Maksimum przyjemnosci
Katarzyna Trzaska
Poland | 2014 | 47 min
World premiere
Language : Polish
Subtitles : English, French
Five retired women in a Polish town allow themselves to be lulled by the siren song of the unscrupulous young salesmen who flog them expensive household gadgets, particularly dedicated to well-being (biophonic resonators, massage mats, etc.). Katarzyna Trzaska offers a cruel documentary comedy about a widespread phenomenon in Central Europe.
The five heroines of Maximum Pleasure live in a small Polish town. Although retired, they suffer from a peculiar addiction fed by their gullibility that, in turn, is abused by well-dressed, unscrupulous young salesmen who go door to door extolling the merits of extremely expensive household gadgets. Sophisticated massage mats or biophotonic resonators each cost at least one thousand euros, whereas the ladies’ pension is no more than 1,460 zlotys (330 euros). Katarzyna Trzaska films this absurd and tender documentary comedy about a widespread phenomenon in Poland and some Central European countries in a respectful and observational tone. Her “desperate housewives” are willing victims of this “maximum pleasure” or, in other words, the ultimate promise of the global consumer society freshly transplanted to an ex-Communist country. Although Irena, Krystyna and their associates obviously lived through the collapse of the Soviet system, they are still prisoners of their fascination with the illusory comfort they draw from these useless goods that shine like mascots under the radiant sun of a brave new world.
Emmanuel Chicon
