A curious foray into the fantastic universe in a 1970 Polish film, directed by Janusz Majewski, based on a short story by the French romantic Prosper Merimée.
A pastor's journey to 19th century Lithuania in search of the region's folkloric roots, where he will find a strange connection between a noble Vilnius family and the bears that populate their territory.
In addition to this literal reading of a fantastic tale, which romantics loved so much, I allow myself to extract a more political interpretation of the film.
Considering Poland's historical moment in 1970, this film can also be read as a critique of the decadent and futile aristocracy and a reminder to Soviet power that Lithuania was culturally and historically part of Poland, despite the invasion ordered by Stalin in 1940, in the course of the infamous Molotov-Von Ribbentrop Pact, which divided Poland between the Nazis and the Soviets. Or not.
A pastor's journey to 19th century Lithuania in search of the region's folkloric roots, where he will find a strange connection between a noble Vilnius family and the bears that populate their territory.
In addition to this literal reading of a fantastic tale, which romantics loved so much, I allow myself to extract a more political interpretation of the film.
Considering Poland's historical moment in 1970, this film can also be read as a critique of the decadent and futile aristocracy and a reminder to Soviet power that Lithuania was culturally and historically part of Poland, despite the invasion ordered by Stalin in 1940, in the course of the infamous Molotov-Von Ribbentrop Pact, which divided Poland between the Nazis and the Soviets. Or not.