''Memoirs of a Sinner'' ( pl, Osobisty pamiętnik grzesznika przez niego samego spisany) is a 1986 Polish film directed by Wojciech Has, starring

Piotr Bajor Piotr Bajor (born 16 February 1960) is a Polish film actor. He starred in the film '' Chłopiec na galopującym koniu'', which was screened out of competition at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. Filmography * ''Memoirs of a Sinner'' (1986) * ''The ...

. The film is an adaptation of James Hogg's ''

The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner ''The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner: Written by Himself: With a detail of curious traditionary facts and other evidence by the editor'' is a novel by the Scottish author James Hogg, published anonymously in 1824. The p ...

'' (1824) and tells the tale of the protagonist Robert and his doppelganger.

Premise

Robert (Piotr Bajor) is exhumed from the grave by a gang of grave robbers and is forced to recount his life story - a struggle between good and evil, embodied in his doppelganger whom he eventually kills.

Cast

as Robert * Maciej Kozłowski as Stranger * Janusz Michalowski as Pastor * Hanna Stankówna as Rabina * Ewa Wiśniewska as Laura *

Franciszek Pieczka Franciszek Maksymilian Pieczka (18 January 1928 – 23 September 2022) was a Polish actor. A graduate of the National Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw (1954), he first made his debut in the theatre in Jelenia Góra. He won the award for Best ...

as Logan *

Anna Dymna Anna Dymna (née Dziadyk ) (born 20 July 1951) is a Polish TV, film and theatre actress. Foundress of a charity foundation Mimo Wszystko (Against the Odds). Career Anna Dymna intended to study psychology before she decided to take an entrance ex ...

as Dominika *

Katarzyna Figura Katarzyna Małgorzata Figura (Polish pronunciation: ; born 22 March 1962) is a Polish film, theatre and television actress. She is sometimes billed as "Kasia Figura", as in ''Prêt-à-Porter'', Robert Altman's 1994 film. Career Figura was bor ...

as Cyntia * Jan Jankowski as Gustaw * Jan Pawel Kruk as Guard *

Andrzej Krukowski Andrzej Krukowski (born November 30, 1961) is a Polish actor. In 2003 he starred in the film '' An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God'' under Jerzy Hoffman Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and pr ...

* Zdzislaw Kuzniar * Zofia Merle * Jerzy Zygmunt Nowak as Samuel * Elwira Romanczuk as Malgorzata

Production

The film was filmed in the village of

Klęk Klęk is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stryków, within Zgierz County, Łódź Voivodeship, in central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Stryków, east of Zgierz, and north-east of the regional capital Łódź ...

in the Polish province of

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

Release

The film was released on 20 October 1986. Jerzy Maksymiuk's score won the award for Best Score at the 1986 Polish Film Festival.

Comparison with the book

Has maintains the strangeness central to the novel, although he tends to focus on the creation of unease, intrigue and beautiful images rather than Hogg's satire on Calvinist predestination.Cairns, David (14 November 2013
''The Forgotten: Both of Me''
MUBI.com Notebook

References

External links

* {{Wojciech Has 1986 films Polish drama films 1980s Polish-language films Films directed by Wojciech Has Films based on British novels 1986 drama films