Alcohol, drugs, entertainment and sexual freedom bordering on perversion. Four members of Warsaw's elite are living life to the fullest. They are young, affluent and spoiled.
Alcohol, drugs, entertainment and sexual freedom bordering on perversion. Four members of Warsaw's elite are living life to the fullest. They are young, affluent and spoiled. And they only think of themselves. "Smutny" ("Cheerless") was once a talented young composer but has sold out to the advertising world. He has just broken up with his girlfriend, Anka, who is about to leave Poland when fate offers her another chance at restoring her love. Will "Smutny" welcome her back? "Młody" ("Junior") is intoxicated by the money he has, by his friends and by his "coke." His fiancé is pregnant and worried about whether she is still sexy. Philip is an architect whose designs include church buildings. His lover has just dumped him and Philip no longer believes that he will ever be happy in his beautiful, empty house, in his "sweet" yet empty life. He decides on the most drastic course of action - suicide. And the others? Will they follow his example or wake up and reverse their progression toward doom that leads through an unending "carnival"?
"(...) Independent of the intentions he had as an author, in this film Treliński has tackled a number of issues that are fundamental to understanding the 1990s in Poland - that strange, grotesque time when former slaves metamorphosed into liberated people. The rapidly ageing youths of Treliński's film (...) seemingly belong to the new world. Their existence has an unbearable lightness to it. They know how to take advantage of all the aspects of life in a free country and demonstrate tremendous creativity in finding ever-new ways of satisfying their eccentric desires. However, their constant pursuit of pleasures is strangely jerky and seems unnaturally forced. They are not the masters of their situation, they are not at home with it. They resemble a pack of hungry orphans who have been let into a candy shop. Treliński's film records the first symptoms of their inevitable digestive problems. However, those who would claim that this problem applies only to members of the class known as Warsaw's 'banana babies' would be sorely wrong. The problem with freedom, within which we must all learn to live by making mistakes, is the hump we all wear on our backs." (Mateusz Werner, "Film" Weekly)
"Sexual perversion has replaced what in the past was called the pursuit of ideals (...). This film is very bleak and ugly - literally and figuratively. It annoys and provokes. Its protagonists are entirely unlikable. Viewers generally like to sympathize with characters, but this film gives them no one worthy of their sympathy, nor anyone to identify with. But it is impossible to be indifferent about 'The Egoists.' "(Marek Sadowski, "Rzeczpospolita" Daily)
- Egoiści / The Egoists. Poland, 2000. Directed by: Mariusz Treliński. Screenplay by: Przemysław Nowakowski, Wojciech Nowak and Mariusz Treliński. Director of photography Grzegorz Kuczeriszka. Production designer: Boris F. Kudlicka. Music by: Paweł Mykietyn. Editing: Milena Fiedler. Executive producer: Skorpion Art Film. Featuring: Magdalena Cielecka (Anka), Olaf Lubaszenko ("Smutny" / "Cheerless"), Jan Frycz (Philip), Rafał Mohr ("Młody" / "Junior"), Agnieszka Dygant (Ilonka, "Młody's" wife{C}), Violetta Kołakowska (Luba), Marek Żerański ("Guma" / "Rubber{C}{C}"), Maja Ostaszewska (Advertising Agency Client), Omar Sangare (Łukasz, "Młody's" friend), Krzysztof Zaleski (Józef Maślanka), Borys Jaznicki ("Mały" / "Kid"), Paweł Ławrynowicz (Robert, Philip's lover), Marta Kuligowska ("Misia"), Maria Góralczyk ("Barbie"), Rafal Kronenberger (Daniel), Paulina Tomborowska ("Mummy"), Katarzyna Filak (Businesswoman), Anna Kosmala ("Zwierzę / Animal{C}"). Production: Telewizja Polska - Agencja Filmowa (Polish State Television - Film Agency), Canal+ Polska, Agencja Produkcji Filmowej (Film Production Agency), Skorpion Art Film , ITI Cinema, color, time: 103'.
Awards:
- 2000: Festival of Polish Feature Films, Gdynia - Nagroda Jury Młodzieżowej / Youth Jury Award