wajda.

This film is based on a perennially popular stage farce by the great Polish playwright and poet Aleksander Fredro. Raptusiewicz (Janusz Gajos) resides in one half of a castle with the other half inhabited by his hated rival Regent Milczek (Andrzej Seweryn). Raptusiewicz wishes to marry Podstolina (Katarzyna Figura), the widow of the Lord High Steward, for her money, while Podstolina herself seeks a wealthy match. Regent Milczek's wish, on the other hand, is to bring about the union of his son Waclaw (Rafal Królikowski) with Podstolina. To complicate matters more, Waclaw is in love with Klara (Agata Buzek) - ward and niece of Raptusiewicz, who took her in following the death of her parents - and the feeling is mutual. The plot thickens when Klara turns into Papkin's (Roman Polanski) declared object of love.

Written in a sharp, ironic style, The Revenge portrays those national characteristics that in time brought on many of Poland's national tragedies. Written for the stage, Wajda has changed very little and transferred practically the entirety of the work to the screen.

1 The Play
2 Trivia
3 Cast
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] The Play

Real events inspired Fredro to write the play. In November of 1828, Fredro married Zofia Skotnicka, whose dowry included the title to half of a castle located in Odrzykon in the province of Galicia. In 1829, when looking through the archives of the castle, he happened on court records related to a dispute dating from the 17th century between the owners of the castle's two halves - Jan Skotnicki and Piotr Firlej. The conflict was long and relentless. It ended after more than thirty years with the marriage of Firlej's son to Zofia Skotnicka, an end similar to that adopted by Fredro in his play.

[edit] Trivia

The original story took place in Odrzykoń castle, which is currently located in Kamieniec Podolski, Ukraine, while the movie was filmed in Ogrodzieniec castle, located in Silesia province, Poland.