Nowadays, in a period of increasing surgical interference in the human body, Roly Poly seems no less relevant than it did half a century ago. Lem and Wajda tackle the question: where does the source of human identity lie and how might it change in the face of modern medical procedures? Their attempts at answering can be read in the context of contemporary post-humanist thought, which seeks new definitions of the human being. With all its philosophical underpinnings, Roly Poly is a film full of absurd humour and fun, as well as superb in terms of form. No wonder Lem, usually merciless towards adaptations of his works, spoke highly of Wajda’s film. In a letter to the director he wrote:
The day before yesterday, I watched Roly Poly on television. Both your work, the work of the actors and the set design seemed to me very good. [...] The near and indefinite 'future' was made very ingeniously, especially considering how little money you used to make it.
Roly Poly (Przekładaniec). Directed by Andrzej Wajda. Screenplay by Stanisław Lem. Director of photography: Wiesław Zdort. Set design: Teresa Barska. Costumes by Barbara Hoff. Music: Andrzej Markowski. Cast: Bogumił Kobiela (Ryszard Fox), Ryszard Filipski (attorney), Anna Prucnal (Fox’s sister-in-law), Jerzy Zelnik (doctor), Piotr Wysocki (psychoanalyst), and others. Camera Film Group. Black and white. 35 minutes.
Originally written in Polish by Robert Birkholc, translated into English by P. Grabowski, December 2021