Wesele

Von Liebe wird auf dieser Hochzeit erst ganz am Schluss die Rede sein; davor dreht sich alles um den schnöden Mammon. – Der Blick des Regisseurs auf diese "Kleinbürgerhochzeit" ist von brechtscher Erbarmungslosigkeit und eine Einladung dazu, das Verhalten der Beteiligten zu beurteilen. Nicht nach moralischen Maßstäben, denn die haben sich hier längst aufgelöst, sondern nach quasi sportlichen: Wer verhandelt am geschicktesten? (B. Schweizerhof)

I've heard - more than once - an opinion that The Wedding should never be presented outside of Poland, because it depicts our country in a way we, Polish people, don't want to be seen by foreigners. Needless to say, I was curious to hear the foreigners' reaction. Surprisingly, The Wedding became the most wanted Polish film of 2004/2005. Using the name The Wedding as a title was an act of bravery on the part of the director Wojtek Smarzowski. In Polish tradition it is a sacred title - there was a theatre play of the same title from 1901 by Stanislaw Wyspianski, dubbed "the most original play written for the theatre in the Polish language" and a classical film from the 1970s by Andrzej Wajda. There is a scene in the film, which I think needs to be explained: towards the end of the film all participants of the ceremony sing a song - the title is "Rota" it's very patriotic and very religious, like a second national anthem of Poland. (Stefan Laudyn)