Fiction / Poland / 1917 / 67’ / Black & White
Intertitles: English /Subtitles: Turkish
The oldest known picture of the magnetic star Pola Negri, Bestia is the tale of a peasant girl, Pola. Tired of her lover Dimitri’s excessive attention, she tricks him one night at a hotel room by getting him drunk and taking away all his money. She starts a new life independent from all others, and she decides to become a model and a cabaret singer. She falls in unrequited love with a rich businessman, Alexi. In the meantime, Dimitri has been chasing her for revenge.
Bought by an American distributer in early 1920s, Bestia was slightly re-edited and released with the title Polish Dancer. In 2017, Filmoteka Narodowa restored the film in 4K quality. The restoration was carried out using a nitrate copy from the collection of Museum of Modern Art in New York. This is considered to be the only surviving copy of the film due to the massive destruction the country faced in World War II.
Director: Alexander Hertz
Cast: Pola Negri, Maria Duleba, Witold Kuncewicz
Music by Daniele Furlati (piano)
Presentation by Anna Sienkiewicz Rogowska (Filmoteka Narodowa)