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Contains one use of very strong language and moderate sex"If no-one gets thrashed, a wedding's a failure," comments the priest nonchalantly during The Wedding, a Polish comedy drama set during a particularly eventful reception. A quick scrap outside is hardly the worst of it; think severed digits, dead bodies, exploding toilets, forbidden nookie and lashings and lashing of vodka. If all this makes it sound like a gross-out comedy, think again: this is a grim, intense world in which the only laughs are jet black.
As with many a chaotic comedy-drama, the film starts peacefully; the ceremony goes without a hitch, and the bride and groom look happy enough. But the bride's father seems unduly concerned about showing off his wealth: a trait that both drives the plot forward and delivers a stern message about materialism versus family love. Bride Kasia is one of the film's few positive figures: everyone else seems to be preoccupied with either money or sex, and they're looking for both in the wrong places.
"DRUNKEN WEDDINGS GUESTS GET EVERYWHERE"
Clearly, The Wedding isn't a cheery watch, but it is a fitfully amusing one. Even if many of the cultural references are lost in translation, others survive the journey: drunken wedding guests get everywhere, after all. Chaos sometimes comes before characterisation, however: people slip up before you've got the measure of them, making their downfall both less credible and less satisfying. But as Polish dramas about weddings go, this is a bit of a winner, and a pleasing antidote to Hollywood happy endings.
The Wedding is out in the UK on 14th Deceber 2007.
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