Movielogr
The Contract (1980)
Directed by Krzysztof Zanussi
Overview
Bearing traces of the old Anton Chekhov play The Wedding, The Contract is set during an “arranged” ceremony. The bride and groom barely know each other, but this matters not at all to their tradition-bound families. At the last minute, the bride balks. Only slightly nonplused, the groom’s father, a status-seeking doctor, decides to go ahead with the expensive reception anyway. Polish director Krzysz Zanussi uses this scenario to stick it to capitalist corruption, and to society’s destruction of the individual spirit. Leslie Caron, the one recognizable member of the cast, is outstanding as a wealthy, over-the-hill ballerina who happens to be a kleptomaniac.
Length 114 minutes
Actors
Maja Komorowska | Tadeusz Łomnicki | Magdalena Jarosz | Krzysztof Kolberger | Nina Andrycz | Zofia Mrozowska | Beata Tyszkiewicz | Janusz Gajos | Edward Linde-Lubaszenko | Ignacy Machowski | Christine Paul-Podlasky | Peter Bonke | Leslie Caron | Irena Byrska | Jolanta Kozak-Sutowicz | Maciej Robakiewicz | Jerzy Święch | Bożena Dykiel | Liliana Komorowska | Laura Łącz | Krystyna Sznerr-Mierzejewska | Jan Jurewicz | Eugeniusz Priwieziencew | Maciej Dzienisiewicz | Zbigniew Grusznic | Andrzej Pieczynski | Agata Rzeszewska | Zbigniew Skowroński | Andrzej Szenajch | Jadwiga Colonna-Walewska | Edward Wichura | Wiktor Zborowski | Emilia Ziólkowska | Czesław Mroczek | Zbigniew Zapasiewicz