The Devil

The year 1793, Greater Poland. Jakub, a young nobleman and failed conspirator against Stanisław August, returns to his family estate, now consumed by hellish desires and corruption. His father commits suicide, his mother falls into prostitution, and his fiancée and sister descend into madness. Shaken, Jakub, under the influence of the Devil, commits tragic crimes, becoming an instrument of forces beyond his control. Andrzej Żuławski’s second feature film portrays the history of Poland as a stage of violence and moral chaos. A dynamic camera, references to literary classics, and contemporary music create a disturbing depiction of political and personal upheavals, allowing the work to be read both as a historical drama and a universal parable about the power of destruction and manipulation.