A film directorial debut of Sylwester Chęciński who authored an iconic comedy trilogy about the Karguls and the Pawlaks. Chęciński received Platinum Lions award for lifetime achievement at the 39th Festival of Polish Feature Films in Gdynia.
One of the most prominent Polish actors Marek Kondrat debuted in the film as an 11-year-old.
The movie is an adaptation of Antonina Domańska’s novel „Historia żółtej ciżemki”.
The film tells the story of a boy whose dreams come true. It revolves around the construction of a legendary altarpiece by Veit Stoss.
Wawrzek, who is an orphan, dreams of becoming a sculptor. He heads for Cracow where Veit Stoss is sculpting figures for a huge altarpiece. After many adventures, Wawrzek reaches his destination in the company of wandering jugglers and magicians. He finds his way into Stoss’s home. The genius artist becomes the boy’s guardian and mentor. A princess who visits the artist’s atelier gives the boy a pair of yellow long toed shoes that he long dreamt of. Unfortunately, when Wawrzek climbs a wooden scaffold, one of the shoes falls off his foot and ends up behind the altarpiece. Several hundred years later, its discovery will cause a great sensation.
The entire film was produced in the atelier in Łódź. Styled after miniatures in gothic illuminated manuscripts, illusory set design, which was partially made of painted images, is of particular interest. Also noteworthy are the opening credits designed by a famous graphic artist, caricaturist and satirist Szymon Kobyliński.
Winner of Silver Medal at the International Kids and Teen Movies Festival in Venice in 1962, „Historia żółtej ciżemki” is still popular with the audience. In 2011, the film received Platinum Goats award at Ale Kino! International Young Audience Film Festival in Poznań.
Excerpt from the movie
