Szamanka

Szamanka (Polish pronunciation: [ʂaˈmaŋka]) is a 1996 erotic drama from Poland, directed by Andrzej Żuławski and based on a screenplay by Manuela Gretkowska. The title is the Polish feminine form of "shaman." The film sparked controversy upon its release in Poland, centering on the intense, obsessive relationship between an anthropology professor and a young woman referred to only as the "Italian."

The story unfolds in Warsaw. A student known as the Italian (Iwona Petry), a beautiful free spirit from the countryside, searches for an apartment. She meets anthropology professor Michał (Bogusław Linda), who rents her the apartment once occupied by his brother. Their deal is sealed with a violent sexual encounter in the empty space. Michał is engaged to Anna (Agnieszka Wagner), an architect and his boss's daughter. During an excavation with his students and younger colleague Juliuz (Paweł Deląg), they uncover a well-preserved, over two-thousand-year-old shaman corpse. In the lab, the mummy—covered in mystical tattoos and carrying a pouch of hallucinogenic mushrooms—is studied. The cause of death is not natural: the back of the skull is crushed, possibly to release the spirit.

Michał’s life unravels as the shaman’s discovery and his escalating affair with the Italian consume him. He leaves Anna and his friends, trying to dominate the Italian, who resists. The researchers consume the shaman’s mushrooms, and in a delirium, attempt to revive him. In a vision, Michał speaks with the shaman’s spirit, learning he was killed by a woman seeking his magic. Feeling free and lucid, Michał ends the relationship. The Italian then bludgeons him to death, crushing the back of his skull like the shaman’s, and eats his brain.

The screenplay, written by Polish feminist Gretkowska, was initially rejected by Polish Television for its controversial content. Production was financed by Canal+ Polska, Visa Films, the French Compagnie des Films, and private investors. Director Żuławski cast Iwona Petry after meeting her by chance in a Warsaw café; she was a sociology student with no acting experience. Despite press rumors of voodoo used to improve her performance, she was trained by French coach Harmel Sbraire, who had worked with Juliette Binoche. Bogusław Linda was chosen for his star status in Poland, though he and Żuławski had a difficult on-set relationship, publicly criticizing