(Dzieje grzechu)
Directed by Walerian Borowczyk
125 minutes
In Polish with English subtitles

One of the most crucial names in European cinema back in the 1970s was the Polish filmmaker Walerian Borowczyk. Although he was popular with European audiences, his movies proved to be too sexually wild for most film historians, so he has been pretty much written out of the book. He was at the forefront of a more liberated erotic cinema that broke new borders, and many of his movies were shot in France where things were more free. With this film he returned to his homeland of Poland, and this change shows a marked difference in his style. It is still erotically charged, but not in a way that is shocking or pornographic.

The story is about a young girl, whose lover goes to Italy to get a divorce from his wife. But after he leaves, she becomes so restless and impatient that she bolts into a reckless journey to find him. It is based on a classic novel by the early 20th century Polish author Stefan Zeromski. It had been filmed once before, but in Borowczyk's hands the story overflows in all its necessary sensuality. It is a harrowing story of amour fou—of love gone wrong—but it is also a severe exposé on how women were treated at the dawn of the 20th century. It features an immersive performance by Grażyna Długołęcka. She's absolutely riveting. Fellow Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski was a huge fan of this film, and declared it a masterpiece of Polish cinema.

This will be a high-definition screening.