If reality is a dream, then the worst-case scenario is when it becomes a nightmare. The protagonist, Marek, a police inspector, is investigating the murder of his colleague Maciek, who was killed in very unclear circumstances. Everything suggests that the murder was committed by someone from the victim's closest circle. Moreover, this was someone who knows the inspector very well, because his every move is being followed. The murderer cleverly covers up his tracks, complicates the plot, provokes.
Despite the efforts of Marek and his partner Tomek, the police are unable to determine who committed the murder and why. Consecutive false trails lead nowhere, and interviews with witnesses yield nothing. Then Hanna appears, drawing Marek's attention, but he is under the impression that she is lying. Not knowing who to trust, he sees conspiracy everywhere. He is troubled by frequent hallucinations - on the verge of a nervous breakdown, he can no longer tell where reality ends and madness begins. He starts to suspect he is the murderer.
People have a capacity, unheard-of in any other species, for subjectifying and distorting the world. This process occurs at all levels of consciousness. From the very beginning of a situation, our perception is dominated by distortions, not to mention the fact that we remember everything subjectively, and most often our memories - the images created in our self, have nothing in common with the truth, says Niewolski.
Niewolski's film is interesting in its plot, but primarily unusual in the way it is made. Extraordinary cinematography by Arkadiusz Tomiak, inspired by Caravaggio's paintings, austere set design, and the unsettling music of Bartłomiej Gliniak, together make up an original thriller that keeps the viewer in suspense from the first minute to the last.
- Palimpsest, Poland, 2006. Directed by Konrad Niewolski, screenplay by Igor Brejdygant, director of photography: Arkadiusz Tomiak, music by Bartłomiej Gliniak, production design by Monika Sajko-Gradowska, costume design by Paweł Grabarczyk, producer: Juliusz Machulski. Featuring: Andrzej Chyra (Marek), Robert Gonera (Tomek), Magdalena Cielecka (Hanna), Tomasz Sapryk (Maciek), Grzegorz Warchoł (Neighbour), Henryk Talar (Chief of Police), Arkadiusz Bazak (Guardian), Adam Ferency (Malina), Arkadiusz Jakubik (Bogdan), Elżbieta Jarosik (Doctor), Adam Kamień (Wazon), Mirosław Zbrojewicz (Bury). Produced by Studio Filmowe Zebra, Telewizja Polska - Agencja Filmowa, Canal+ Polska, distribution: SPI International Polska. Duration: 80 min. Cinema premiere: August 18, 2006.
Film awards:
- 2006 - Prize for outstanding technical achievement for Konrad Niewolski at RiverRun (IFF), best cinematographer award for Arkadiusz Tomiak at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
Author: Joanna Pawluśkiewicz, December 2006