Michał, a reserved anthropology professor, uncovers the perfectly preserved remains of a 3,000-year-old shaman during an excavation in a marsh. Around the same time, he meets a mysterious, impulsive young woman known only as “the Italian.” Drawn to her raw, untamed energy, Michał begins a feverish and increasingly destructive affair with her. As their relationship spirals into obsession, he becomes haunted by visions connected to the ancient shaman. The boundaries between science and mysticism, reason and primal instinct, begin to dissolve, pulling Michał into a world where erotic desire and death become inseparably intertwined.
Iwona Petry, who played the mysterious “Italian,” had no prior acting experience. Żuławski reportedly discovered her in a Warsaw café and offered her the lead role on the spot.
Szamanka was the first film in Żuławski’s career where he used a Steadicam, which brought a unique fluidity and intensity to the film’s visual style.
Due to its graphic sexuality and critiques of religious and social norms, the film caused major controversy in Poland. Some nicknamed it “Last Tango in Warsaw,” and screenings were limited in certain areas.
In some rural Polish towns, Catholic priests allegedly tried to prevent people from seeing the film, sometimes going as far as blocking cinema entrances.
