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Free of literal meanings and historical aspirations, the film shows the dramatic fate of an individual who is aware of the inevitable annihilation of the world in its present form.
The last feature film by well-known director and actor Henryk Kluba, who was a long-time lecturer and then rector of the National Film School in Łódź.
The film’s visual and narrative style is inspired by Witkacy’s paintings and literary work.
The last days in the life of Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz (Witkacy) and his much younger lover Czesława Oknińska.
In September 1939, a famous artist and his young companion stand out among crowds of Poles who flee to the east. Visibly ill, the man procures two ampoules of deadly poison. During his increasingly frequent attacks, he is haunted by dreamlike visions and memories. The subsequent events and phenomena, such as massacre of civilians, corruption of moral standards, escalation of hatred and a sense of hopelessness, convince him that the end of the world as he knows it is near. The entry of Soviet troops serves as the final sign of the imminent catastrophe. The protagonist and his lover decide to die together on their own terms.
The film’s premiere screening coincided with the arrival of Witkacy’s ashes in Poland. The writer’s remains were buried in his mother’s grave in Zakopane on 14 April 1988.
The names of Witkiewicz and Oknińska do not appear in the film.
