Memoirs of a Sinner

Memoirs of a Sinner is a 1986 Polish film directed by Wojciech Has, starring Piotr Bajor. The film is an adaptation of James Hogg's The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner and tells the tale of the protagonist Robert and his doppelganger.

Premise

Robert is exhumed from the grave by a gang of grave robbers and is forced to recount his life story - a struggle between good and evil, embodied in his doppelganger whom he eventually kills.

Cast

Piotr Bajor as Robert
Maciej Kozłowski as Stranger
Janusz Michalowski as Pastor
Hanna Stankówna as Rabina
Ewa Wiśniewska as Laura
Franciszek Pieczka as Logan
Anna Dymna as Dominika
Katarzyna Figura as Cyntia
Jan Jankowski as Gustaw
Jan Pawel Kruk as Guard
Andrzej Krukowski
Zdzislaw Kuzniar
Zofia Merle
Jerzy Zygmunt Nowak as Samuel
Elwira Romanczuk as Malgorzata

Production

The film was filmed in the village of Klęk in the Polish province of Łódź.

Release

The film was released on 20 October 1986. Jerzy Maksymiuk's score won the award for Best Score at the 1986 Polish Film Festival.

Comparison with the book

Has maintains the strangeness central to the novel, although he tends to focus on the creation of unease, intrigue and beautiful images rather than Hogg's satire on Calvinist predestination.