This adaptation of the controversial literary debut by the then 18-year-old Polish writer Dorota Maslowska tells the story of a tough nationalist, homophobe, racist and anti-semite called Silny (Szyc). His girlfriend Magda leaves him and he gets together with the satanist virgin Angela. Together, they hang out in the nihilistic environment of drug-dependent urban wretches, whom Silny regards with a wry commentary fed on black humour and paranoia.
Snow White and Russian Red is a poetic, direct and disturbing portrayal of love, hopelessness and political burnout in contemporary Central and Eastern Europe. It’s just as frenzied and insane (in the positive sense) as the novel and even incorporates author Maslowska into the plot – playing herself. This praiseworthy attempt to adapt a challenging literary model for the screen unquestionably preserves the clarity and spirit of Maslowska’s original work.

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Programme