“Sarah” is a story in which Leon—an ex-commando, divorcee, and alcoholic in one—is hired as a bodyguard for 16-year-old Sara, the daughter of a local mafia boss. It happens that he saves her life and saves her from shooting the bandits with his own body. She falls in love, and he resists, but romance develops between them anyway. Sarah’s father is extremely unhappy with the feeling, and is pretty consumed (which viewers can see in the controversial scenes with the nude actress). Drama starring: 44 years old Boguslav Linda (Already on the wave after “Psy”), 16-year-old Agnieszka Włodarczyk debuted and returned after 15 years off screen Marek Birepicko.
“Sarah”. Agnieszka Włodarczyk’s cinematic debut was a tumultuous one
Agnieszka Włodarczyk was born on December 13, 1980 and when she appeared in the cast of Maciej Ślesicki’s new movie, she was only 16 years old. She was selected from among 250 other candidates for the role of Sarah. Earlier, she participated in the elections for Miss Teen Poland, and tried her hand at the Bovo Theater, where she sang in the performances “Big Love” and “Metro”, and also appeared in the music video for Krzysztof’s song “Advertisement”. Casa Kasowski
Let us also remind you that both Bogusław Linda and Agnieszka Włodarczyk recorded songs for the “Sara” soundtrack. Linda performed two versions of “I’m Yours” – a Polish cover of Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man”. Even the film’s director, Maciej lesicki, appeared in the music video, playing the drummer.
Włodarczyk sang “Wyliczanka” herself, “If you will” and in a duet with Robert Janowski “I’ll Wait”.
The film director previously achieved high recognition in the film industry thanks to the picture “Dad” with Bogusław Linda in the main role. The film about a father who fights with his domineering ex-mother over the possibility of taking care of his daughter won him an award for directing at the Gdynia Film Festival. Sarah was supposed to be a funnier movie leaning towards American gangster cinema set in Polish reality. He wanted to reach a wide audience – both teenagers and people over 40 years old.
In his review, Zdzisław Pietrasik, for example, complained that, in his opinion, “Sara” is a patchwork of recurring clichés from American cinema. His sarcastic remark is particularly captivating: “lesicki plays with quotes from great films, showing that he himself can pull off great scenes well. And not to hurt the fish.
However, what sparked controversy was that he hired a 16-year-old girl for a role that required her to be naked. Eliski himself explained in an interview that he was wondering whether to hire a young actress who graduated from film school, or whether to go for a real teenager:
I always thought the second option was better. And that’s what happened. Agnieszka seems to have the same kind of talent as Czarek Pazura. This is a natural instinct, a gift from God. In acting school, they can teach diction, technique, and pronunciation, but this natural talent cannot be faked.
The reviewers were concerned, but may have been more impressed by the fact that Włodarczyk had agreed to play such scenes. Nor should she. Wiesław Kot wrote in his review of “Wprost”: “Her strip-down in installments in the film instead evokes hospital associations. The viewer feels as if he has accidentally entered the bathroom where the schoolgirl is bathing. Instead of excitement, there is awkwardness. If nature does not define the viewer with a predilection To the children, he would, at first impulse, pull the little panties back over the ass, slap her and send her to the test.”
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Bożena Janicka argued in the monthly “Kino” that the young actress has a really difficult job:
He plays a rather ungrateful role. He has to deliver scripts that the young audience will react to with bursts of laughter, which seem unexpected in these moments. Possibly retractions like “I want to be your woman,” “I’ll give you children” (although it’s not clear what), but younger viewers don’t seem to understand the pastiche’s intent.
Agnieszka Włodarczyk avoided talking about her involvement in the film for years. On “FIFA” she once commented: “I would have done the same, although perhaps not in everything (…) I’m reluctant to talk about ‘Sarah’ and undress him on screen. It wasn’t necessary, I struggled with it.” On the other hand, if I hadn’t done it. If she had starred in Sarah, my career wouldn’t have gone so fast.”
Włodarczyk: I played Sarah in Freeing Myself
Only in August 2022 did the actress speak more widely about her debut. “I didn’t think I’d get my first role so early, without preparation and school. When I went to the casting for ‘Sara’, I’d been playing, or rather trying to sing, at the Buffo Theater for a year. For me ‘how do you hire a girl who can did little.
“When the day came and I had to decide whether or not I wanted to play such a daring role, I knew I had two choices. Either I would stay in a house that, to put it mildly, was not an oasis of peace, or I would get a chance to break free from this nightmare and be Independent, I really wanted this independence so that no one would remind me of anything, yell, make me feel guilty, make a fuss. I don’t want to go into details, but believe me, it wasn’t easy. My stepfather really hated me, “- explained her situation.
She confirmed that she played Sarah to “liberate herself”. “My mother gave me a choice and I took advantage of it,” she added. And she admitted that it’s only been more than 20 years since the movie’s premiere that she felt like she felt good about it in a way:
I only recently felt proud. I even got my first prize at the International Film Festival in Kiev, which no one knows about. Nice – good. Back in my country, I had problems at the time, so I was mostly ashamed. In spite of everything, I do not regret this decision, because only thanks to him I can live today on my own account and on my own terms.
The actress adds that she was often asked if she was harassed or hurt on set:
I don’t feel like anyone in the group has overstepped my bounds. I was treated with respect and the staff took very good care of me.
No matter what the critics wrote, cinema audiences appeared in droves at those times. “Sarah” was watched by 650,000 viewers, making it the second most popular Polish film of that year. More people just went to “Kilera”.
The fact is that it was “Sarah” that gave impetus to the career of the young actress. By the way, Wlodarczyk claw And Perepeczko met Lesicki in 1997 on the set of another project, and viewers saw the traces of their work on December 24, 1997. At that time, the comedy series “13th Precinct” premiered. But this is material for an entirely different story.
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