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ROME 2012 Poland

Dark and delirious psychological thriller Ixjana arrives in Rome

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- The only Polish film in the Italian festival, written and directed by Józef and Michał Skolimowski, has screened in the international competition

Yesterday, the seventh Rome International Film Festival screened the only Polish film in its competitive Official Selection: Józef and Michał Skolimowski’s dark and delirious psychological thriller Ixjana [+see also:
trailer
film profile
]
. The two brothers, sons of famous filmmaker Jerzy Skolimowski (who made Essential Killing [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Jerzy Skolimowski
film profile
]
, for which Józef and Michał directed the second part) and actress Joanna Szczerbic, thus sign their second feature almost 20 years after their feature debut The Hollow Men (1993).

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The story, written by the brothers, centres on young writer Marek Newski (Sambor Czarnota), who, despite the critical and commercial success of his first book, feels great worry that translates as chest pain. He suspects that this ailment stems from a party at his editor’s house, at the end of which he fought with his best friend Artur (Borys Szyc) over a woman, Marlena (Magdalena Boczarska). Little by little, all the clues start to tell him that he killed his friend.

From then onwards, an investigation unravels in which Marek tries to find out what really happened. Cue lots of delirious scenes, the fruit of nightmares in which reality becomes intertwined with imaginary landscapes or scenes from his book. Black magic, masks, the Devil himself, pedophilia, drugs, and irrational fears... The Skolimowski brothers use so many elements in their film that, in the end, it is overwhelming in its excesses yet never manages to reach coherence as a whole.

A great part of the film’s weight is carried on its actors’ shoulders. The acting is very theatrical, with very marked body language, especially in the case of Czarnota. A special mention should go to Adam Sikora’s cinematography, with its great contrasts and very bright colours, as it offers an interesting counterpoint to the film's dark narrative. As for the occasional special effects, especially in the more surrealist scenes, they offer an almost comical counterpoint (let’s hope intentionally).

This Film Media production is due out in Poland on November 23.

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(Translated from Spanish)

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