Revisited

Those who were able to follow the work of Krzysztof Zanussi (a master out of fashion since the early 1990s) will know hapless Stefan from Serce na dłoni (2008), in which he worked as a supermarket cashier, tried to commit suicide and almost had his heart stolen by his evil boss.

Now he’s in rehab, and one of the things the doctors came up with for him is to meet people and talk with them about the meaning of life. These interviewees turn out to be characters from earlier films by Zanussi, including some of his best known: Bella, Marek and Ziemowit from Życie rodzinne (1970), Jakub from Barwy ochronne (1976) and Witold from Constans (1980). As this is an exercise in Film-in-Film2, all the characters are played by the actors who played them before – so footage from the earlier films could also be woven into the tapestry. An unheralded masterpiece of philosophical cinema.