Pan Tadeusz (film)
| Pan Tadeusz | |
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Promotional movie poster for the film
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| Directed by | Andrzej Wajda |
| Produced by | Lew Rywin |
| Written by |
Andrzej Wajda Jan Nowina-Zarzycki |
| Based on |
Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz |
| Starring |
Bogusław Linda Alicja Bachleda Grażyna Szapolowska Andrzej Seweryn Michał Żebrowski Marek Kondrat |
| Music by | Wojciech Kilar |
| Cinematography | Paweł Edelman |
| Edited by | Wanda Zeman Anita Wandzel |
| Distributed by | Heritage Films Canal+Polska Les Films du Losange |
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Release date
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Running time
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147 minutes |
| Country | Poland France |
| Language | Polish |
| Budget | $5 million (estimated) 12,5 million zloty |
Pan Tadeusz: The Last Foray in Lithuania is a 1999 Polish film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It is based on the eponymous epic poem by Polish poet, writer and philosopher Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855). As in the poem, conflict between the Soplica and Horeszko families serves as a backdrop for discussion of issues of Polish national unity and the struggle for independence.
For 400 years, Lithuania and Poland were united in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, until Poland was partitioned in 1795 by three nations at its borders: the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Habsburg Monarchy (see Partitions of Poland). At that point Poland, a formerly powerful nation, simply ceased to exist. Yet one hope remained for the patriotic Poles yearning for autonomy – the First French Empire. Napoleon promised to restore the Polish homeland if Poles, in turn, helped him defeat the Russian Empire. Thousands of Poles were part of the Grande Armée during the French invasion of Russia. The invasion force reached the gates of Moscow before being forced into a long and bloody retreat. The film itself centers on two noble families who live in the Russian-controlled part of Poland: the Horeszko family, who ardently favor Polish independence, and the Soplica family, who support Russia.
Pan Tadeusz is told in flashbacks as the author, Adam Mickiewicz, reads his work to a group of elderly exiles in Paris. The story takes place over the course of five days in 1811 and one day in 1812 in rolling landscapes of Lithuania inhabited by Poles whose homeland has been recently partitioned among Russia, the Austrian Empire and Prussia. Not far off in history looms Napoleon's invasion of Russia, the prospect of which heartens Poles yearning for liberation. But more immediately, the characters in Pan Tadeusz are feuding among themselves.
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Wikipedia