Goto, Island of Love

Director: Walerian Borowczyk

1968 / 110min / DCP

“This wild fantasy, which had gestated in the filmmaker’s mind for the best part of a decade is, depending on how you look at it, either surrealist fairy tale or adroit political parable—a paean to monstrous desire in the time of dictatorship (Borowczyk took great pride in his film being banned in both Communist Poland and Franco’s Spain). Borowczyk’s live-action feature debut was almost the culmination of his early career in graphics, sculpture, and shorts—a veritable manifesto on unusual sounds, distinctive props, and, above all else, rigorous framing in film. Featuring an iconic turn by Ligia Branice—the Dietrich to Borowczyk’s Von Sternberg of surrealism.”—Daniel Bird, series curator Screens with Les jeux des anges.