Marek Kondrat Movies

Award-winning Polish director Marek Koterski takes an unflinching look at the pathological effects of severe alcoholism on familial relationships in the no-holds-barred drama We're All Christs (Wszyscy jestes'my Chrystusami). The story concerns Adas (played at ages 33 and 55 by Andrzej Chyra, and Marek Kondrat, respectively), a father caught in the web of alcohol addiction passed down from the generations before him. The disease once threatened to destroy his own relationship with his young son. Now, after admitting his own problem and experiencing therapy and rehabilitation, Adas takes the first steps toward a challenging reconnection with his family and attempts to rebuild long-decimated bonds. As a lapsed Roman Catholic, he begins to turn toward the faith that he shunned as a youth, and recognizes the necessity of turning away from the evil, abusive legacy of his father on earth and toward his Heavenly Father as a far-superior alternative. In the end, his Catholicization will partially entail turning to Christ as a role model by assuming responsibility for his own earthly burdens (and thus, taking up his cross). ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Adam Miauczynski (Marek Kondrat) is a middle-aged literature professor, divorced, with a teenage son. Writer/director Marek Koterski's dark comedy Day of the Wacko follows Adam over the course of a long, typically unpleasant day as he deals with his noisy neighbors, his overbearing mother (Janina Traczykówna), his apathetic son (Michal Koterski), his bitchy ex-wife (Joanna Sienkiewicz), his rudely flatulent students, and, most debilitating of all, his own obsessive-compulsive behavior, and his immobilizing despair over the state of his life and the world around him. All the while, he reminisces about the woman he calls his great lost love, Ela (Monika Donner-Trelinska), and fantasizes about seeing her again. Reaching a fever pitch of depressed paranoia, Adam decides to travel to take a train to the beach to find some peace. After a harrowing trip, during which he's forced to share a compartment with a motley assortment of obnoxious fools, he arrives at the sea and lies out in the sand, hoping for a moment's tranquility as he continues his ongoing internal monologue, analyzing the failures of his life and his world. Day of the Wacko was nominated for a slew of Polish Film Awards, and won Best Actor (Kondrat) and Best Screenplay (Koterski). It was also shown at the 2003 Berlin International Film Festival, and was released straight-to-video in the U.S. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Legendary Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda adapts a nationally treasured epic poem to the silver screen. For 400 years, Lithuania and Poland were linked, until the country was partitioned in 1795 by aggressive nations at its borders -- Russia, Prussia, and the Austrian empire. At that point, the formerly huge nation simply ceased to exist. Yet one hope remained for the patriotic Poles yearning for autonomy -- France. Napoleon promised to restore the Polish homeland if they, in turn, helped him defeat Russia. Thousands of Poles were part of the French force that reached the gates of Moscow before being forced into a long and bloody retreat. The film itself centers on two families who live in the Russian-controlled part of Poland: the Horeszkos, who ardently favor independence, and the Soplicas, who support Russia. In 1792, the last household lord of the Horeszkos was killed by Jacek Soplica; as a result, the latter was rewarded with the former's castle by the Russian colonizers. Twenty years later, the region is rife with rumors of Napoleon's imminent invasion. A destitute Count (Marek Kondrat) and heir to the Horeszko family estate almost throws his lot in with the richer and more powerful Soplica clan before he stumbles upon Gervais (Daniel Olbrychski), who reminds him of the treacherous murder of his ancestor. Meanwhile, Tadeusz (Michal Zebrowski), the rakish nephew of Judge Soplica (Andrzej Seweryn), who symbolizes all that is good and right about Poland, is confronted with a choice upon returning from university. He can either give his heart to the beautiful, pure, 14-year-old Sosia (Alicja Bachleda-Curus), a distant cousin of the Horeszkos who is living with the Soplicas, or he can opt instead for the worldly, sophisticated, St. Petersburg-educated Telimena (Grazyna Szapolowska), who is related to both clans. This film, which in many ways sums up Wajda's long and illustrious career, was a massive success in its native Poland. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

This Polish caper comedy stars Marek Kondrat, Bogulsaw Linda, Wiktor Zborowski and others. It takes place around 20 years after the end of the First World War, as WWII is just heating up. As the second massive global conflict commences, military deserters begin streaming back into Poland. The Polish Underground needs to cover the cost of a huge delivery of weapons, and learns that gold is being stashed by the Nazis in an ex-Polish bank. To facilitate the retrieval of this gold, the Underground solicits the services of former WWI soldier Kania and his friends - men who are now scattered from one end of Europe to the other. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

It is 1945, and the Russian occupation of Poland has been complete for some time. Kwiatowski, a surgeon, has been given a vacation by one of his grateful patients, a colonel in the (communist) Polish security force, known as the UB. While he is on leave, he takes an old girlfriend on a date at a fancy hotel. When some Russian Soviet officers give him some trouble, he unthinkingly adopts the guise of his patient, the security officer. This deception proves so successful that he finds it useful for any number of purposes, and he begins freeing people from prison and helping all sorts of people who have run into difficulty in the new regime. A highlight of this Polish language film is the satiric use by the main character of Communist Party lingo, as he skillfully turns its intended meanings inside out to manipulate the unwitting Party faithful. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A rube goes to work in the big city and finds himself victimized by the government system he was trained to support in this Polish comedy set in the year of Solidarity, 1991. Country boy Tomasz works in a power plant. He feels alone because he doesn't understand his co-worker's impassioned support of Lech Walesa and unionization. His boss asks him to sneak into an illegal rally and note who is there. Unfortunately, Tomasz is deeply affected by the group and joins the unionists in singing patriotic songs. The police come and break up the rally. A chase ensues. The next day poor Tomasz is arrested because his picture was in the paper with the other unionists. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

One question that arose when Poland changed from its communist form of government to a more open model was what to do with its thousands of secret policemen. Clearly, some of them couldn't be integrated into the regular police force, and some of them could. In this police thriller, Olo (Marek Kondrat) is a former secret policeman who has joined an illegal drug cartel, and he soon comes into conflict with one of the men newly integrated into the regular police force. Despite his being a "regular" policeman, Franz (Boguslaw Linda) refuses to play by the book, and uses many of his old techniques and contacts to track down whoever is killing so many of his new colleagues. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In one hard look at the often-superficial world of movies and the theater, director Stanislaw Rosewicz has created a view of that world seen through the experiences of Eve (Hanna Mikuc), a young actress who prefers Shakespeare over her boyfriend. In reality, Eve has to pay the rent by performing in a red wig as a 1920's flapper in a play called "Dance of the Marionettes" -- a good metaphor for bad acting any day. Eve's essential good nature -- she cares about an impoverished neighbor and the standards in her profession -- is often at odds with the demands at work. When asked to wear an inappropriate hat for a part in a film, Eve balks, and the director dismisses her with the statement that "she is just a woman in a hat." After her big chance at playing Cordelia finally comes, will it be back to the dancing marionettes, or will she finally have a break and actually be Cordelia on stage?
~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

"The Inspector General" is a satirical comedy of errors penned by Nikolay Gogol in the 19th century and interpreted here by director Marta Meszaros for the cinema. Jan Nowicki stars as the corrupt mayor of a small town who learns that the formidable inspector general is going to show up incognito, of course, to judge the town's governing body. When an unsuspecting stranger is mistaken for the V.I.P., the mayor and his cohorts fall over backwards to offer him every pleasure under the sun, including the mayor's wife and daughter. Director Meszaros' interpretation has excellent acting and good black-and-white photography, but the comedy itself needs more emphasis to capture the hearts of most viewers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

This pessimistic Polish film stars Tomasz Hudziec as a boy whose father is arrested by the Stalinist police. To quell Hudziec's potential rebelliousness, the authorities ship him off to a Pioneer Camp, where he will be "re-educated." Camp life is horrible, but Hudziec goes with the program in order to impress a counselor (Teresa Marczewska) with whom he has become smitten. Eventually Hudziec becomes an ardent Stalinist, so much so that he is barely recognizable to his own father. Shivers there are indeed in Shivers, but not the sort engendered by a fictional horror film; the scariest aspect of the story is its utter plausibility. The film, based on director Wojciech Marczewski's own childhood experiences, was made with full government approval--only to be suppressed when martial law was declared in Poland in 1981. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 1976 Polish Film Festival, this drama from director Andrzej Wajda was based on the short story The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad. The film tells the story of a young man who tries his best to helm a foundering boat bound for Singapore. Not only is the boat itself in rough shape, but many of the passengers are suffering from a highly contagious disease. A 28-year-old Tom Wilkinson of The Full Monty and In the Bedroom appears in his first onscreen role. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

Set at the end of the 15th century when one of Poland's greatest sculptors, Wit Stwosz, was working on his lifetime masterpiece, this costume drama by director Sylwester Checinski looks at a young orphan and his connection to the famous sculptor. Wawrzek (Andrzej Szczepkowski) has been awarded a special pair of yellow slippers for helping to capture a thief. Even better than the yellow slippers is a chance for the talented youngster to apprentice out to Wit Stwosz. Stwosz is sculpting his historic altarpiece titled "The Dormition of the Virgin" for the west wall of the chancel in the Kosciol Mariacki or St. Mary's Church, in the enormous Rynek Square in Krakow. Fully thirteen meters high and eleven wide, the polyptych gives the young apprentice plenty of space to learn his art. Yet his adventures are not over, because the thief he helped put away is out looking for him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi