They see their romantic disasters, shown in copious flashbacks, as Hollywood melodramas, their rustic gunplay in terms of war movies, their erotic dreams as musical numbers.
Some of Mr. Zulawski's most shocking movies are among his most brilliant, such as the erotic and stomach-turning but richly metaphorical "The Shaman" ("Szamanka, " 1996), which caused a scandal in Poland and was criticized for its depiction of post-Communist unease.