Duże zwierzę

Duże zwierzę was one of those films I had been planning to see for ages and kept missing. Luckily, the cat told us he's a fan of Kieślowski and we absolutely need to push Duże zwierzę to the top of our list. Well, so maybe that's not how I finally saw it, but the cat was indeed there.

The voice in the English trailer is terribly wrong when he announces that (1) the story happens in a village -- it's actually a town, (2) the villagers used to be lovely and kind -- the point is that those people have always been nasty, but maybe not as harmful: it's a film about Polish vices. In addition, the film description lies that it's a comedy -- it certainly is not, though you will smile listening to Jerzy Stuhr's conversations with the camel.

It's a story about irrational hate and destructive envy. I was heartbroken when someone in the mob raised a placard with the word "Precz" [Out!] and when Stuhr was dragged from one office to another to answer strange demands and accusations.

But I was also absolutely amazed when Anna Dymna and Jerzy Stuhr were dining with their camel, making a sweater for him, and taking him on long walks. And the closing scene with camels in the snow is incredibly beautiful.