Innocent Sorcerers (1960)

This wry, cynical tale of attraction, desire, and disaffected youth marked the only time that these giants of the Polish School worked together, and the result is this re-discovered masterpiece of Polish Cinema.A handsome but insensitive young doctor spends his evenings playing jazz in a small club, and enjoying the attention of numerous female admirers. Tired of one-night-stands, he is still intrigued by a young girl and invites her to his room. They spend the night together, but do nothing but talk. He looks for her the following day, but she has disappeared—or so it seems.

"Innocent Sorcerers" is different from Wajda's other films

"Innocent Sorcerers" (Niewinni Czarodzieje) was filmed in 1960 by Poland's famous director, Andrzej Wajda. It's an unusual story of love and lust. Two men, who could be considered ladies men, try to work out a scheme to get the attention of a woman at a bar. After several near fumbles, one of them some succeeds.

Throughout the story the man and woman play a game of cat and mouse as they battle for control of each other. The man, a young doctor, is intense, focused on the present and noncommittal. I was left with a feeling of emptiness watching the couple as they tried to find direction in their lives. Beneath the contentment that may have been present between them was underlying confusion of who was in control. The suspense in the film left me intrigued as the story progressed and the erotic tension built between them.

"Innocent Sorcerers" is different from Wajda's other films and that of many of its contemporaries. Those were about war or some theme that was in the interest of communism. The film has that magic touch Wajda adds by having several layers of depth to the story. "Innocent Sorcerers" is about the generation of the time, their feelings and way of life.
September 16, 2006

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