Ancient Tale: When the Sun Was God

Mr. Jerzy Hoffman proved with this film that he has been and still remains to be one of the three greatest Polish film directors, along with Andrzej Wajda and Krzysztof Kislowski. This film was made with the obvious attempt to repeat the winning formula of Hoffman's super hit Ogniem I Miezcem (1999)- the theme is again about Poland's heroic past, the actors are more or less the same - Polish mega stars Zebrowski, Olbrychski, Zborowski, as well as Ukrainian star Bohdan Stupka and the Russian rising female star Maria Aleksandrova (she is somehow connected with Aleksander Domogarow who played one of the main roles in Ogniem I Mieczem - so, the principle of inviting as many OiM stars as possible worked out). And it worked. The film tells about the pre-Christian history of Poland, where there were many disparate tribes, and one of those was ruled by a bloody and ferocious chief Popel. He didn't hesitate to murderer all his relatives and his nephew only to stay a chief as long as possible. He is the merciless ruler, but there are people who challenge him. Among them is the brave archer Ziemowit, and he is the one who openly fights against Popel. It is not necessary to retell the whole story here, only keep in mind that this is a breathtaking film, with bloody battles, viking raids, pagan rituals, some sweet love story, beautiful nature and excellent sense of humor. Do watch it.