Steeped in wonder and mystery, HISZPANKA (Influenz) tells the story of a group of clairvoyants committed to restoring the Polish state as World War One dwindles to an end. Gathered inside a hotel room for a special séance, the magi use their power to save Jan Paderewski, the legendary pianist and symbolic leader of a successful patriotic uprising. At the same time, a hostile medium hired by the Prussian army is trying to influence Paderewski with his negative power. The eerily whirring table becomes the center of an unfolding melodrama, giving birth to a love requiring the highest sacrifice of all. At once a pitch-black comedy of bourgeois manners, an alternative version of history and an unconventional spy thriller, ukasz Barczyks HISZPANKA (Influenz) creates a parallel world all its own. The movie merges fiction with historical fact, telling the true story of the only successful uprising in Polish history, which took place in Greater Poland in the years 1918-19. Visually ravishing, the film takes place in the digitally recreated city of Pozna at the turn of the 20th century. The look of HISZPANKA is a nod to the works of German Expressionism, with the central figure of Dr Abuse being an obvious heir to Fritz Langs Dr Mabuse. Besides being a playful meditation on the nature of cinema itself, Influence provides a deep reflection of the eternal power struggle between reason and affect, order and chaos, as well as matter and spirit.
