Main Cast: Wojciech Pszoniak, Jan Szurmiej, Ewa Domanska, Liliana Glabczynska
Release Year: 1983
Country: PL
Run Time: 109 minutes
Plot
Also known as The Inn, Austeria is set in Poland around the time of WWI. During a pogrom, a group of Jews seek refuge from the Cossacks. The fugitives hide out in a rural inn, terrified that they may be given away at any moment. As the seconds stretch into minutes and the minutes into hours, the film metamorphoses into a series of philosophical/psychological discussions in the tradition of The Lower Depths and No Exit. Austeria was the last film (to date) of Polish director Jerzy Kawalerowicz, whose previous projects have included the award-winning Joan of the Angels and Death of a President. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Cast
Wojciech Pszoniak - Shamiz
Jan Szurmiej - Cantor
Ewa Domanska - Kasia(Kathy)
Liliana Glabczynska - Yevdokha
Golda Tencer - Blanca; Franciszek Pieczka
Credit
Jerzy Kawalerowicz - Director, Leopold Kozlowski - Composer (Music Score), Zygmunt Samosiuk - Cinematographer, Jerzy Skrzepinski - Set Designer, Wieslawa Otocka - Sound/Sound Designer, Jerzy Kawalerowicz - Screenwriter, Tadeusz Konwicki - Screenwriter, Julian Stryjkowski - Book Author
Austeria takes place during the opening days of World War I, in the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia. Tag (Franciszek Pieczka) is a Jewish innkeeper whose inn (austeria means inn in the local Polish dialect) is located near the border with Russia. War has broken out and local civilians are fleeing the advancing Russian Army, and several groups of refugees have taken shelter in Tag's inn for the night. A group of Hassidic Jews from the neighboring village arrive, followed by an Austrian baroness on and a Hungarian hussar cut off from his unit.
The film is based on a 1966 novel of the same name by Julian Stryjkowski, who collaborated with Kawalerowicz on the screenplay.
