Swan Song

(Łabędzi śpiew)


1989   >   comedy

A superb performance of Jan Peszek who plays a scriptwriter overwhelmed with subsequent events and surprises. The film includes plenty of parodies of scenes from famous pictures.

A scriptwriter Stefan Dziecic is in the midst of negotiations with Western film producers. After coming back to Poland he has sudden toothache and his wife – Ewa complains about their difficult financial situation. Ewa is an actress, but the audition for the new film does not go well. Toothache becomes unbearable and the desperate character has to go to a dentist who demands a very high amount of money for his treatment. The scriptwriter does not have a screenplay to write and the actress has no role to play, so they decide to sell their car. Also here, they’re down on their luck as the potential buyer does not return from a test drive. Stefan desperately keeps looking for a topic for his screenplay, he keeps changing his ideas from a gangster movie, through a melodrama to a comedy or even a musical. His friends try to help him as much as they can. The dentist suggests a sadistic porno flick, his colleagues mention a film that would deal with the Stalin’s rule. In the meantime, there’s a real disaster at Stefan’s house. Pipes burst, gallons of wine explode and the police has to intervene. Eventually, Stefan comes up with an idea for a screenplay, namely to describe his life. His character’s story begins with toothache.


Crew:

director
Robert Gliński
script
Bolesław Michałek
d.o.p.
Andrzej J. Jaroszewicz
designer
Jacek Turewicz
editor
Alina Faflik
music
Henryk Kuźniak
cast
Jan Peszek, Grażyna Barszczewska,
Bogdan Baer, Jolanta Piętek-Górecka,
Tomasz Zygadło, Leon Niemczyk

Awards:

PFFF, Gdynia
Award for directing (Robert Gliński)
PFFF, Gdynia
The Award of the Polish Culture Foundation (Jan Peszek)
Award of the Chairman of the State Cinema Committee for feature film achievements in directing (Robert Gliński)
Award of the Chairman of the State Cinema Committee for feature film achievements in screenplay (Bolesław Michałek)
Materials: SD
Length: 81’