Wesele - the polish story about love and money

© K. Wellman	Poland in the year 2003. Wiesław Wojnar, a farmer from the Carpathian foothills is throwing a wedding reception for his daughter. With the help of Father Adam, he gets a bargain, a brand new Audi TT for the newly weds. His present drives up to the church and is an instant sensation. On the way to the wedding house, he pays the priest’s brother-in-law money for the car. The deal is not closed yet, since he was expected to thrown in 2 ha of land for good measure. The land is still in Grandfather’s possession, though. Wojnar explains he had little time to make Grandfather agree, but promises to make over the field to the priest’s in-law overnight during the reception. So for the time being, the car papers rest with the in-law. The bridegroom Janusz and the bride Kate are
drinking the toasts with the guests while Wojnar pays his overdue bills and tries to get Grandfather to make over the land. The latter, having problems with evacuation in the gents’, definitely refuses any offers from behind the toilet door. So Wojnar sends off his kinsman Edmund to bring the notary public from the next village while Kasia is sent to the gents’ to further negotiate the deal. She, however, cannot break Grandpa’s resolve. As the band refuses to play until paid off, Wojnar drives home to get money hidden in a safe in the greenhouse. Before long he is back, pays the musicians, and the party is soon in full swing. First there is dancing and then it yields ground to increasingly lascivious games and competitions. While cutting her wedding cake, Kate recognizes her ex boyfriend now the cameraman at the wedding. As her memories of him are very painful, she has him beaten up at the back of the firehouse, which is the rented wedding house.
© K. Wellman	In return for a donation to his church, Father Adam promises Wojnar to help with the negotiations with his brother-in-law about the Audi. However, it turns out that the man who has brought the Audi is not the priest’s brother-in-law and Wojnar’s problem remains unsolved. After a brief test of strength in Grandfather’s field, the man shoots off Wojnar’s index finger and sets the deadline of the deed delivery at midnight. If the land is not made over to him, he will keep the car and the money he has received so far. Worse still, he threatens to kill the bride. The party is going on in the hall while Wojnar is nursing his wound in the toilet by disinfecting it with vodka. He shows Grandfather his bloody stump, tells about the threats, and Grandpa finally agrees to convey the
land. Soon Edmund is back at the reception with a notary public in tow. They quickly settle the price of the deed, this being around midnight of a holiday. But Grandpa has a heart attack and the conveyance cannot be made. Assisted by Edmund, Wojnar hides the dead grandpa in the john. After all they do not want to spoil Kate’s wedding. Now friends of the bogus in-law come to the party. Altogether they are a serious force to be reckoned with, so the only solution now is to forge the deed. But this time negotiations with the notary are difficult and the price for his service is very steep. So it’s again back to the greenhouse to bring cash. In the storeroom at the back of the firehouse, they make the conveyance and the deal is closed. Senselessly drunk Edmund is the sole necessary witness to the proceedings. At midnight, Wojnar gives the bogus in-law the deed and duly receives the keys and the car papers. The in-law and company leave the reception. Wojnar, at last, can breathe freely and relax, which he does, only to be surprised by his wife, who accidentally runs into him while he is humping the maid of honor. This is only the beginning of his mishaps. Soon it turns out that the Audi is stolen goods. And the blunt truth is out: namely, Janusz has married Kate only for the car, not out of love. The desperate and expensive attempts to forge the Audi license plate in Ed’s shed with local cops in assistance is finally a success. Incidentally, Wojnar learns that an international highway is going to cross the field he has just made over to the bogus in-law. The land automatically gains in value. Whoever of the guests is still able to stand on his or her feet starts to sing the ultra patriotic song. Wojnar and the notary, however, negotiate how to make the freshly made deed null and void.
© K. Wellman	The price for this is steep again and, consequently, Wojnar leaves again for the greenhouse. On foot, in the rain, he gets home, only to have a dramatic parting with his wife. As irony would have it, she leaves him with Edmund, sobered-up now, whom she has loved secretly for years. Wojnar is brokenhearted. Hearing someone thrashing about in the greenhouse, he runs in to defend his savings. But hit on the head, he passes out... Darkness falls. At dawn, his head injured, Wojnar comes to. His cash is all gone, so he vents his frustration on his dog. Loyal to him for all these years, this time the dog bites him painfully on the leg and runs away. In the meantime, Kate has battered the Audi with a spade and now she walks on her newly wedded husband. Along with
the cameraman, she jumps on a train and runs away. When Wojnar gets to the firehouse at last, Kate is gone already. He walks by the battered Audi and Janusz on the ground weeping over the loss. Drunk, Wojnar staggers into the reception hall and throws out the rest of the guests.