Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie
(the Saragossa Manuscript) directed by Wojciech Has / 1965 /Poland
“Travellers who ventured into that wild country found themselves assailed, it was said, by countless terrors which would make even the stoutest of hearts tremble.”
It's difficult to summarize madness when it is superfluous. Most of what attracts me to the Saragossa Manuscript is the kaleidoscopic experience, the unintelligible. Alphonse van Worden is flowing through parched terrain when he is captivated by the old manuscript, depicting shapely women and sea creatures. Stories within stories proceed, usually picaresque, and indistinguishable between the surreal and tangible. Wojciech Has' adaptation of Jan Potocki's the Manuscript Found in Saragossa is nothing short of psychedelic. Some elements are cheesy and somewhat campy (like the sequences involving princess gypsies) but Has' cinemascope filming establishes greatness and makes the lengthy 3 hour film worthwhile.
VALERIE