Director: Janusz Majewski
1970
Professor Wittembach (Edmund Fetting), a scholar of sacred texts and a pastor, sets out from Königsberg to Lithuania in search of the lost Samogitian Catechism. On the train, he meets three ladies returning from England, and thanks to an invitation from the eldest of them, he finds himself at the palace of a Lithuanian count. There, his attention is drawn to Miss Julia Dowgiałło (Małgorzata Braunek). During his stay, the professor uncovers the dark secrets of the Szemiot family: traumatic events during a hunt that drove the countess mad, and the wild instincts of Count Michał (Józef Duriasz), manifested in hunting scenes, nightmares, and his interactions with his fiancée. Conversations with Dr. Froeber (Gustaw Lutkiewicz) lead him to reflect on the duality of human nature, torn between culture and instinct. The film is an adaptation of Mérimée’s fantastical novella "Prospera" from 1869.