Polish Wedding
Encyclopedia
Polish Wedding is a 1998
comedy
/drama
film
written and directed by Theresa Connelly.
It was screened at the Sundance Film Festival
on January 16, 1998 and at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 12. It was released in the US on July 17 of the same year.
As implied by the name, the film's plot takes place within the Polish American
community of Hamtramck, Michigan
– girlhood home of director Theresa Connelly – at some time between the 1950s and 1970s. Virtually all characters are Polish Americans, though the actors playing them are mostly of other ethnic origins.
Interior shots of the home were shot in a home on Wyandotte Street in Hamtramck. The St. Florian Church (Hamtramck, Michigan) was used as a backdrop.
community have pointed out that the movie presents correct aspects of Polish culture. Connelly has in the course of her life also used the name "Theresa Panek," which more clearly indicates her Polish origins.
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
/drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
written and directed by Theresa Connelly.
It was screened at the Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
on January 16, 1998 and at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 12. It was released in the US on July 17 of the same year.
As implied by the name, the film's plot takes place within the Polish American
Polish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
community of Hamtramck, Michigan
Hamtramck, Michigan
Hamtramck is a city in Wayne County of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 22,423. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion of the western border that touches the similarly surrounded city of Highland Park...
– girlhood home of director Theresa Connelly – at some time between the 1950s and 1970s. Virtually all characters are Polish Americans, though the actors playing them are mostly of other ethnic origins.
Plot
Jadzia is the matriarch of a family of five children, four sons and a daughter. The household also includes the eldest son's wife—a Syrian-American whom Jadzia calls a Gypsy and who also works with Jadzia—and their child. Jadzia is (somewhat) happily married to Bolek, but is having a long-term relationship with Roman. Her daughter Hala becomes pregnant by a neighborhood cop and her family pressures him to marry her.Interior shots of the home were shot in a home on Wyandotte Street in Hamtramck. The St. Florian Church (Hamtramck, Michigan) was used as a backdrop.
Cast
- Claire DanesClaire DanesClaire Catherine Danes is an American actress of television, stage and film. She has appeared in roles as diverse as Angela Chase in My So-Called Life, as Juliet in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, as Kate Brewster in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, as Yvaine in Stardust and as Temple Grandin in...
as Hala - Jon Bradford as Sailor
- Lena OlinLena OlinLena Maria Jonna Olin is a Swedish actress.-Early life:Olin was born the youngest of three children, in Stockholm, Sweden. She is the daughter of actress Britta Holmberg and the director Stig Olin...
as Jadzia - Ramsey Krull as Kris
- Gabriel ByrneGabriel ByrneGabriel James Byrne is an Irish actor, film director, film producer, writer, cultural ambassador and audiobook narrator. His acting career began in the Focus Theatre before he joined Londo's Royal Court Theatre in 1979. Byrne's screen debut came in the Irish soap opera The Riordans and the...
as Bolek - Daniel LapaineDaniel LapaineDaniel Lapaine is an Australian actor.Born in Sydney, Australia, Lapaine graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1992. In 1994, he played David Van Arckle in P. J. Hogan's Muriel's Wedding...
as Ziggy - Rachel Morrin as Ziggy and Sofie's Baby
- Rebecca Morrin as Ziggy and Sofie's Baby
- Mili AvitalMili AvitalMili Avital is an Israeli actress. Avital built a successful stage and film career in Israel, winning the Israeli Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1992 and nominated for Best Actress in 1994.-Personal life:...
as Sofie - Steven Petrarca as Witek
- Brian Hoyt as Kaz
- Christina Romana Lypeckyj as Kasia
- Adam Trese as Russell Schuster
- Peter Carey as Piotrus
- Rade ŠerbedžijaRade ŠerbedžijaRade Šerbedžija , occasionally credited as Rade Sherbedgia in some English-language productions, is a Croatian actor, director and musician of Serb origin. He was one of the most popular Yugoslav actors in the 1970s and 1980s. He is now internationally known mainly for his supporting roles in...
as Roman - Kristen BellKristen BellKristen Anne Bell is an American actress. Although her first film role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001, she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer...
as Teenage Girl (uncredited)
Accuracies
Members of the Polish AmericanPolish American
A Polish American , is a citizen of the United States of Polish descent. There are an estimated 10 million Polish Americans, representing about 3.2% of the population of the United States...
community have pointed out that the movie presents correct aspects of Polish culture. Connelly has in the course of her life also used the name "Theresa Panek," which more clearly indicates her Polish origins.
- A Procession of the Virgin and selection of an actual virgin to lead it does not happen in the Polish Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholicism in PolandEver since Poland officially adopted Latin Christianity in 966, the Catholic Church has played an important religious, cultural and political role in the country....
, but the procession in the movie bears many similarities to the May Crowning tradition in the Roman Catholic Church.
External links
- "The Big Lebowski Goes To The Polish Wedding: Polish Americans – Hollywood Style", review by John J. Bukowczyk
- New York Times Review, The Polish Wedding.
- Polish Wedding Review at Rotten tomatoesRotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
.