Purely Joyful Movie!

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Pan Tadeusz (1999) is a Polish film that was co-written and directed by Andrzej Wajda. The film is a historical romance, based on conflicts between two families, and also within the ranks of Polish patriots.The movie is set during a period when Poland had been divided between Prussia, Russia, and Austria. There wasn't a country called Poland. One of the internal divisions within Polish patriots was whether to cooperate with Russia, or whether to support Napoleon as a liberator.There's a story within that story. One family member was shot by a member of another family. They have sworn eternal hatred. And, like the Montagues and the Capulets, the son of one family is in love with the daughter of the other family.Some reviewers have said that only Poles and Lithuanians can understand and enjoy this movie. I disagree. Non-Polish viewers like me may miss some of the subtleties, but the basic plot lines are clear enough. Wajda was a genius, and this film demonstrates the wide range of his abilities. He can write about grim post-WWII Poland, but he can also direct a large, sweeping epic. We saw Pan Tadeusz in 35mm at the wonderful Dryden Theatre at Rochester's George Eastman Museum. It was presented in collaboration with the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies at the University of Rochester.This film has a terrible IMDb rating of 6.1. Did the people watching it see the same movie I saw? Possibly they saw it on the small screen, where it won't work as well. My suggestion is to ignore the low rating and try to find Pan Tadeusz and watch it. You won't be disappointed.

Adam Mickiewicz is not only a Polish treasure. Thanks to Russian genial poet Alexander Pushkin, he became known in my homeland as well. What he wrote appealed to all the people. Such themes as home, Motherland, love, loyalty, bravery, war and peace are clear and true to all of us, be we Russian, Polish, American or Jewish. Andrzej Wajda has managed to fix this masterful poem, Pan Tadeusz, telling about the Napoleonic war times and the conflict between Polish who supported Buanaparte and Russians who fought him. Love story is another theme here and thus the Poet interwove all those in his intricate poem while the Movie Maker brought it all on to the screen. And it worked! When you hear those impeccable poetic lines spoken by the whole constellation of Polish actors - such as Boguslaw Linda, Marek Kondrat, Andrzej Seweryn - plus a great Russian film star Serhey Shakurov - you cannot but feel an immense pleasure. This is a very aesthetically beautiful movie, rich in costumes and in nature. Highly recommended for all who love poetry and excellently cut films.

Andrzej Wajda has been a great director at least as far back as "Kanal" in 1957. Tough films, provocative themes.But why the costume drama? I really wish he'd left this one alone.It's not unlike 1999's other bloated Polish historical epic, "Ogniem i mieczem" ("With Fire and Sword"). Here again Poles put aside their differences to prove they're the greatest people, or at least the greatest Slavs, on Bóg's green earth. Rah, rah. A crowd of Polish lesser gentry (rabble) armed with swords can defeat trained Russian musketry any day.And, yes, I am of Polish descent myself, although I'm embarrassed to admit it in this jingoistic context. That's why I was at the special screening in the first place, sponsored by Toronto's Polish newspaper."Pan Tadeusz" shares another characteristic with its elephantine contemporary: its ability to confuse non-Polish-speaking members of the audience with its vast number of characters and their poorly defined interrelationships.Both films too have a sudsy quality. So did "Gone With The Wind", but then character definition makes that historical epic a success. Tadeusz and Zosia are indistinct phantoms as personalities. Certainly no Rhett or Scarlett."With Fire and Sword" is more melodramatic than "Pan Tadeusz", but it's also more exciting. This film has a laudable grandeur which Wajda brings to the proceedings, but still I wish he'd picked a subject with a bit more substance.Wojciech Kilar can be congratulated on his score. And Daniel Olbrychski is always good to see, even with scars all over his head.It should be noted that Polish-speaking spectators at the theatre appeared to find this film quite enjoyable. They would be chuckling at clever turns of phrase in the dialogue, while the English titles would be saying something indescribably prosaic. Evidently the film loses nearly everything in translation.

This film is based on the masterpiece "Pan Tadeusz" written by Adam Mickiewicz, a famous Polish poet in 1830. Adam Mickiewicz was born in Lithuania in 1798. At the time Lithuania and Poland were connected in a political union and many Polish families lived in Lithuania. Mickiewicz felt as a real Pole. This film is about the Polish nobilty in Soblicowo how they lead their normal lives - they party, hunt , go mushroom picking and fight with their neigbours. But everyone is waiting for Napolean, the French leader to liberate and save Poland. The director of this movie is famous Polish director. He is found in the imdb with more than 30 films of his career.One of the most beloved literary works in the history of Polish History, "Pan Tadeusz" was never adapted to the screen before. The cinematography of this film is marvelously done. It demonstrates the beautiful fields of Lithuania, with its natural pictures.The greatest part of the film was played by Daniel Olbrychski. He showed real emotion and a true actor. He is also a known actor in Europe, starring in films, in Poland, France and Russia.I encourage everyone to see this film to learn some history and have some fun!