The Public Woman 4K 1984 Ultra HD 2160p

According to some critics, “The Public Woman” is a tabloid metaphysical film created by an incredibly intelligent “techie.” Sensation seekers, however, tend to consider the film a cult classic. The film tells the story of an inexperienced actress who lands a role in Dostoyevsky's novel “The Possessed.” She has to enter into an intimate relationship with the pseudo-German director of the production, who then deprives her of the role. In real life, she repeats the path of her heroine. Having become the girlfriend of a Czech emigrant, she falls victim to a political murder organized by the director of the play. Valerie Capriski gives her all in the role of a promising actress who lacks a distinct personality. She is good in scenes where she performs impassioned dances naked for a voyeuristic photographer. Francis Hastert, in the role of a pretentious director, displays pronounced narcissism. Lambert Wilson plays a Czech who performs several sexual acts with Capriski before being used as a pawn in a monstrous political conspiracy, the purpose of which is never really explained. Paris is stunning in its dark, cold tones, creating the appropriate mood.

User Review

After watching Possessed, I became seriously interested in Andrzej Żuławski's films. The next film I watched was The Most Important Thing Is to Love, and later it was the turn of A Public Woman, which I will try to analyze in this review.

Inexperienced actress Ethel, who moonlights as a model in racy photo shoots, lands the role of Lisa Tushina in the film adaptation of Dostoevsky's The Possessed. The director of the film and the actor playing Nikolai Stavrogin, Czech immigrant Lukas Kessling, becomes interested in the novice actress both professionally and intimately. The director is dissatisfied with Ethel's performance and tries to get the desired result from her. At the same time, strange things begin to happen in the “real world”: the brutal murder of a Czech actress, Ethel's acquaintance with the insane Milan, a friend of Lukas...

Most film critics view “The Public Woman” as a kind of self-irony on the part of Andrzej Żuławski. However, he stated in an interview that this film should not be viewed as his “self-portrait in a crooked mirror.” I believe that “The Public Woman” should be viewed, first and foremost, through the prism of a free adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's “The Possessed.” Therefore, before watching, I recommend reading or refreshing your memory of this work by Dostoevsky.

... he seems to be a handsome man, but at the same time, he seems repulsive

Lucas Kessling is the embodiment of Nikolai Stavrogin both on set and in the real world. This character is an evil genius, a manipulator, and a spiritual corrupter. Throughout the film, Lucas indirectly influences all the plot lines and has virtually unlimited power over his Fedka Katorzhny, Milan Milski. Francis Yuster embodied the real Nikolai Stavrogin on screen—a man of devilish intellect and charisma—and it is a pity that this role did not receive any awards.

I always thought you would take me to some place where a huge evil spider lives...

Ethel is the embodiment of Lisa Tushina, first in the film adaptation, and then more and more in the real world. Ethel-Lisa is a toy in the hands of Kessling-Stavrogin. It can be said that all the devilry going on in the “real world” was deliberately orchestrated by Lucas so that Ethel would get into her role. Valerie Capriski cannot “fly on high-octane fuel” on the same level as Romy Schneider and Isabelle Adjani, but she, like these two great actresses, played to the best of her ability.

Alas, the poor woman wanted so much to be deceived again!

Throughout the film, Andrzej Żuławski plays games with the viewer. Under the guise of eroticism, spiced up with Europop music, the director mixes different genres: “cinema about cinema,” political thriller, drama, avant-garde, etc. It should not be forgotten that genres, like all other standard cinematic attributes, are conditional concepts in Andrzej Żuławski's cinematic universe, and the final scene is an undisguised mockery of the viewer.

“The Public Woman” is a free adaptation of “The Possessed,” which is much better, more interesting, and more multifaceted than Andrzej Wajda's more classic adaptation. Recommended for all fans of auteur cinema and the work of Andrzej Żuławski.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (59.3 Mb/s)
Resolution: 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#French: FLAC 2.0
#French: Dolby Digital 2.0

Info Subtitles