Thirty Door Key Poland / France / UK
1991, 98min.
Prod./Dir. Jerzy Skolimowski, Script: Joseph Kay, John Yorick, Jerzy Skolimowski, based on the novel by Widolt Gombrowicz, Dir. of Phot.: Witold Adamek, Compos.: Stanislaw Syrewicz, Michal Lorenc, Sound: Mariusz Kocinski, Jerzy Skolimowski, Edit.: GrazynaJasinska.
Cast: Iain Glen, Robert Stephens, Crispin Glover, Marek Probosz, Artur Zmijewski, Judith Godreche, Dorota Stalinska
Warsaw. 1939. Jozef is thirty years old, but not everyone seems to think so. Take Pimko, for instance, his old teacher, who drags him back to school by force, only to leave him to his own devices among a group of turbulent high school students. Or Zuta, a “modern” nymph who toys with Jozef as if he were a tiny puppy.Or his cousin Zosia, who would like nothing better than to prolong the dreamy childhood love they once shared. In brief, Jozef is the only one to be aware of the fact that he is a man in the prime of his life. He must choose between maturity he cannot face and amnesia and repression his entourage has to offer him; meanwhile the outbreak of war signals the death of old unwitting Poland.
Production Company
Million Frames Ltd.
Thirty Door Key Ltd.
Cinea
| Skolimowski, Jerzy  Jerzy Skolimowski (born 1938, Lodz, Poland)
Director, scriptwriter, actor, poet and painter. He graduated in ethnography from Warsaw University in 1959 and attended the prestigious Polish Film School in Lodz. Skolimowski has directed more than 20 films in and outside of Poland. At college, he took up boxing, which was the subject of a feature-length documentary, his first film, shot in 1961. By his early 20’s, Skolimowski had published several books of poems, short stories and a play. This led to his writing the screenplay and playing a boxer in Andrzej Wajda’s film The Innocent Sorcerers. He subsequently teamed up with Roman Polanski, writing the script of Knife in the Water in 1962. Between 1964 and 1984, he completed several semi-autobiographical features. While living and working in many countries, he also completed six big budget productions including four international co-productions between 1970 and 1992: The Adventures of Gerard, King, Queen, Knave, The Shout, The Lightship, Torrents of Spring and Ferdydurke, all distinctly bearing Skolimowski’s signature. His first US production, The Lightship, starring Robert Duvall, won Best Director Award at the Venice IFF. His next project, Torrents of Spring, starred Timothy Hutton, Nastassja Kinski and Valeria Golino. Two of his films won awards in Cannes IFF: Grand Prix du Jury for The Shout and Silver Palm for Moonlighting. He also won the Golden Bear in Berlin for Le Depart. His last film, Four Nights with Anna premiered in Cannes, and received Grand Jury Prize at the Tokyo IFF in 2008. Skolimowski’s portrayal of a ruthless yet composed KGB colonel in White Nights, established his credentials as an actor. His acting credits are L.A., Without a Map, Mars Attacks!, Torrents of Spring, and Big Shots among others. His paintings were exhibited all around Europe and in the United States. He took part in the Venice Biennale, and his work was acquired by Contemporary Art Museums in Poland and Greece, as well as private collectors in the US, UK, France, Italy, Germany, and other countries. Skolimowski currently resides in Malibu, California and Warsaw, Poland.
Filmography
Oko wykol/The Menacing Eye (1960, short), Hamles/Little Hamlet (1960, short), Eroty/Erotique (1960, short), Boks/Boxing (1961), Pienadze albo zycie/Money or Life (1961, short), The Nude (1962), Rysopis/Identificqtion Marks: None (1964), Walkower/Walkover (1965), Bariera/Barrier (1966), Rece do gory/Hands Up! (1966), Le depart (1966), Deep End (1970), The Adventures of Gerard (1970), King, Queen, Knave (1972), The Shout (1978), Moonlighting (1982), Dialog 20-40-60 (segment The Twenty-Year-Olds, 1968), Succes Is the Best Revenge (1984), The Lightship (1985), Torrents of Spring (1989), Ferdydurke/Thirty Door Key (199!), The Hollow Man (1993), Cztery noce z Anna/Four Nights with Anna (2008).
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