Lalka

Love, status, obsession, and a society in which one’s background often counts for more than talent. THE DOLL brings one of the outstanding classics of Polish literature to the screen and tells a story that still feels astonishingly relevant today. At the centre of the plot is Stanisław Wokulski, a wealthy merchant who falls madly in love with Izabela Łęcka. She is beautiful, privileged, and shaped by the social expectations of her class. He has worked hard to earn his wealth, yet remains an outsider in the aristocratic world. To win Izabela’s heart, Wokulski risks more and more, until love and ambition drag him into a maelstrom of illusions and fateful decisions. Based on Bolesław Prus’s masterpiece from 1890, the film paints a fascinating panorama of 19th-century Polish society. Set against a backdrop of glittering salons, social contrasts, and personal longings, it explores class divisions, social advancement, self-deception, and the question of what price we are willing to pay for recognition and love.