An Immoral Story

(Historia niemoralna)


1990   >   psychological/ full feature/ drama

Incredibly honest and intimate story of a talented actress Ewa who selfishly and ruthlessly manipulates people around her in a bid to control them. The protagonist is ambitious, driven and aggressive, but she is also sensitive and emotional.  The film attempts to mark out the boundaries of interference in a person’s private life, while analyzing a relative approach to defining morality.

A film director Magda supervises editing of a movie about Ewa who is an actress.  The film resembles an auto-biopic, with its authors commenting upon and changing the meaning of individual scenes on an ongoing basis.  Awarded in a foreign festival, Ewa thinks of herself as a star. She rejects a role in a television show, considering it unattractive, and finds it difficult to get on with a film crew. She learns about her father’s death, breaks up with her lover and finds another one whom she tries to force into a complete submission. She persuades him into writing lyrics to the songs that she would sing during her solo performance. Experts slag them off. Marek is devastated, while Ewa turns to drink. Shortly afterwards, it turns out that she is pregnant. Following a heated argument with Marek, she terminates the pregnancy. In despair, she gets in a car and drives it in a reckless manner. She has an accident and ends up in a hospital. Also an actor, Piotr starts to visit her there. They soon move in together.  Ewa is offered a role, but rehearsals end in arguments with the director. Theaters are reluctant to hire her due to her uncontrollable temper. Piotr goes to his parents’ for the Christmas Eve, leaving Ewa on her own. Distressed, the woman  tries to kill herself. Having given up on everything, she meets  filmmaker Magda who offers her a role. Ewa would have to play herself. The film’s cast is present during the movie’s first screening. They are outraged that the film director exposed her own actress’s private life on the screen. 


Crew:

director
Barbara Sass-Zdort
script
Barbara Sass
d.o.p.
Wiesław Zdort
designer
Anna Bohdziewicz - Jastrzębska
editor
Maria Orłowska
music
Michał Lorenc, Marcin Pospieszalski
cast
Dorota Stalińska, Teresa Budzisz-Krzyżanowska,
Michał Bajor, Marek Lewandowski,
Olaf Lubaszenko, Henryk Bista

Awards:

PFFF, Gdynia
Best actress in a leading role- nomination (Dorota Stalińska)
Materials: SD
Length: 99’

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