Kontrakt | |
---|---|
Written by | Krzysztof Zanussi |
Directed by | Krzysztof Zanussi |
Starring |
|
Music by | Wojciech Kilar |
Country of origin | Poland |
Original language | Polish |
Production | |
Cinematography | Slawomir Idziak |
Editor | Urszula Sliwinska |
Running time | 114 minutes |
Original release | |
Release | 17 November 1980 |
Kontrakt (English: The Contract) is a Polish drama telefilm written and directed by Krzysztof Zanussi. Starring Leslie Caron, Maja Komorowska and Tadeusz Lomnicki, the film was released in 1980. [1]
An "arranged" marriage between the offspring of two wealthy families is about to take place.
More than the union of the bride and groom, it is the union of their tradition-bound families. The bride and groom hardly know each other and do not get along well in their early interaction. The girl learns that her husband-to-be is egoist and singularly career minded. She walks out of the church. Unfazed, the groom's father takes the wedding guests to his villa for the expensive reception. Deals are made between corrupt officials on the sidelines, while the distraught son is taken to the hospital because of attempted suicide. [2]
Gifted Polish director Krzysz Zanussi's barbed social satire in Kontrakt may be lost in translation, quite literally. But he uses the scenario to critically look at society and the place of individual spirit in the late 1970s. [1] [3]
The story bears some resemblance [2] to Anton Chekhov 1889 play The Wedding.
At the Venice Film Festival, the film was the winner of the AGIS Award (Special Mention), UNICEF Award (Honorable Mention) and OCIC Award. It was also the 1981 Winner NBR Award in the category of Top Foreign Films. [4]
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, denominations, countries, social classes, and sexual orientations. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vows by a couple, presentation of a gift, and a public proclamation of marriage by an authority figure or celebrant. Special wedding garments are often worn, and the ceremony is sometimes followed by a wedding reception. Music, poetry, prayers, or readings from religious texts or literature are also commonly incorporated into the ceremony, as well as superstitious customs.
A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple receive society, in the form of family and friends, for the first time as a married couple. Hosts provide their choice of food and drink, although a wedding cake is popular.
An engagement or betrothal is the period of time between the declaration of acceptance of a marriage proposal and the marriage itself. During this period, a couple is said to be fiancés, 'betrothed', 'intended', 'affianced', 'engaged to be married', or simply 'engaged'. Future brides and grooms may be called fiancée (feminine) or fiancé (masculine), 'the betrothed', a 'wife-to-be' or 'husband-to-be', respectively. The duration of the courtship varies vastly, and is largely dependent on cultural norms or upon the agreement of the parties involved.
Krzysztof Pius Zanussi is a Polish film and theatre director, producer and screenwriter. He is a professor of European film at the European Graduate School in Saas-Fee, Switzerland where he conducts a summer workshop. He is also a professor at the Krzysztof Kieślowski Film School of the University of Silesia in Katowice.
valima, or the wedding reception banquet, is the second of the two traditional parts of an Islamic wedding. The valima is performed after the nikah or marriage ceremony. It designates a feast in Arabic. The valima is used as a symbol to show domestic happiness in the household post-marriage. As per sharia, the valima only takes place where the groom resides. It is from the groom's side as a token of appreciation after the couple have met in isolation. The groom is to incur all marriage expenses and pay for the valima meal.
A Hindu wedding, also known as Vivaha, Marathi: Lagna (लग्न), Bengali: Bibaho (বিবাহ), Kalyanam, Kannada script: ಮದುವೆ (Maduve), Tamil: திருமணம் (Tirumanam), or Pelli, is the traditional wedding ceremony for Hindus. The wedding ceremonies are very colourful, and celebrations may extend for several days and usually a large number of people attend the wedding functions. The bride's and groom's home—entrance, doors, wall, floor, roof—are sometimes decorated with colors, flowers, and other decorations.
Sławomir Idziak is a Polish cinematographer and director who has worked on over forty Polish and foreign films. He is especially known for his collaboration with director Krzysztof Kieślowski.
A Bengali Muslim wedding is a Bengali wedding in accordance to Muslim faith. It includes rituals and ceremonies that may span up to three days maximum. In most cases, it starts with the Dekha Dekhi. Then, nikah which is done by a Qazi with a fixed denmohor and it ends with the Bou Bhat ceremony that is popular as the wedding reception arranged by the groom's family. It's the dominant tradition of wedding seen in Bangladesh.
Iranian wedding, also known as Persian wedding, consists of traditions rooted in Zoroastrianism, the primary religion of pre-Islamic Iran. Though the concepts and theories of marriage have been changed by Islamic traditions, the ceremonies have remained more or less the same as they were originally in pre-Islamic Iran. Although modern-day Iran is a multi-ethnic country, Iranian wedding traditions are embraced by the majority of ethnic groups in Iran.
Marriage in Pakistan pertains to wedding traditions established and adhered by Pakistani men and women. Despite their local and regional variations, marriages in Pakistan generally follow Islamic marital jurisprudence. Marriages are not only seen as a union between a husband and a wife, but also an alliance between their respective families. These traditions extend to other countries around in the world where Overseas Pakistani communities exist.
Punjabi wedding traditions are a strong reflection of Punjabi culture with ritual, song, dance, food, and dress that have evolved over centuries.
Russian weddings held great importance in their culture and tradition, evolving differently according the region, but maintaining common points. They can last between two days and one week usually involving activities like dancing, singing, toasting, and banqueting. The best man and bridesmaid are called "Witnesses" or "Свидетели" in Russian. The ceremony and the ring exchange take place on the first day of the wedding. Russian weddings ceremonies have undertaken a certain amount of Western traditions, including incorporating maids of honour into the wedding party.
Wedding in Galilee is a 1987 film directed by Michel Khleifi. It marks the first feature film made in Palestine by a Palestinian director and was awarded the International Critics Prize at Cannes in 1987. Produced during an era when there were scarce cinematic depictions of Palestinian existence, Wedding in Galilee revolves around the marriage ceremony of a young couple in a Palestinian village situated in Galilee, northern Israel.
In the United States and Canada, weddings follow traditions often based on religion, culture, and social norms. Most wedding traditions in the United States and Canada were assimilated from other, generally European, countries. Marriages in the U.S. and Canada are typically arranged by the participants and ceremonies may either be religious or civil.
Traditional marriage customs in the Philippines and Filipino wedding practices pertain to the characteristics of marriage and wedding traditions established and adhered by them Filipino men and women in the Philippines after a period of adoption courtship and engagement. These traditions extend to other countries around the world where Filipino communities exist. Kasalan is the Filipino word for "wedding", while its root word – kasal – means "marriage". The present-day character of marriages and weddings in the Philippines were primarily influenced by the permutation of Christian, both Catholic and Protestant, Hindu, Islam, Chinese, Spanish, and American models.
Muslim marriage and Islamic wedding customs are traditions and practices that relate to wedding ceremonies and marriage rituals prevailing within the Muslim world. Although Islamic marriage customs and relations vary depending on country of origin and government regulations, both Muslim men and women from around the world are guided by Islamic laws and practices specified in the Quran. Islamic marital jurisprudence allows Muslim men to be married to multiple women.
The Telugu Hindu wedding ceremony is the traditional wedding ceremony of the Telugu people in India. In the 19th century, the ceremony could last up to sixteen days. In modern times, it can last two or more days, depending on the family's financial and social status. The pelli or wedding is considered the strongest of social bonds, and is said to spiritually merge two souls opening the doors to gruhastaashramam. There is a Telugu saying that "Marriage is supposed to be a family union and not an individual formality." However, with changing mindset of the younger generation and due to globalization, marriage these days is being mainly focused solely on the union of the young couple only.
The Well Groomed Bride is a 1946 American romantic comedy film directed by Sidney Lanfield and starring Olivia de Havilland, Ray Milland, and Sonny Tufts. Written by Claude Binyon and Robert Russell, the film is about a man and a woman who fight over the last bottle of champagne left in San Francisco—he wants it to christen a new aircraft carrier, and she wants it as the centerpiece for her upcoming wedding reception. During the course of their fierce battle over the bottle, the two fall in love. This was de Havilland's first film after a two-year legal battle she waged against Warner Bros. regarding her rights under her contract.
Bride price, bride-dowry, bride-wealth, bride service or bride token, is money, property, or other form of wealth paid by a groom or his family to the woman or the family of the woman he will be married to or is just about to marry. Bride dowry is equivalent to dowry paid to the groom in some cultures, or used by the bride to help establish the new household, and dower, which is property settled on the bride herself by the groom at the time of marriage. Some cultures may practice both simultaneously. Many cultures practiced bride dowry prior to existing records.