I was browsing the Amazon Prime Video library to see what was worth watching on this platform, when suddenly my attention was caught by the thumbnail of an unknown, but strangely intriguing movie at first glance. In the comedy section, exactly between the American productions “Bad Boys For Life” and “Grindhouse. Planet Terror” I saw a cartoon board with a great medieval date, the outline of two swords, trees and men with waving paws. The title turned out to be intriguing: “1409. Affair at Bartenstein Castle”.
A forgotten comedy about the Teutonic Knights, or Polish independent cinema in action
Tempted, I clicked and discovered that the film is from 2005. The synopsis told me that we live in our culture here. And it all looks pretty thick:
On the outskirts of the monastic state stands the small, neglected Bartenstein Castle. Its residents are exceptionally exceptional Teutonic Knights. Near the castle, a village of clever craftsmen flourishes, and Polish-Lithuanian partisans roam the forest. The search for the ancient treasure of the Prusai coincides with an unexpected visit of the Grand Master with an even less expected guest…
I was impressed with the cast and I really don’t know how I didn’t know about the existence of this production before. On the list we have really “hot” Polish names of that decade: Joanna Brodzik (for years the most searched Polish woman in Google, then on the wave after the success of “Kasia and Tomek”), Andrzej Nejman (i.e. Waldek Złotopolski himself from “Złotopolskie”, had already a charming role in “Morning of the Coyote”, which, apart from Krzysztof Jarzyna from Szczecin, the boss of all bosses, and Maciej Stuhr, is the strongest side of this gangster comedy), Borys Szyc (in 2004, the comedy “Vinci” with his the main role was at the stage of the roles of policemen and tough guys), Jan Wieczorkowski (the unforgettable first Michał from “Klanu”, organist Witek from the nostalgicly endearing “U Pana Boga za furnace” or Kamil from “Mother, Wife and Mistress”) and the legendary Jerzy Bończak and Jan Machulski.
Still from the movie photo ‘1409 – Affair at Barenstein Castle’, dir. R. Buks, P. Czarzasty, prod. M3 Company, Filmforum.Pl (2005)
Apart from them, Mateusz Damięcki as Zbyszko, Marcin Dorociński as the WITZMIN and Sylwia Gliwa as the Partisan also appear in smaller roles. From the curiosities, I also read that the voice roles are played by the legendary TV lectors Wojciech Dziwulski and Jan Suzin. At this point, I was more than excited to watch. I turned on right away.
Pretty much everything that could be parodied or quoted happens in this movie. We have animation cutscenes straight from Monty Python movies, a short insert from the original “Teutonic Knights” by Aleksander Ford, references to Gollum from “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Witcher” (Marcin Dorociński as the White Knight has only one scene, but what a scene it is), Joanna Brodzik in a wig speaking with the voice of Smurfette from “The Smurfs”, Mateusz and Maciej Damięcki as wandering knights (these are, of course, Zbyszko and Maćko, who promise not to go to Grunwald, because there is a mad cow there), or a parody of a television historical program with Jerzy Bończyk as a Famous Historian in a typical professor’s office. Let us add that the same actor also plays the scribe Sznajder, who wrote the chronicle quoted by the famous historian.
In addition, there is also a delightfully perverse parody within a parody, a sequence with the series “Kunon the Barbarian”. This is a really breakneck construction, because Kunon is played by Andrzej Nejman, a debauched Teutonic Knight. The serial sequence is additionally dubbed into Arabic, then a Polish voice-over track was added to it. Let’s not forget that the main characters are creatures that are particularly resistant to logic, so they are so deliciously stupid that it can hurt some.
Still from the movie photo ‘1409 – Affair at Barenstein Castle’, dir. R. Buks, P. Czarzasty, prod. M3 Company, Filmforum.Pl (2005)
As if that wasn’t enough, Wieczorkiewicz’s brother Otton is always stoned with Palestinian herbs and holds a cheerful pipe by his belt (and Joanna Brodzik smokes these drugs with him), while Komtur (Jan Machulski) writes a diary and addresses him aloud “dear diary.” Borys Szyc spies on other monks with the grace of Inspector Clouseau from “The Pink Panther”, the pope runs to the souvenir shop and sings “Walk the girl to the chick”, and when the monks are about to give each other the sign of peace at mass, they pass from hand to hand a cut out of white dove paper.
Still from the movie photo ‘1409 – Affair at Barenstein Castle’, dir. R. Buks, P. Czarzasty, prod. M3 Company, Filmforum.Pl (2005)
In addition, there is also an animation procedure with the viewer’s hand switching channels on TV – then the creators jump between different conventions, which they use here for variety. The mosaic of flavors is complemented by Teutonic songs from the band Shannon written especially for this film. And at the very end, we find out where the two naked swords from the Teutonic Knights at Grunwald came from. Really, a beautiful idea. It’s so dense and absurd in various ways that I understand why in the comments section on Filmweb, viewers are divided into two camps: die-hard fans and fierce opponents of the production.
“1409. Affair at Bartenstein Castle” is a really specific cinema and a very special sense of humor. Nevertheless, I am not surprised that the actors in the production agreed to play “pro bono” (this is what the authors of the entry about the film say on the website) – you can see that the fun on the set was great and it is the fruit of real passion.
Still from the movie photo ‘1409 – Affair at Barenstein Castle’, dir. R. Buks, P. Czarzasty, prod. M3 Company, Filmforum.Pl (2005)
Behind this crazy idea are Jarosław and Paweł Jaworski and Remigiusz Zawadzki. The script, based on their ideas, was written with them by Marcin Czyżniewski, Michał Naleśniak, Krzysztof Rybka and Olaf Młyński from the Filmforum.pl website, which makes up the Toruń-based satirical collective Kompania M3. This also explains why the narrator explaining the arrival of the Teutonic Knights to Mazovia says, for example, “The knights of the Order, grateful for the invitation to cooperate, start the implementation of a long-term economic and military plan under the code name: TERA MY” (how still valid) and describes the construction of Teutonic castles as follows: ” As if by magic, a network of salons promoting good manners and gothic culture is being created.
There were two directors: Rafał Buks and Paweł Czarzasty. Interestingly, the original idea of the creators was to make a sit-com about the Teutonic Knights. Jan Machulski immediately agreed to play Komtur Siegfried and patiently waited three years until funds were collected for the implementation of the concept. Jerzy Bończak said in an interview with “Gazeta Wyborcza” that he agreed to play “mainly because it is done by young people, full of zeal and enthusiasm”. Andrzej Nejman in an interview for “Gala” also commented “God, let there be such a cast in every film!”.
Still from the movie photo ‘1409 – Affair at Barenstein Castle’, dir. R. Buks, P. Czarzasty, prod. M3 Company, Filmforum.Pl (2005)
The production took four arduous years to create – although all participants got down to the project willingly, on the way there were missing e.g. funds to complete it. Shooting started in 2001. The filmmakers shot mainly in the castle in Toruń, a few scenes were shot in Golub-Dobrzyń, as well as in the forests near Radzymin and in Wilanów. The team worked in the heat, often for several hours a day, but apparently no one complained. Unfortunately, on the last day of shooting, the camera broke down and the photos were completed only because one of the extras borrowed equipment from his dad. The assembly was completed only in 2005. Regardless of this, the project was still the largest undertaking of independent Polish cinema at that time.
Still from the movie photo ‘1409 – Affair at Barenstein Castle’, dir. R. Buks, P. Czarzasty, prod. M3 Company, Filmforum.Pl (2005)
The film “1409. Affair at Bartenstein Castle” was included by the creators on the list of the greatest hits of the Polish “off revolution”, which dates back to 1998-2007. In fact, when the title was created, nationwide and local media wrote about it (the website mentions exactly: “Gazeta Wyborcza”, “Newsweek”, “Superexpress”, “Życie Warszawy”, “Ności”, RMF FM and TVP), and In addition, the official premiere took place at the Gdynia Film Festival – “Afera” was screened there in the independent cinema category. It’s a bit sad that today so few people remember him. So I’m even more glad that someone came up with the idea to release the production to streaming – this accidental discovery on Amazon gave me a lot of joy. Let’s add that the production is also available on the FilmBox+, Polsat Box Go and Cineman platforms.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
