Innocent Sorcerers

Innocent Sorcerers is a 1960 Polish psychological romantic drama film directed by Andrzej Wajda, and starring Tadeusz Łomnicki and Krystyna Stypułkowska. Its plot follows a young womanizer meeting another yet finally interesting girl, who all but forces herself into his apartment where they play the game of appearances, unable to confess their love to each other. The film was appreciated with Diploma of Merit at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1961. In Poland however, though well received by the audience, Innocent Sorcerers was met with criticism from both the then communist authorities and the Catholic Church. Nevertheless, since its release the film has garnered acclaim from film critics, similarly to its worldwide reception to date. American filmmaker Martin Scorsese recognized Innocent Sorcerers as one of the masterpieces of Polish cinema and in 2013 he selected it for screening in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom as part of the Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema festival of Polish films. Plot A young blond-haired man, having washed himself, listens to his recorded conversations with various girls he was having affairs with, while one of them, Mirka unsuccessfully tries to get to his apartment. As he waits for her to leave, his friend Edmund arrives. He drives him to the sports venue, where we learn that the still unnamed main protagonist is a doctor who qualifies young men for participation in boxing tournaments. He talks with his ex-lover and nurse – Teresa. In the evening, he plays drums in a jazz band led by a bassist Dudek "Polo". The group takes part in a music competition, heavily attended by many young people, including Mirka. After the successful performance (still described by Dudek as "crap" and "fairground music"), he flirts with a journalist. Seeing this, Mirka leaves upset. Later that evening he meets with Edmund at the club, where, infatuated by the charm of a young girl, Edmund wants to get rid of her partner by driving him out of the city, pretending to be a taxi driver. Doing that, the main protagonist's task would be to take the girl back to the club, where they would wait for Edmund to join them. However, the plan fails when the "kidnapped" girl makes the protagonist go for a night walk around Warsaw with her. He feels sorry for her so he tries to help her catch the train back home. The girl, however, being in no hurry, missed the train on purpose.