The Quack
Production
Director
Scenario
Tadeusz Dołęga-Mostowicz
Author
Composer
Actors
Jerzy Bińczycki
Rafał Wilczur / Antoni Kosiba
Anna Dymna
Maria Jolanta Wilczur / Beata Wilczur
Tomasz Stockinger
Count Leszek Czyński
Bernard Ładysz
Miller Prokop
Artur Barciś
Wasylko
Andrzej Kopiczyński
Doctor Pawlicki
Piotr Grabowski
Zenek
Bożena Dykiel
Sonia
Short description
A renowned surgeon suffers a personal tragedy when his wife and daughter leave him. After losing his memory following a head injury, he spends years wandering without identity or money. Eventually finding shelter with a miller's family, he uses his dormant medical skills to treat a sick child and other local patients. As he gains a reputation as a village healer, he encounters a young woman who resembles his former wife.
This Polish drama and romance was directed by Jerzy Hoffman, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jacek Fuksiewicz. Produced by Studio Filmowe Zodiak, the film features Jerzy Bińczycki in the lead role of Rafał Wilczur, alongside Anna Dymna, Tomasz Stockinger, Bernard Ładysz, Artur Barciś, and Andrzej Kopiczyński. The credited cast includes 21 performers. Released on April 12, 1982, the movie has a runtime of 128 minutes. It is generally well-regarded by viewers, holding a rating of 7.5/10 on TMDB based on 113 votes.
What's left behind the scenes
- The shop where Anna Dymna's character worked still exists and is named 'The Healer' in honor of the film. Over time, there were plans to demolish the old buildings and replace them with more modern ones, but local residents blocked these plans and preserved the setting in which 'The Healer' was filmed.
- Soviet censorship usually ruthlessly hacked away at films shot abroad, cutting out entire scenes. In 'The Healer,' not a single scene was cut. However, one line was translated inaccurately, and this was done intentionally. When Marysia regains consciousness after the operation, Wilczur drops to his knees and thanks the Lord. In the Soviet dub, Wilczur says, 'It worked! I saved her.'
- Roses appear in one of the scenes. As it happened, these roses became the most expensive in the history of Polish cinema. The evening before, a crew member was sent to find flowers, but he managed to find only a nondescript little bouquet in the entire town. The props department urgently dispatched an employee by taxi to Warsaw (which was 200 km away). There, at a market, they purchased several dozen exquisite yellow roses at astronomical prices. Upon receiving the roses, Jerzy Hoffman used an incredible amount of precious film, purchased with foreign currency, to shoot the scene. Eleven takes of the scene were filmed.
- No screen tests were held for the role of Marysia. Jerzy Hoffman saw only Anna Dymna in the role, whom he had already filmed in his previous movie—the war drama 'To the Last Drop of Blood' (1978). In May 1978, Dymna was involved in a car accident on her way to filming in Hungary. As a result of the crash, she suffered leg and spinal injuries and lost some of her memories. Participating in the filming of this movie became a deeply personal matter for her.
- The Belarusian province was filmed in the town of Bielsk Podlaski in the Podlaskie Voivodeship, Poland. Local residents played the roles in the crowd scenes. During the preparations for filming, the town center was slightly modified. To create the image of an ancient village and hide modern buildings, cardboard facades were used. As one local resident later recalled, the modern asphalt in front of the town hall was replaced with cobblestones. Many locals appeared as extras and in minor roles. In particular, a local market employee nicknamed 'Little Lemon' appeared on screen. She ended up in the shot by chance, but Jerzy Hoffman liked her so much that he created a separate scene for her. The pre-premiere screening of the film was also held in this town.
- During breaks between filming, Jerzy Hoffman would send the actors into the surrounding forests to pick mushrooms, after which he would prepare mushroom dishes for the entire crew.
- For one of the roles, director and screenwriter Jerzy Hoffman invited Daniel Olbrychski, whom he had already cast in the historical drama 'Pan Wolodyjowski' (1969) and the adventure melodrama 'The Deluge' (1974), but he declined. The choice then fell to Tomasz Stokiinger. Many years later, Stokiinger and Anna Dymna recalled that they enjoyed kissing on screen and would sometimes even ask for an extra take to prolong the pleasure.
- For the lead role, Jerzy Hoffman invited Jerzy Binczyc, whom he knew from Jerzy Antczak's war melodrama 'Nights and Days' (1975). Hoffman saw in Binczyc an uneducated country man—the perfect fit for a healer. Binczyc himself was dissatisfied with his performance. He even tried to return part of his fee to Hoffman as compensation for the film stock wasted on him.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
