Janek!
Janek, come quick!
-In a moment! -No, now! Come here now!
All right, what is it?
A beekeeper from this village…
-Take a look. -…saw the vehicle.
Yes, not far from here.
And that vehicle was a spacecraft.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen.
Here's the first Pole contacted by an alien civilization.
Tune in to watch my program about this memorable event,
On the Edge of Poland and the Universe.
PROJECT UFO
-With or without poppy? -With poppy.
We'll leave these.
If you have to.
Is Sara Borewicz your daughter?
-Good morning. -Hey.
So?
Are you happy now?
Won't you sit down?
Hunger strikes in Warmia?
I'm so fucking stupid.
Who cares about the hunger strikes in Warmia?
You cynically blew my story.
My big discovery.
You buried it among other sensational news.
But it's not just a sensation, Wera!
It's not just that.
You know what it is? It's…
Jaś, don't be silly, okay?
Such an old guy doesn't understand how the media works?
Your show will gain viewers thanks to my show.
You just have to finally record yours.
And use it to announce your discovery. Enjoy yourself!
The Secretary wants to see you urgently.
And…
And he…
And he told you to tell me?
Henryk and I have no secrets from each other.
The Security Service questioned Sara this morning.
I guess it's good, right?
She should share her story.
Why all the fuss, Zbyszek?
What difference will it make if the UFO landed in Truskasy?
Not the UFO, the USO.
The USO.
Yeah, the USO.
It is my obligation.
To talk about what I've seen and convince the doubters.
You have an obligation to your daughter!
God, I sometimes wish you'd just disappear from our life.
It would have been better
if you were the one who vanished on the pier back then.
It probably would have.
Come in!
Did you want to…
Did you want to see me, Comrade Secretary?
Do sit down and don't you worry.
I know you're not happy that our Wera's show was broadcast.
I know, and I'm sorry.
I really am.
But there was no other way.
The show just had to be aired.
For, let's say, political reasons.
Do you fucking realize what it means that the aliens visited Poland?
Our country?
I just thought that…
Don't think too much. Don't think, Polgar, or you might turn into a tinker.
Every cloud has a silver lining, Jaś.
I think we can be on first-name terms, right?
Since we share one bed, eh?
A waterbed, at that.
But…
But I called you in…
because our Central Committee is holding this little…
banquet.
For our friends.
And I thought that the entertainment
could be… that man, Kunik.
Perhaps this Sokolik might come as well.
He'd bring the old man here.
You know, when our dear Wera heard about it,
she screamed in… excitement.
She really did.
And she just said,
"Henio, you have to talk to Jaś about it."
-With me? What for? -The little dove was trying to soothe you.
She has a heart of gold.
So… will you tell them to come?
Well,
use the opportunity and record your show.
You'll get the tape of that child who also saw the UFO.
Consider it a small gift from me.
God bless you, Mr. Józef.
Give me that, let me help.
Hi, Zbyszek. Come on.
The hotel is right here.
Watch out, Mr. Józef.
-How was the trip? Are you tired? -Okay.
STATION HOTEL
-Good evening. We have a reservation-- -We know everything, Mr. Polgar.
Room 408 on the fourth floor.
Thank you.
Mr. Józef, come on.
-You'll still have time to enjoy it. -The elevator is out of service.
It's under maintenance.
The stairs, then?
Yes.
Greetings, halfwits. Your Grey Virus speaking.
Welcome to all residents of the Gama planet
in our next telepathy-cast from the series Wild Corners of Space.
Our correspondent, Andros Zaorro, landed today on planet Purchla.
The residents call it "Earth" in their language.
Yes, dear halfwits. It turns out Purchla is inhabited.
And not so long ago, around a million years ago…
Józef?
Excuse me.
Did you happen to see my friend?
Józef.
What are you doing here?
Good morning, Mr. Józef.
Did you sleep well? Have you had your breakfast yet?
-Did you go out last night? -There's a problem.
-Is there? -Yep.
What sort of problem?
Mr. Józef spent the whole night on the couch in the lobby.
He can't sleep in the room.
Hotels are not for me.
I'm sorry, Mr. Józef. I'm such a fool.
I'll take you to my place tonight.
We should go now. A busy day and not much time.
Zbyszek.
Zbyszek, you'd better stay here.
It was too hasty of you.
Mrs. Weronika's show.
Unnecessary.
Józef Kunik!
Hold it up! Higher!
WELCOME, UFONAUTS
Very nice. Good!
And… thank you very much. Take your seats.
Take your seats.
Ewka, off you go.
Mr. Józef.
Mr. Józef, we're going to begin.
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
Hello.
My name is Jan Polgar,
and this is a special edition of Close Encounters.
It is special because of our special guest.
Mr. Józef Kunik.
The first Pole who claims to have spoken to the Martians.
Let's begin.
To quote the classic line,
"There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
I found out about Józef Kunik by accident.
And without any delay, I went to Truskasy,
a small village in the Olsztyn voivodeship where Mr. Józef lives.
From the very first moment we met,
I thought he was telling the truth.
Ladies and gentlemen, the discovery of the Polish Roswell
wouldn't be credible if it hadn't been for a series of expert tests,
which proved beyond doubt
that we were dealing with something momentous.
Yet, here's the most important thing, another witness came forward.
Now you are going to watch something extraordinary.
An interview with a little girl, Sara Borewicz,
who saw the same aliens as Mr. Józef.
Let's take a look.
And they were green?
Yes.
And they looked like this?
And they arrived in a flying saucer? From space?
From space.
Cutie pie!
Cutie pie! Come in, Mr. Józef.
Take off your coat.
Lenta!
You're looking at the man
who made contact with an extraterrestrial civilization.
Congratulations.
Mr. Józef will stay the night.
It's for you, ma'am. Honeydew honey, from my beeyard.
We went to the market, look!
We should celebrate.
Is Mr. Sokolik coming?
I don't think so.
Can I lie down?
So soon, Mr. Józef? We were supposed to celebrate our success.
Don't mind him. The bedroom's here.
I'll make the bed for you.
You're heartless using this man like that.
-He saw aliens. -Don't lie to me.
You can lie to yourself, but not to me. He's so brainwashed, he believes anything.
And who brainwashed him? Maybe me?
-Or the Russkies? -You're so naive, Janek.
You're just jealous. That's the truth.
You've always been jealous.
Hello?
Yes, hold on.
It's for you.
Hello?
Why didn't you even mention me?
I couldn't.
-You're lying. -I'm not!
I'm telling you the truth.
Anyway, people saw Wera's show and knew what your role was.
The truth is, nobody knows what my role was. Nobody.
And why didn't you mention the USO?
Don't get upset, Zbyszek.
And Sara's interrogation tapes.
Man, you have no mercy!
How can she know whether the ufonauts come from space or water?
-These are only details. -Details that matter.
What matters is that the aliens landed here. Get it?
They showed up here, in Poland. It doesn't matter where they come from.
Besides, please, cheer up.
Okay?
Do you know you're invited to a party held by Secretary Wierusz himself?
-Am I? -Yes. I'll pick you up tomorrow.
That's great, Janek, because I have…
an equipotential concept to explain the entire event.
Fantastic. You'll tell me when we meet.
I definitely will.
"We must have doubts in order to believe," right?
These are your words, right?
Well, maybe they are.
-See you tomorrow, Janek. -Bye.
The Truskasy Encounter?
Is this what you're working on?
Yes.
You might find this interesting, then.
What is it?
Just a coincidence.
The father of our guest, Mr. Kunik, saw the Holy Mother.
In the very same meadow.
What?
Yes.
Imprinted on a tree.
That's why it was cut down.
No, this…
-I can't believe it. -You should.
No, I can't believe it.
Holy fuck, I'm finished.
The inclination to make things up,
hallucinations, that's fucking hereditary.
This mustn't come to light.
Have you shown it to anyone?
To whom?
I also care about this book.
Cutie pie.
IGNACY KUNIK FROM TRUSKASY HAD A DIVINE REVELATION
POLISH UNITED WORKERS' PARTY
Is everything all right, Mr. Józef?
Yes, but I feel funny. My stomach has dropped to my knees.
Remember, we're on the same team.
Ladies and gentlemen!
Here are our guests of honor! Bravo!
My wife, Lenta.
Lenta Nałęcz.
Pleased to meet you. Wierusz.
Comrade Secretary, this is Józef Kunik himself.
It's a true honor for me. A true honor.
And Zbigniew Sokolik, who I told you about.
The renowned ufologist from Warmia. My husband's favorite.
Really? Wierusz.
Mamzer.
It's nice to finally meet you in person.
You're really charged up today, Mr. Polgar.
Lenta. Congratulations on your show.
I think we know each other.
I don't think so.
From a dorm. In Kyiv.
I've never been to Kyiv.
Oh, I see. My apologies.
Will you have a drink with us?
-To close encounters. -I don't drink.
So, they weren't hostile towards you?
Do you think they'll visit you again?
Would you call it a close relationship?
What about their gender? Do they have genders at all?
Once, I was on a business trip,
and I met two strange-looking Americans--
Marian, nobody wants to hear it.
We all know your stories.
Mr. Józef,
can you introduce us to those… frog people?
Maybe they could take us away from here?
I meant away from Earth, not from Poland.
Could I… Could I touch you, Mr. Józef?
Me too.
Having a good time?
Better and better.
I suppose you watched Polgar's show?
I did.
You didn't mention the USO either.
Ladies and gentlemen, we're here tonight for this special occasion.
-Mr. Józef, could you join us? Please. -Careful.
Ladies and gentlemen.
This common man,
a man of the people, one might say,
he had a chance to make direct contact
with an alien, extraterrestrial civilization.
He spent two hours
in an unidentified flying object, the so-called UFO.
USO.
Sorry, what?
Unidentified submerged object.
It so happens that I coined that term.
-Mr. Socklick. -My name is Sokolik.
Mr. Sokolik!
It wasn't submerged. It hovered above a meadow.
-That's absurd. -Underwater vehicles can fly too.
That's not a problem.
In the 17th century, fishermen from Rügen saw such USOs.
I have said many times in my lectures or at conferences
that the Earth is traversed by a network of pneumatic tunnels.
Why can't you understand it?
What are you yapping about, mister?
Mr. Józef was in a flying object.
In fact, we can call it a saucer.
-Is that true, Mr. Polgar? -Yes, of course, Comrade Secretary.
-However… -What?
It was shaped more like a cigar.
Cigar, saucer, whatever the fuck.
Just get it into your head that Mr. Józef was hovering above ground.
Mr. Secretary.
I've already told Mr. Polgar
about an equipotential explanation for the event.
Pardon?
It's possible that Mr. Kunik was under the influence of hallucinogenics.
Perhaps poppy seed moonshine.
We conducted a number of tests on this matter
and we've absolutely ruled it out, right, Kittel?
Right.
Besides, there's another witness,
who saw a flying object, not an underwater one.
Two witnesses can't be making things up.
Enough of this fucking rubbish!
We'll soon find out if Mr. Józef is lying.
Mr. Mamzer!
Please join us.
No need to introduce Mr. Mamzer, a well-known hypnotist.
We'll put Mr. Józef under deep hypnosis
to find out if he's making things up.
Comrade Secretary, perhaps it's not necessary…
The die is cast.
Follow me to my office, please.
What is that?
A hypnoscope.
It tests the susceptibility to hypnosis.
Can you feel any change?
Change?
Do you feel anything now?
Like a slight pressure.
Ladies and gentlemen!
Right now,
I'm going to put this man here into a trance.
He will repeat my words.
When I count to three and snap my fingers, he'll drift into a hypnotic sleep.
When he hears the word "UFO,"
he's going to tell us what really happened in the meadow.
Look at my hand and repeat after me.
-One. -One.
-Two. -Two.
Three. Sleep.
So, on February 10th,
you saw the UFO?
We're on the same team, right?
UFO?
Yes, I saw it.
I was riding on my wagon back home from Rapa.
I was bringing the beehives back.
On the forest path that leads to Kulesza's meadow,
I saw two small green creatures.
They were running between the trees.
Like little frogs.
-They had those little fins. -Fins?
You heard him, ladies and gentlemen. They had fins.
A submerged object. USO.
Good evening, General.
Are you the first Pole to have had contact with an extraterrestrial civilization?
It's an honor to meet you.
Congratulations.
Did they pass on a message?
"Protect the water."
Excellent.
Simply excellent.
Yes.
We are just a tiny drop in the current of Polish history.
Divided by everything
United by nothing
Human weakness
It's in your blood
What a success, Weruszka!
What a success! The General was delighted.
Here you go.
-Congratulations, bravo. -Mrs. Lenta, here.
-Thank you. -Here.
Thank you, Jaś.
Thank you!
You should appreciate your husband.
Cheers!
Actually, we should meet more often, my dears.
Oh, that's a great idea.
What's going to happen to Sokolik?
Oh, just stop thinking about him!
He's a good guy. He just went too far.
Everyone's good when they're sober.
We know for a fact that he was making moonshine.
Private Bielecki, hello?
I'll put her on.
Borewicz, it's for you.
Corporal Borewicz.
THE WAVE: TV & RADIO REPAIRS
So, that's it. You fucking ran out of luck.
IF YOU HAVE SEEN HIM, CALL.
Love. What are you doing?
They were electrofishing again.
Sara, come on.
It's poaching. You can't just…
I have to tell you something.
About your dad.
It's okay, don't say it.
I know everything.
See?
-Stars are shining underwater. -I'm sorry.
Look there, look how it shines.
Give me the hand net!
Hold me.
Hold me steady.
Jesus!
Hi.
You got promoted.
That's good.
My USO came in handy after all.
No, not the USO, but the moonshine.
Sara and I found it some time ago.
I've been meaning to give it to you for a long time.
I'm sorry, Zbyszek.
Nobody abducted him.
He was in the lake all that time.
Look at me.
Take a good look.
What happened to me, huh?
When did it happen? How?
We just got a bit lost.
I repaired the TV for Sara back then, you know?
I do!
I asked her if she wanted to come.
And?
-She didn't want to. -Do you know Polgar published a book?
He wrote it with his wife.
Take care of yourself, Zbyszek.
It's gonna be fine.
You can keep the arm. I asked them.
Julia.
Can you do one more thing for me?
THE TRUSKASY ENCOUNTER
-Thank you. -Here you go.
-To whom? -To Zbyszek.
Sokolik.
"I know it might sound crazy, but recently
in the village of Truskasy near Bartoszyce, a certain Mr. Kunik
met strange green creatures,
which resembled frog people."
"Those creatures had never been seen here before."
"And I've lived in Warmia all my life."
"So the creatures abducted Kunik and took him to their spacecraft."
"In my opinion, this warrants an investigation,
as Truskasy is near the border."
"I dread to think who else could land here."
"My neighbor says it was the Chinese."
"I think it's far more serious than that."
"Maybe they were… extraterrestrial beings."
"Kind regards."
-"Helena Podgórska." -Podgórska.
The Polish Roswell.
So?
You want to find out how I did it?
You hypnotized Kunik.
His son, Stefan.
He knew I'd attended a course on hypnosis in Kyiv and he egged me on.
But I'm guessing it was the idea of your friend Wierusz.
What did they try to hide?
What did they divert attention from?
I get it.
You had every right to be furious with me after our show.
It was never about you.
I did it because I wanted people to believe in what I believed.
To believe in underwater creatures.
And that they abducted my brother.
But now, it's…
There's nothing you can do now.
There'll be no demystification. It's too late.
Look, Zbyszek.
Is there a book?
There is.
Are there frog people in it? There are.
This book, Zbyszek, is your proof.
It's the proof of what you called the Polish Roswell.
What's more, the book mentions you as one of the people who discovered it.
Your lie has become the truth.
I'm ready.
Enough.
Go.
I'm sorry.
Mrs. Weronika, someone else will open the program today.
What? Who, exactly?
Our new Prime Minister.
You need to change for the rest of the show.
A hat like that?
I'm sorry, just one more moment. Just a second.
-Zbyszek. -Yeah?
There's one thing I don't understand.
How could you hypnotize your own daughter?
Because that Borewicz girl is your daughter.
Yes, she's my daughter.
But I didn't hypnotize her.
-Good evening, Mrs. Wierusz. -Good evening.
I hope green suits you well.
Banner on the other side.
Get down! Faster!
Citizens of the Polish People's Republic.
I address you today as the new chief of the Polish government.
I address you on the most important matters.
Our country is on the verge of an abyss.
Strikes and protest actions are everywhere.
It's high time we said, "Stop, it's enough!"
We have to prevent the conflict with forces of alien civilizations.
He didn't repair shit.
The self-preservation instinct of the nation must take precedence.
Troublemakers, invaders from beyond our borders
need to have their hands tied.
Heavy is the burden of responsibility
which lies upon me at this very dramatic moment.
I declare that as of today,
obeying the Constitution and my own conscience,
I declare at midnight
the utilitarian state of occupation in the territory of Poland.
Mr. Polgar.
Good evening.
What brings you here?
Well… I wanted to visit your dad.
That won't be possible.
It's an off-limits zone, as you can see.
After all, the UFO landed here.
Józek!
Józek, wait!
Józek!
Wait up. Here, take it.
-God bless you. -Let's go.
Mr. Józef!
Don't be afraid!
My presence here guarantees your safety!
Here!
Where are they taking him?
To a safe place, Mr. Polgar.
To Arłamów.
I advise you to go back home. You shouldn't have come here.
Drive safely. No one knows what's going to happen.
Aliens are on the border already.
And, as you know, at midnight,
the utilitarian state of occupation begins!
Utilitarian… state of occupation.
Exactly, Mr. Polgar.
USO.
Have a safe journey.
Subtitle translation by: Lukasz Dutka