Jan Potocki

Agadah

A hieratic Count sits in his elegant mansion finishing his writings - Alphonse, a young Waloon officer, rides through the Murgia to reach his regiment in Naples but soon finds himself mysteriously detained at a inn in the strange and varied company of thieves, brigands, cabalists, noblemen, coquettes and gypsies, whose stories he records over ten days. A range of situations in stories-within-stories, which, like the Decameron and Tales from the Thousand and One Nights, provide entertainment on an epic scale. The two men's destiny intertwined, it is difficult to know who's real between the two and who belongs to the other's mind. This is a journey for both of them which Alphonse will continue, uncertain in the end, if his experiences were real or a dream.

Voyage of a Hand

In Voyage of a Hand, Ruiz constructs another of his concentric labyrinths that hits us right in the multifaceted center of our confusion. We might decide that what we receive was a story full of intentions; or we might decide that it was a spineless joke empty of sense or direction. In any case, it will be difficult to deny the acid sense of humor that animates the film.

The Duchess of Avila

An epic six-hour adaptation of Potocki's The Manuscript Found in Saragossa. Most famously filmed by Wojciech Has, this four part adaptation has the advantage of a vastly expanded running time, allowing for more of the novel to be incorporated >> shot on film, it was clearly a very expensive production and is equally spectacular in its own way.

The Saragossa Manuscript

During the Napoleonic wars, a Spanish officer and an opposing officer find a book written by the former's grandfather.