Agata Buzek
- 2007
A beautiful woman is suddenly forced to rely on her wits on a cold night in December in this character study from Germany. Valerie (Agata Buzek) was a successful fashion model when she was living in Paris in her mid-twenties, but now she's turned thirty and her career is not what it used to be. With her bank account empty, Valerie can no longer afford the fancy hotel room that had been her home for several months, or even get her car out of their underground parking garage. The photographer who discovered Valerie and was her lover for years (Birol Unel) has found a new protégé and isn't interested in her anymore, while Valerie's agent (Sabine Vitua) tells her in no uncertain terms her career is probably over. While she's able to use her looks and charm to persuade Andre (Devid Streisow), a parking attendant, to let her sleep in her car, she finds herself essentially homeless in Berlin with Christmas just around the corner. Valerie can still turn heads with the right dress and make-up, but with no cash or practical skills, she's forced to turn to others to supply her with food, drinks and cigarettes, and flirts with the idea of prostitution in order to support herself. Valerie was the first directorial effort from cinematographer Birgit Moller. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Agata Buzek, Devid Striesow, (more)
One of the most important figures in the Polish cinema, director Andrzej Wajda, teams up with the nation's most famous filmmaking expatriate, Roman Polanski, in this light comedy based on a perennially popular stage farce by Aleksandr Fredo. Czesnik (Janusz Gajos) and Rejent (Andrzej Seweryn) are the combative scions of two prominent families fallen on hard times, both of whom have the poor fortune of having homes which share a common courtyard. Czesnik's niece Klara (Agata Buzek) has fallen in love with Waclaw (Rafal Krolikowski), Rejent's son. However, Rejent has promised his son to Podstolina (Katarzyna Figura), a beautiful widow who has attracted Czesnik's eye. Meanwhile, Papkin (Roman Polanski), a former nobleman short on both cash and courage, hopes to wed Klara, but as a neutral party in the feud between the two clans, Klara thinks she might be able to use Papkin for her own purposes to bring her together with Waclaw. A major box-office hit in Poland, Zemsta marked the first time Wajda and Polanski had worked together since Pokolenie in 1952. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Janusz Gajos, Andrzej Seweryn, (more)
- 2002
Adapted from a series of fantasy novels by author Andrzej Sapkowski, this tale of a warrior who takes on the evil forces and a series of fearsome monsters is sure to appeal to fans of J.R.R. Tolkien. Set in the far past, compassionate slayer Geralt continues to wages battle against the forces of darkness in a world where humans sometime seem equally menacing. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michal Zebrowski, Zbigniew Zamachowski, (more)
- 1998
Peter Del Monte directed this Italian drama about Polish immigrants in Rome, adapted from E. Albinati's novel, The Polish Car Window Cleaner. When Janusz (Romuald Andrzej Klos) arrives in Rome with his family, they seek employment while awaiting visas to travel on to Canada. The men in the family clean windshields of vehicles stuck in Rome's massive traffic jams. Attractive daughter Justyna (Agata Buzek), who takes care of an ill child, has a run-in with rapists. Janusz mysteriously vanishes, and his son Rafal (Kim Rossi Stuart) fears he is dead. Janusz' demented brother Zygmunt (Olek Mincer) begins to wander about the city. Janusz is on the brink of happiness with a beautiful Bulgarian, Irina (Eljana Nikolova Popova), when a botched robbery results in his being charged with murder. Shown at the 1998 Venice Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Olek Mincer, Agata Buzek, (more)
