''At Full Gallop'' (, and also known as ''In Full Gallop'') is a 1996 Polish

biographical A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or curric ...

tragicomedy film written and directed by

Krzysztof Zanussi Krzysztof Pius Zanussi (born 17 June 1939) is a Polish film and theatre director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of European film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland where he conducts a summer workshop. He ...

, starring Maja Komorowska, Bartosz Obuchowicz, Karolina Wajda,

Piotr Adamczyk Piotr Aleksander Adamczyk (; born March 21, 1972) is a Polish film, television, voice and theatre actor. He is known for portraying pianist and composer Frédéric Chopin in the biographical film '' Chopin: Desire for Love'' (2002), Pope John Paul ...

, Piotr Szwedes, Andrzej Szenajch, with Halina Gryglaszewska, Sławomira Łozińska,

Stanisława Celińska Stanisława Maria Celińska-Mrowiec (born 29 April 1947 in Warsaw, Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the ...

, Krystyna Bigelmajer, Agnieszka Warchulska, Grzegorz Warchoł, Jan Prochyra, Stephen Kember, Eugeniusz Priwiezieńcew,

Lew Rywin Lew Rywin (born 10 November 1945 in a Nizhnyeye Alkeyevo, USSR) is a Polish film producer associated with Heritage Films (est. 1991). He has also been a member of the State Council of Radio and Television and worked in an agency, Poltel, and p ...

, and Mario Di Nardo in supporting roles. Zanussi has described the film as his most

autobiographical An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

work. It was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (; 'A Certain Glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films with unusua ...

section at the

1996 Cannes Film Festival The 49th Cannes Film Festival took place from 9 to 20 May 1996. American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola served as jury president for the main competition. Sabine Azéma hosted the opening and closing ceremonies. British filmmaker Mike Leigh wo ...

. The film was selected as the Polish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the

69th Academy Awards The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremo ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Plot

A young boy in post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Communist-dominated Poland, whose father's decision to remain in the United Kingdom after the war has made his family politically-suspect with the local Party authorities, is sent by his mother to stay with an "aunt" (in reality an old family friend) in the capital,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. Ida is a strong-willed, single, middle-aged woman who has found her own ways of surviving in the Communist-run society (which sometimes involves her charming powerful older men, as well as maintaining two different sets of identity papers). She gets Hubert admitted to one of the city's best schools by portraying him as the orphan of a war hero. But she also shares with him her own passion for horses, at a time when riding is seen by many officials as a relic of the old aristocratic class. Hubert himself, meanwhile, struggles to understand how it can be right for a good

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

to lie in order to survive under Communism."In Full Gallop" : Overview. Movies. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Cast

* Maja Komorowska as Aunt Idalia Dobrowolska * Bartosz Obuchowicz as Hubert * Karolina Wajda as Rozmaryna *

as Ksawery * Piotr Szwedes as Dominik * Andrzej Szenajch as cavalry captain * Halina Gryglaszewska as Idalia's aunt * Sławomira Łozińska as Hubert's mother *

as Justyna Winewar (minister's wife) * Krystyna Bigelmajer as teacher * Agnieszka Warchulska as headteacher * Grzegorz Warchoł as LZS director * Jan Prochyra as UB officer interrogating Hubert's mother * Stephen Kember as British diplomat * Eugeniusz Priwiezieńcew as public prosecutor *

as minister * Mario Di Nardo as Italian diplomat

Filming

The film was mostly shot in Czerwińsk nad Wisłą and

Łąck Łąck is a village in Płock County, Masovian Voivodeship, in central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Łąck. It lies approximately south-west of Płock and west of Warsaw. It is located on the west ...

References

External links

* 1990s biographical drama films 1990s political comedy-drama films 1996 comedy-drama films 1996 films Biographical films about children Polish biographical drama films Polish comedy-drama films Polish historical films 1990s Polish-language films Films about horses Films about Soviet repression Films directed by Krzysztof Zanussi Films produced by Krzysztof Zanussi Films scored by Wojciech Kilar Films set in the 1950s Films set in Warsaw Films shot in Poland Self-reflexive films Stalinism in Poland Tragicomedy films {{Poland-film-stub

Plot

Cast

Filming

See also

References

External links