The (In)discreet Charm of the Romans

Made in 2001 by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, the Polish film Quo vadis represents a vernacular variant of ‘heritage cinema’ which has flourished in the country since 1989. Mostly consisting of adaptations of Polish literary classics, whose action takes place in a relatively distant past, they feature protagonists who are preoccupied by matters such as love, honour, and patriotism that are always linked with Catholicism. As demonstrated in this chapter, Kawalerowicz’s film also condones regressive gender norms, patriarchal order, and the hegemonic discourse of Catholicism. Most importantly, the chapter will argue that Quo vadis follows other novels by Sienkiewicz in developing a vernacular colonial fantasy. In Kawalerowicz’s Quo vadis colonial fantasies merge with contemporary discourse about Poland’s Europeanness. Arguably, Lygia’s romance with Marcus Vinicius, who decides to convert to Christianity, implies a symbolic union between (Eastern European) Poland and the (Western European) Roman Empire. Kawalerowicz’s decision to frame the ancient story with two contemporary images of the Roman Colosseum seems to suggest that, ultimately, Poland has ‘returned to Europe’—as the post-communist slogan claimed. The chapter will also pay special attention to the film’s melodramatic mode of representation and its affective power, as well as to its potential to present a utopian world of moral potency and transparency. Melodrama in Quo vadis provides a textual space through which viewers could channel the emotions they had experienced during the stark time of transition.