Wife for an Australian (1964)

Fantastic!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

This romantic screwball comedy in the tradition of Preston Sturges finds an Australian falling in love with a singer from the Polish Folk Dance troupe, Mazowsze. Then, mistakenly believing that she would find it romantic to be kidnapped, does just that.The soundtrack of Mazowsze (Tadeusz Sygietinski) music fits the moods so well, but it is the actual performances by Mazowsze (on stage, on TV, at a reception, and finally on the cruise ship to Australia) that is just Magnificent !!! I just saw Mazowsze perform in the U.S. a couple of months ago, and they are just fantastic !!! Colorful costumes, beautiful women, handsome men, incredible choreography, music, and talent !!! This is now my favorite film of all time !!

This is the story of an Australian who falls for a singer from the Mazowsze Polish folk song and dance ensemble, after seeing them perform. He kidnaps her and a Doris Day - Rock Hudson - type romantic comedy follows. What is great about this film, however, are the many Mazowsze performances!!! They look and sound just as great as they do today !! with Tadeusz Sygietyinski's music, Mira Zyminska-Sygietynska's lyrics and staging, and Witold Zapala's choreography. The added bonus of Sygietinski's music as soundtrack makes this a perfect film for Mazowsze fans. My only criticism with this film is that, since Mazowsze is known for their many colorful costumes, there should have been more costume changes, especially for the Polonaise.

This film is classified as a musical comedy - an oversimplification. There is music from the Mazowsze Song & Dance ensemble in the background most of the time, well chosen to fit the action. But there is also music in the figurative sense of the word in the dialogs (by Stanislaw Dygat, also well known for his novels). The reason is the enchanting performance by Elzbieta Czyzewska as Hanka. She is well accompanied by Wieslaw Golas as Robert and in smaller roles by Edward Dziewonski, Wieslaw Michnikowski and Jan Kobuszewski (all stars of the Dudek Cabaret). From the moment we see Hanka and Robert dancing a polonaise in the Gdansk City Hall, we wish the two of them well. We suffer when misunderstandings which are not their doing appear and pile up - but we continue to hope. Stanislaw Bareja was a master of comedy, there are now annual festivals devoted to his films and those of his contemporary followers. This is one of Bareja's earlier films, and already his talent shines.