Szamanka is Andrzej Zulawski's last Polish film as of now and is also the last film he made in the 20th century. It is Zulawski's 11th feature film of 12 thus far and is from 1996. It marked a near 20 year return to Polish cinema for Zulawski who shot the science fiction epic The Silver Globe in 1977 though wasn't able to complete the forever unfinished work until 10 years later due to the Polish government putting a stop on the production prior to the completion of the film. Szamanka is a powerful film brimming with an electrifying energy full of a strangeness. Like other Zulawski films the characters in the film are trying to reach some form of otherness, whether it is a conscience decision or coming from somewhere completely primal.
The story begins with a fiery pace when archeologist and anthropology professor Michal (Boguslaw Linda) meets a woman only known as "the Italian" (Iwona Petry.) Michal needs to rent out his brother's apartment and the Italian is interested in being the tenant. During the opening meeting while in the apartment, Michal initially takes advantage of the Italian sexually though at a certain point the exchange turns mutual. This foundational scene is the basis of what becomes an all encompassing addiction for both Michal and the Italian. Problems begin to arise when they want different things out of the transcendent experiences unfolding.
Shortly after Michal and the Italian's intense first encounter, Michal discovers the remains of an amazingly preserved shaman. For Michal, his increasing obsession with both the Italian and the shaman become intertwined in an all consuming way. Further, Michal begins to realize or believe that there is some profound connection to his physical interactions with the Italian and the knowledge to be gained through understanding the ways of the shaman. Essentially, Szamanka is an unorthodox love story. For Michal, he is falling in love with the long dead shaman while using the Italian for physical and emotional release, hoping to live out the profundities of the human experience. The Italian has far more of a heartfelt, instinctual physical and emotional connection to Michal. She is a nymphomaniac who only feels right with Michal. When the Italian is shown in sexual encounters with assorted others, what transpires fails to bring her much of anything outside of disappointment. Zulawski treads over territory that could so easily fall into an exploitation mode though the film never wavers from a bizarre sympathy towards both Michal and the Italian. By the end I think that it is fair to say that Zulawski shows far more tenderness to the Italian.
Szamanka has a fearless style that recalls Possession the most out of his cinematic work though I am also reminded of all of the frantic running around Valerie Kaprisky does in La femme publique and how Zulawski gives the proceedings such a magical energy in all noted films. Zulawski seems to reference the look and feel of particular scenes in Possession almost as if Szamanka is the sister film to Possession. A few scenes come to mind right away. At one point in the film, the Italian is outside of church looking at a religious statue just like when Adjani is looking up at a religious statue outside of a church in Possession. The shot is taken from high above both women and demonstrates a look of torture at the thought of a supposed God of any kind. Also, the tracking shots of the Italian running from place to place using the subway system instantly brings Possession to mind. Zulawski is ever moving the camera in the most interesting ways and the cinematography perfectly encapsulates the special energy Iwona Petry displays in Szamanka. Remarkably, Szamanka is the first film in which Zulawski had the necessary budget to use Steadicam. It is used so effectively and brings to mind the most impressive shots and sequences seen in Possession and L'amour braque.
Iwona Petry gives a totally unhinged and touching performance as the Italian. Astonishingly, Petry had never acted before and sadly has not acted since. Zulawski saw Petry in a cafe in Warsaw while experiencing understandable difficulty casting the Italian. Something about her conflicting appearance spoke to Zulawski. One one hand, Petry undeniably exudes an enormous level of sheer beauty though seemed off in some way to Zulawski. In the great commentary track for the essential Mondo Vision release of the film, Zulawski tells the story of seeing her in the cafe and knowing he had discovered the Italian for Szamanka. Her beauty was thrown off by the way in which she was conducting herself and the nasal mucus streaming down her face at the time.
Andrzej Korzynski provides a varied score that works on every level. It juxtaposes airy string pads that have an Angelo Badalementi type sound, ritualistic drumming with vibrant electric guitars, up tempo synthesizer sequences that recall Goblin along with the almost always present carnival sounding tracks that emphasize the absurd and hilarious moments. Again, in Zulawski's Mondo Vision commentary on the DVD he tells Daniel Bird that originally the airy string pads were going to serve as the sonic backdrop for the sex scenes between Michal and the Italian while the scenes between Michal and the shaman would have the ritualistic drumming and guitar tracks. Zulawski made a crucial change to the proceedings which further emphasize the shifting focus of the story. By assigning the romantic string pads to the scenes with Michal and the shaman, the viewer further understands the romance from beyond the grave that is forming. Michal is falling in love with the shaman, not the Italian. The machine like drumming that accompanies the sexual exchanges between Michal and the Italian serve the raw force of the union they share. Of course, it is never that straightforward in a Zulawski film as the Italian has other feelings and things in mind for Michal when she realizes the exact nature of his behavior towards her. To add yet another layer, there is an apocalyptic subplot. The potential nuclear apocalypse is never spelled out as it isn't in Possession either.
The central question Szamanka poses and fortunately never attempts to answer is does the Italian possess transcendent powers or is she merely an imbecile? Zulawski has spoken of his cinema as a cinema of masks with the sole exception of Szamanka where the masks are removed for the entirety of the film. Petry gives an amazing performance because she is able to formulate through facial expressions, spastic movement and an eclipsing sexual energy the vast distinction between these two states of being while blurring the lines. There are a number of scenes where this blurred line has the viewer at a loss as to which side the Italian is on without actually knowing because the performance is full of such an acute awareness of the lines being drawn and obscured. It is an absolute shame that Szamanka was so poorly received in Poland and subject to public outcry in a way that brings to mind David Cronenberg's Crash. Interestingly enough, Crash was made in 1996 along with Szamanka and was also a highly controversial and misunderstood film that explores unusual and unabashed sexual ground.
My history with watching this film over the last 10 plus years at different points is strange. The first time I saw Szamanka, it was a wretched looking bootleg copy that I remember being so incredibly excited to see despite the beyond horrible transfer and lack of subtitles. Shortly after, Canal + and Premier Digital released a Russian DVD in 2002. The transfer was passable and there were subtitles, albeit done in a poor way with jerky dialog translations. In 2010, Mondo Vision came to the rescue releasing the film with a wonderful transfer, loaded with text/video supplemental features and the Limited Edition contains the entire Korzynski soundtrack.
I've seen Szamanka around 10 times by now and the film resonated with me the most it ever has last night at BAM. I'm not quite sure if it was because it was the first time I saw a print of the film projected in a theater or due to the retrospective getting me to further think about and view Zulawski's films one after the other. Even though Zulawski has been one of my all time favorite directors for years, I would always space out the duration of passing time when watching his films because they are so intense and demand so much of the viewer. That being said, I am enormously grateful to now be in the position of watching Zulawski's entire canon over the course of a few weeks. The BAM screening was nearly sold out and it appears to have gone over well with the majority of audience members. I still can't believe that Zulawski's work is finally being celebrated in the US after years and years of thinking it would remain outside of the periphery of cinema culture in English speaking parts of the world.
