Jan Tesarz Movies
Based on the novel by John Katzenbach, author of Just Cause (1995), this prison camp drama combines elements of A Soldier's Story (1984) and the classic Stalag 17 (1953). Colin Farrell stars as Lt. Tommy Hart, a second-year Harvard Law School student who enlists to fight in World War II but ends up being taken prisoner by the Germans. When a murder at the Nazi-run Stalag Luft 13 leaves a black Tuskegee airman named Lt. Lincoln Scott (Terrence Dashon Howard) accused of the crime, high-ranking prisoner (and fourth-generation war hero) Col. William McNamara (Bruce Willis) persuades camp commandant Col. Werner Visser (Marcel Iures) to allow the prisoners to hold their own trial. Hart is recruited to defend his fellow officer, but as he reluctantly investigates, he discovers that not all of his fellow allied soldiers are fighting the same war and that his "client" may well have been framed. In the meantime, it becomes apparent that McNamara is using events to mask his true intent, a mission to destroy a nearby munitions plant that he still intends to carry out despite his incarceration. Hart's War (2002) co-stars Vicellous Shannon, Cole Hauser, Rory Cochrane, and Jonathan Brandis. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, (more)
- 1990
This dark teen drama takes place during the climate of "thawing" just before many of the socialist governments of Eastern Europe collapsed. In the story, two Hungarian boys and one girl get a serious case of wanderlust, and long to see the sea. The nearest place they can do this is in Poland, which at the time was in considerable turmoil. Though they are shocked at the extent of the local repression there, they don't take it too seriously. When the boys attempt to stow away on a boat headed for Sweden, however, they are forced to. The rest of the film explores their harrowing experiences in prison, and the girl's attempts to get them released. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Laura Favali, Karl Tessler, (more)
- 1990
In this allegorical political drama, Zdenek (Jan Tesarz), a government official whose mind and/or powerbase is eroding, is taken away from the office by his loyal secretary, who is also his mistress. On the one hand, she wants to prevent the possibility of his being seen making embarassing slip-ups. On the other hand, they have a legitimate reason for leaving the office. She is taking him to the funeral of a relative. Unfortunately, no one really knows where they are going, and they get taken to a funeral in the wrong town. In addition, they have a series of adventures, including one in which the official is led to offer a toast to an exiled writer, and another in which he and his secretary join a crowd of half-naked young folks who are watching someone publicly perform a sex act. Eventually they manage to make it to the correct funeral. It turns out that it is for his son. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jan Tesarz, Jiri Babek, (more)
- 1988
Jacek (Miroslaw Baka) murders a cab driver and is sentenced to die, despite the efforts of his inexperienced lawyer. This episode was released in an expanded version as A Short Film About Killing. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 1988
When 20-year-old Anka (Adrianna Biedrzynska) learns that her "father" is not her biological father, her feelings for him take a new turn. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Adrianna Biedrynska, Janusz Gajos, (more)
This disturbing and violent feature opens with a scene of a dead rat and a lifeless cat hanging by the neck. As the plot unfolds, Yatzek (Miroslaw Baka) is a 20-year-old drifter who murders a testy taxi driver (Jan Tesarz) in a gut-wrenching scene of excessive violence. Tension continues to build as a newly licensed young attorney (Krzysztof Globisz is chosen to represent Yatzek in court. Much anticipated and well-received at Cannes, the film won the European Film Academy Award for "Best European Film" in 1988. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi
- Starring:
- Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, (more)
- 1981
- PG
Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda's sequel to his immensely well-received Man of Marble covers some of the same ground: the relationship of labor leaders to their communist political masters and the difficulties the media encounters in covering that story. But it adds an exceptionally timely element: footage from the real-life Solidarity movement strikes led by Lech Walesa that were taking place during the film's production are woven into the dramatic story. There are a few glimpses of Walesa, and he even pops up as a guest at the wedding of the fictional story's hero. That man, Tomczyk, is the son of Birkut, the labor leader profiled in Man of Marble, and he's played by the actor Jerzy Radziwilowicz, who played Birkut in the first film. In Man of Marble, a student filmmaker in late 1970s Poland tried to uncover the story of Birkut, a working-class hero of the '50s who was later politically discredited and killed in a 1970 strike demonstration. Here, Winkiel (Marian Opania), an alcoholic radio journalist, is assigned by the state to cover the rise to prominence of Tomczyk, but with an eye to discrediting him and the Solidarity movement as well. Like The Godfather II, Man of Iron successfully expands on the story of its predecessor while provocatively exploring many of the same issues. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Krystyna Janda, (more)
- 1980
This routine, complicated story features a young Polish factory worker who decides to launch himself into a boxing career. Factory work is not going to get him very far, but boxing might. He goes through rough-and-tumble training in the gym on his off-hours and struggles with the shady dealings that grease the wheels in the world of boxing. Then he finally gets a shot at coming up roses when he travels to Chicago for a big match -- or at least it seems that way to the aspiring champion. Meanwhile, he has not been so foolish as to abandon his job at the factory. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
