Academy of Polish Film INNOCENT WIZARDS

Polish Film Academy — Wajda. Director of the painting IMAGE AS A SIGN — IMAGE, MYTH, SYMBOL Innocent wizards (1960) lecture: editor: Maciej Gil

Young doctor Andrzej works in a sports club. His passion is jazz. He plays drums in an amateur band. He leads a typically consumerist lifestyle. He likes fashionable clothes, he has an Italian scooter. Eager to make fleeting relationships with women. One evening at the Mannequin nightclub, his friend Edmund notices a beautiful girl in the hall. On his initiative, Andrew picks up an unfamiliar beauty. The girl without resistance lets herself be led into the hero's apartment. She's smart and perverse. The two begin a game of pretense. She introduces herself as Pelagia, he says her name is Basil. They put together the scenario of a night together.

First a glass of vodka, then a kiss, then an intellectual conversation, and finally, a bed.

They try to control spontaneous feelings for each other. They play matches: the number of points depends on the skillful throwing of the box. Pelagia loses. He can redeem himself by taking off more pieces of clothing. Andrew, however, does not allow her to undress to the end. In the morning, Pelagia lies down on the couch, but only in order to immediately fall asleep. A group of hoppy colleagues calls Andrew out of the apartment. When the man returns, he does not find Pelagia. He's looking for her all over town. And then he begins to understand how important it is to him. After an hour of wandering, he finds a girl at home. He still pretends to be a cynical player. Pelagia says goodbye and leaves. On the stairs, however, he decides to return.

Wajda's film shows the attitudes and behaviors of young people typical of the late fifties. Being yourself is frowned upon. Cynicism and beyond cold observers of reality stems from the then-fashionable philosophy of existentialism. The director ironically refers to these conventions, covering the true nature of man.

The title Innocent Wizards suggests that under the guise of cynicism young people hide the sensitivity of the heart.

Joanna Piątek, Lexicon of Polish Feature Films, Warsaw 1996