''The Debt'' ( pl, Dług) is a 1999 Polish film directed by
Krzysztof Krauze
Krzysztof Krauze (2 April 1953 – 24 December 2014) was a Polish film director, cinematographer and actor, best known for his thriller '' The Debt'' (1999). Marek Haltofbr>''Polish National Cinema'' Berghahn Books, 2002.
Life and career
Krauze ...
. It is based on a true event that took place in Warsaw, Poland in the early 1990s.
Plot
After looking for financial backing to start a business importing Italian scooters, college friends Adam and Stefan meet businessman Gerard. While initially very helpful, Gerard soon turns violent, and begins to blackmail the pair for increasingly large sums of money while psychologically terrorizing the two men. Unable to find help from the police, the two men plan to kill Gerard.
The movie is based on the true story of Sławomir Sikora and Artur Bryliński, who were later pardoned by the
President of Poland
The president of Poland ( pl, Prezydent RP), officially the president of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Prezydent Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej), is the head of state of Poland. Their rights and obligations are determined in the Constitution of Pola ...
because of exposure from the film.
Critical reception
Critic Piotr Zwierzchowski compared Krauze's ''The Debt'' to
Michael Hanecke's ''
Funny Games'' writing that both films are similar in that they convey the same sense of "powerlessness of the main characters as well as the viewers against the morality-defying spectacle of violence". Katarzyna Taras considered ''The Debt'', alongside
Robert Gliński
Robert Ignacy Gliński (born 17 April 1952 in Warsaw) is a Polish film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the National Film School in Łódź. He won the Golden Lions at the Gdynia Film Festival in 1992 with his film '' Wszystko, co naj ...
's 2001 film ''Cześć Tereska'', to be "the darkest portrayal of Poland's reality after 1989".
In 2000, the film received
Polish Academy Award for Best Film. In 2019,
Andrzej Chyra, who played one of the main characters in ''The Debt'', received the Special
Zbigniew Cybulski Award
The Zbigniew Cybulski Award (Polish: ''Nagroda im. Zbyszka Cybulskiego'') is a Polish annual film award given to best young Polish actors. It was established in 1969 on the initiative of Wiesława Czapińska and named to commemorate Zbigniew Cybul ...
for Lifetime Achievement, the jury having emphasized in its verdict his role in Krzysztof Krauze's 1999 film.
Cast
*
Robert Gonera as Adam Borecki
*
Jacek Borcuch
Jacek Borcuch (born 17 April 1970) is a Polish actor, screenwriter and film director. He contributed to more than fifteen films since 1995.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
1970 births
Living people
Polish male film ...
as Stefan Kowalczyk
*
Andrzej Chyra as Gerard Nowak
*
Cezary Kosiński as Tadeusz Frei
*
Joanna Szurmiej-Rzączyńska as Basia
*
Agnieszka Warchulska as Jola
*
Joanna Kurowska as Sasiadka
*Przemysław Modliszewski as Młody
*
Krzysztof Gordon
*
Sławomira Łozińska
*
Maria Robaszkiewicz
* Edyta Bach as Joanna
* Jakub Bach as Jurek
* Jerzy Gudejko
* Henryk Gołębiewski
* Katarzyna Tatarak
* Marcin Jamkowski
* Ewa Kania
* Sławomir Jóźwik as Matczak
* Małgorzata Prażmowska
*
Jowita Miondlikowska
* Jarosław Budnik
* Maria Maj
* Aleksander Mikołajczak
* Andrzej Andrzejewski
* Roman Bugaj
* Paweł Kleszcz
See also
*
Cinema of Poland
*
List of Gdynia Film Festival winners
References
External links
*
1999 films
1999 drama films
Polish drama films
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