WATCH NOW
The film begins with a key point – the uneasy peace between the church and state in Poland. So far, everyone manages to get through the civil wedding relatively unscathed. However, the church wedding (the ‘real wedding’ as some sideline) the next day has been a complete catastrophe. It’s like the wedding scene in “The Graduate” where decorum disintegrated during the passionate and anguished screams of Dustin Hoffman. It’s no big deal, though. After the fiasco in the church, the pre-wedding celebration goes on as planned, but the bride is missing. The father of the bride is keen to show off his opulent country villa, which is why the bride’s father is missing.
This villa is one of those privileged places that are supposed to be banned in communist countries that are supposedly egalitarian, but, are not. In this instance, the owner of the villa is not some high ranking government official, but rather, a lowly surgeon with enough clout to perform the sort of favors that go unpaid. He is a black marketeer of sorts, selling services instead of goods.
Everyone invited to this wedding is a curious mix and I have been told that Polish audiences would recognize certain Polish government officials and celebrities within the group. A ballerina played by Leslie Caron is the host’s sister-in-law and she is also included in the invitees. Not only does she bring with her some of the Parisian dresses, she also manages to keep some nasty family secrets to herself.
And then catastrophe ! Missing wallets and belongings are announced. A shocking thought flashes across my mind – one of the guests could possibly be a criminal. Initially, no one is willing to blame anyone else, but the comfort driven social order begins to break apart, as the sobering reality that all treasured possessions will seemingly be impossible to obtain in Polish society sinks in. At this point, the film starts to imitate Bunuel’s “The Exterminating Angel.” In his 1963 masterpiece about a dinner party, the guests are stuck until they all descend to animalistic behavior, camping out in the parlor.
Without a doubt, there are different kinds of political and social lessons to be learned in “Contract” and informed citizens in Poland will have no trouble spotting them. In the eyes of American viewers, the film serves as a broader mockery of the contemporary sociopolitical ideologies. For all audiences, this liberated 1980 comedy serves as a reminder that Poland is not going to be producing films like this for quite some time, and that Zanussi along with his film, is an exile.
To watch more movies like (The Contract (2006) visit 123Movies.
Also Watch for more movies like: 123MOVIES
