''Quo Vadis'' is a

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanist ...

Polish film The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as the history of cinematography, and it has universally recognized achievements, even though Polish films tend to be less commercially available than films from several other European nations. Af ...

directed Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Jerzy Kawalerowicz Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish film director and politician, having been a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish parliament since ...

based on the 1896 book of the same title by

Henryk Sienkiewicz Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz ( , ; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (), was a Polish writer, novelist, journalist and Nobel Prize laureate. He is best remembered for his historical novels, espe ...

. It was Poland's submission to the

74th Academy Awards The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly ...

for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, but was not nominated.

Plot

The central plot in the movie revolves around the love of a Roman patrician, Marcus Vinicius, towards a Christian girl (coming from the territory of modern-day Poland) set against the backdrop of the persecutions against Christians during the reign of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

. In the beginning, Lygia, a Christian and hostage of Rome, becomes the object of Vinicius' love but she refuses his advances. Vinicius' friend Petronius tries to manipulate Nero, who has authority over all Roman hostages, to give Lygia to Vinicius, but Lygia is taken into hiding by Christians. Marcus Vinicius decides to find her and force her to be his wife. He goes to a Christian meeting along with Croton, a gladiator, to find her. After following her from the meeting, Marcus tries to take her, but Ursus, a strong man and friend of Lygia, kills Croton. Marcus himself is wounded in the fight, but is taken care of by Lygia and the Christians. Seeing their kindness he begins to convert to Christianity, and Lygia accepts him. Rome catches fire while the emperor, Nero, is away. Nero returns and sings to the crowd, but they become angry. At the suggestion of Nero's wife, the Christians are blamed for the fire, providing a long series of cruel spectacles to appease the crowd. In one of the spectacles, Ursus faces a bull carrying Lygia on its back. Ursus wins and, with the crowd and guards in approval, Nero lets them live. Nero kills himself, and Vinicius and Lygia leave Rome.

Cast

Paweł Deląg Paweł Maciej Deląg (born 29 April 1970 in Kraków) is a Polish actor. Filmography * ''Schindler's List'' (''Lista Schindlera'', 1993, USA) - Dolek Horowitz * ''Death In Shallow Water'' (''Halal sekely vizben'', 1994, Hungary) - Peter * ''Fitn ...

– Marcus Vinicius *

Magdalena Mielcarz Magdalena Mielcarz (born 3 March 1978) is a Polish actress, model and singer also known as Lvma Black. Career As a model, she appeared on numerous covers of magazines like ''Elle'', ''Cosmopolitan'', ''InStyle'', '' Glamour'' and worked with d ...

– Lygie Callina *

Bogusław Linda Bogusław Linda (; born 27 June 1952) is a Polish actor known from films such as ''Psy'' and ''Tato''. He appeared in Andrzej Wajda's ''Man of Iron'' and ''Danton'' and in Krzysztof Kieślowski's ''Blind Chance'' and the seventh episode of Kieśl ...

–

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Michał Bajor Michał Bajor (born 13 June 1957 in Głuchołazy, Poland) is a Polish actor and musician. Bajor’s songs are based on texts by Wojciech Młynarski, Jonasz Kofta, Andrzej Ozga, Marcin Sosnowski, and Julian Tuwim. He is a member of the Academy of th ...

–

Agnieszka Wagner Agnieszka Wagner (born 17 December 1970) is a Polish actress. She has appeared in more than fifty films since 1989. Selected filmography References External links * 1970 births Living people Polish film actresses Polish people of ...

Poppaea Sabina Poppaea Sabina (AD 30 – 65), also known as Ollia, was a Roman empress as the second wife of the Emperor Nero. She had also been wife to the future emperor Otho. The historians of antiquity describe her as a beautiful woman who used intrigues ...

Jerzy Trela Jerzy Józef Trela (14 March 1942 – 15 May 2022) was a Polish actor. In 2003 he starred in the film '' An Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was a God'' under Jerzy Hoffman. He is also known for ''White'' (1994), ''Quo Vadis'' (2001) and '' Ida'' (2013 ...

– Chilon Chilonides *

Danuta Stenka Danuta Stenka (born 10 October 1961 in Sierakowice, Poland) is a Polish actress. She is one of the leading Polish film and theatre actresses. Life and career From 1991, she spent a decade working at Teatr Dramatyczny in Warsaw, then at TR Wars ...

–

Pomponia Graecina Pomponia Graecina (d. 83 AD) was a noble Roman woman of the 1st century who was related to the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the wife of Aulus Plautius, the general who led the Roman conquest of Britain in 43 AD, and was renowned as one of the fe ...

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 ...

–

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

Krzysztof Majchrzak Krzysztof Majchrzak (born 2 March 1948) is a Polish film actor. His first part in a major production was in Andrzej Wajda's '' The Promised Land'' (1975). He has appeared in 30 films since 1975. He was nominated for an award as Best Actor for h ...

–

Tigellinus Ofonius Tigellinus (c. 10 – 69) was a prefect of the Roman imperial bodyguard, known as the Praetorian Guard, from 62 until 68, during the reign of emperor Nero. Tigellinus gained imperial favour through his acquaintance wit ...

Rafał Kubacki Rafał Andrzej Kubacki (born 23 March 1967 in Wrocław) is a Polish judoka. He is known from his role as Ursus (Lygia's huge bodyguard) in '' Quo Vadis'' (2001 film) directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerow ...

– Ursus

Reception

It was the most popular Polish film of the year with 4.2 million admissions.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2001 films 2000s Polish-language films 2000s historical drama films Cultural depictions of Poppaea Sabina Films based on works by Henryk Sienkiewicz Films directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz Films scored by Jan A. P. Kaczmarek Films set in classical antiquity Films set in the Roman Empire Films set in the 1st century Polish historical drama films Depictions of Nero on film Films about Christianity 2001 drama films Cultural depictions of Saint Peter

Plot

Cast

Reception

See also

References

External links