Polish Wedding is a
1998 comedy/
drama film written and directed by
Theresa Connelly.
It was screened at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 1998 and at the
Berlin International Film Festival on February 12. It was released in the US on July 17 of the same year.
As implied by the name, the film's plot takes place within the
Polish American community of
Hamtramck, Michigan - girlhood home of director Theresa Connelly - at some time between the 1950s and 1970s. Virtually all characters are Polish Americans, though the actors playing them are mostly of other ethnic origins.
Plot
Jadzia is the
matriarch of a big Polish family of five children. She is happily married to Bolek but is having a long-term relationship with Roman. Her daughter Hala is having an affair with the neighborhood cop and becomes pregnant. He is consequently pressured to marry her.
Interior shots of the home were shot in a home on Wyandotte Street in Hamtramck. The
St. Florian Church (Hamtramck, Michigan) was used as a backdrop.
Cast
Inaccuracies
Members of the
Polish American community have pointed out that the movie incorrectly presents many aspects of Polish culture. Connelly has in the course of her life also used the name "Theresa Panek," which more clearly indicates her Polish origins.
- Kielbasa (sausage), especially cooked is rarely consumed for breakfast, while each meal in the movie contains it. Although this is still practiced by some people.
- A Procession of the Virgin and selection of an actual virgin to lead it does not happen in the Polish Roman Catholic Church.
DVD
The
region 1 DVD was released March 16, 1999.
External links
