Boys Don't Cry (2000 film)
Boys Don't Cry (Polish: Chłopaki nie płaczą) is a Polish movie directed by Olaf Lubaszenko. Shot between June 9, 1999 and July 14, 1999 on location in Warszawa and Jelenia Góra, the film premiered on February 25, 2000. The film has received a cult following over the years.[1]
| Boys Don't Cry | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Olaf Lubaszenko |
| Screenplay by | Mikołaj Korzyński |
| Starring | Maciej Stuhr Wojciech Klata Michal Milowicz |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 minutes |
| Country | Poland |
| Language | Polish |
Plot
A student of Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, Kuba Brenner, wanting to be a violinist, during waking up for his final exam from his instrument, finds out through the voice mail, that his girlfriend, Weronika left him for a new boyfriend, a local gangster Jarosław Keller. His car, Volkswagen Beetle breaks down, so he has to borrow another car for his friend, Cichy. He is late for his exam, so the doyen Zajączek doesn't allow to examine him, also he decides to forbid Kuba from ever proceeding to the final exam and he withdraws him from the scholarship in France, which takes place once in four years.
At the same time Oskar, Kuba's friend, wants to cure acne at the dermatologist. He advises him to use some sex. Oskar is shy and has problems in contact with girls. When Kuba meets Oskar, he advises him to visit a brothel located in the club "Czarny Lotos". Boys arrange a visit at Oskar's uncle home, where also lived his cousin, Laska. They order two girls - Lili for Oskar and Angelika for Kuba. At the evening, chef of brothel, Czesiek, brings girls to the home. Kuba isn't glad from the meeting, but relations between Oskar and Lili look so good. After an hour, Czesiek comes for girls back and payment. Boys pay 200 złotys, but Czesiek says that it should be 200 US dollars. They don't have enough money, so Czesiek decides to take a precious golden figure of wizard from Africa, which belongs to Oskar's uncle. After that, boys try to retrieve a figure. Kuba pledge in pawnshop his violin which due to problems on his university he considers to be useless.
After that, Kuba visits a club "Czarny Lotos" to retrieve a figure. At the same time, there is in this club arranged a visit of two gangsters from Szczecin, Fred and Grucha, who want to make a deal worth 1,5 million złotys. But chef doesn't want to make it personally, he deputes his 30-year son, Bolec, whom wants to see a worthy successor, but he isn't interested in gangster's life, his hobby is watching TV, especially rap music on MTV and gangster films. Deal between guest gangsters and Bolec finishes as failure, because they consider him as a crock, they don't understand his fascination in rap music made by black people, they are also angry that he deceived them with his dog's breed and fake tattoo on his arm, he also wasted some crack, which they regaled him and mistook a film, which he wanted to show them ("Death in Venice" isn't a gangster film, as he thought, but a psychological drama), so they refuse to make a deal. At the same time, Kuba enters the room, so Fred orders Bolec to shoot him. He mistakenly shoots Grucha, so emerges a rift, where there are injured Czesiek, Grucha and Bolec. Kuba runs away from the club, but his car again breaks down and he again borrows another car.
Grucha, shot in head survives a rift due to a titan plate implanted in his frontal lobe, but he losts his memory. Also, Fred notices that luggage with money disappeared, he claims that Kuba has stolen it, so chef orders to find and kill him. Kuba realises what can happen to him, so he visits Laska, who gives him a joint of marijuana and advises him that he should do in his life anything that he wants. Kuba also meets Cichy, who gives him a gun. Shortly after that Bolec finds Kuba and takes him to forest outside Warsaw to kill him. But he doesn't want to do it, when he finds out, when Kuba likes a classical Polish music as he does, he refuses. Kuba advises him to start working in music. Meanwhile, Fred and Grucha find Kuba's documents in his Volkswagen, which he left, so they start to find him. A few days later, Kuba receives a letter, that he qualified for a scholarschip to France, but his flat is occupied by Fred. Kuba runs away to a roof against him, but suddenly there comes Weronika, who has recently finished her relationship with Jarosław, as it turned out, that he isn't a gangster in real after he met Fred and Grucha and his real surname isn't Keller, but Psikuta ("psi kutas" in Polish means dog's cock). Kuba stays in the cornice on the highest floor, Fred goes down into the street and he starts to threaten Weronika, that he will kill her if Kuba doesn't go down into the street. Kuba decides to do it so Fred catches him and closes in the trunk of his black Alfa Romeo. He drives with Grucha to old bunkers in Brzózki Stare near Warsaw, where they want to kill and bury him.
Kuba in the trunk phones to Oskar, but picks up Laska, who is smoking marijuana with his friends, Bąbel and Surfer, to call the police. Laska and friends claim that they will help him alone without using the police. After they come to place of planned crime, Fred is angry for retarded after his accident Grucha and he throws out a Grucha's last cigarette, as he doesn't allow him to smoke in his car. Kuba lends his own cigarette, in fact it is a marijuana joint, which Laska has given to him. Grucha starts to behave unreasonably, meanwhile Fred starts to laugh from his pink sweater with pear, which was a gift from Angelika, whom he got to know in the club shortly before a rift. When Kuba has to be killed by Fred, Grucha kills Fred due to his jokes about his sweater. Meanwhile, when Laska and friends are driving for help Kuba, they are stopped by a police patrol, as policemen are drunk and they have to come home, so boys have to tow a police car. Later boys, being on drugs, look that they are pursued by police, so they speed up to maximal speed. A tow rope snaps and a police car lands directly into place of crime, also hit the Fred's car, so it turned of that luggage with money was in the trunk of Fred's car. Policemen arrest Grucha.
When Kuba is leaving to France, he meets on the airport his rector Rudolf, who is leaving to Milan and he finds out from him that Zajączek made problems because he doesn't like Kuba personally and he didn't like also Kuba's father, world-class conductor and Rudolf's friend. Zajączek was also very angry, when he found out about Kuba's success during his staying in the US, so in fury he caused an car accident. Kuba also meets Oskar with Lili, who has started relationship, Lili is also pregnant. Bolec decides to finish gangster's life and start to work in music business. Laska and his friends mistakenly drive to the Baltic Sea.
Cast
- Maciej Stuhr – Kuba Brenner
- Wojciech Klata – Oskar
- Tomasz Bajer – Laska
- Cezary Pazura – Fred
- Mirosław Zbrojewicz – Grucha
- Michał Milowicz – Bolec
- Anna Mucha – Lili
- Bohdan Łazuka – chef
- Andrzej Zieliński – Silnoręki
- Mariusz Czajka – Alfons Czesiek
- Mirosław Baka – Cichy, Kuba's friend
- Tadeusz Huk – older policeman
- Radosław Pazura – young policeman
- Paweł Nowisz – Dziekan Zajączek
- Edward Linde-Lubaszenko – rector Rudolf
- Asja Łamtiugina – Professor
- Magdalena Mazur – Weronika
- Monika Ambroziak – Cycofon
- Paweł Deląg – Jarek Psikuta
- Leon Niemczyk – "Król Sedesów", Laska's father
- Krzysztof Kosedowski – Gray
Video game
In 2005, Chłopaki Nie Płaczą, a video game based on the film, was published.
Sources
- "10 years of "Boys Don't Cry" ("Chłopaki nie płaczą")". Off Camera Festival. 2014-02-24. Archived from the original on 2016-08-13. Retrieved 2019-10-21.