Pajęczarki
Magda (Maria Pakulnis), after her divorce, moves into a small room with her sister Ewa (Adrianna Biedrzyńska), a student at the University School of Physical Education. The sisters struggle with financial difficulties: Magda loses her job at a magazine, while Ewa barely manages to get by on her scholarship. Their every move is watched by their nosy landlady (Danuta Szaflarska).
When an opportunity arises for them to travel together to New York, they decide to raise money for Magda’s plane ticket. The “spider women” climb along cornices and break into the apartments of wealthy men — the nouveau riche of the wild capitalist era. Banquets and marketplace scenes reflect the bustling private enterprise and speculation of the time.
At one of these banquets, the women meet American investors and fly off with them across the ocean. Their climbs up New York skyscrapers prove even more thrilling. Although they eventually return home empty-handed, fate grants them a life of comfort thanks to an inheritance from their elderly landlady, a retired bank clerk.
Actresses Maria Pakulnis and Adrianna Biedrzyńska created a rare female duo in Polish comedy (the phone booth scene recalls the classic Lekarstwo na miłość starring Kalina Jędrusik and Krystyna Sienkiewicz). The sisters are complete opposites: the younger one — devout, modest, and athletic; the elder — emancipated, elegant, and eloquent.
Pajęczarki is the only crime comedy directed by Barbara Sass, a classic figure of Polish women’s cinema, based on a screenplay by the director and cinematographer Wiesław Zdort. The idea for a film aimed at a wide audience came after Sass returned from an American fellowship, during a period of financial crisis for auteur cinema in Poland’s transition era.
Produced by WFiD, the film was co-financed by PZU, the Polish State Lottery Monopoly, British Airways, Puma, and Kodak. The music was composed by Rubik, with songs performed by Edyta Górniak.
