Arkadius: Wild Orchid Dreams

A 55 minute documentary telling the story of Arkadius, a boy who grew up under Communism in small-town Poland with the dream of becoming an artist. Combining stylish cinematography with content both humorous and moving, this fast-paced documentary traces his rise from seemingly hopeless beginnings to international celebrity and stardom in the West, as it follows the preparations for his first show at London Fashion Week, inspired by the erotic paintings of major British artist Allen Jones. Arkadius Weremczuk was born in Parczew, Poland, to strict parents who rejected his unorthodox longings for art and beauty. He was forced to study pedagogy, but finally rebelled, desperate to follow his dreams. He sold his few belongings to buy a one-way ticket to Italy, where he found work as a dishwasher in a beach hotel, working 80-hour weeks and sketching designs after midnight on kitchen napkins. At last he saved the money to buy a ticket to London...

Here's what I want to believe: That the one-hour documentary about the Polish fashion designer Arkadius is winking at us. That it's a real-life Best in Show, documenting the fashion wunderkind as he prepares for his coming-out show in London. But even Christopher Guest couldn't come up with "vagina pants," orchid dresses, outfits adorned with a bright red bulging "erection," gauzy, bulbous-shaped material cloaking a model's head. The genius of Guest's dog-show parody and his community theater mockumentary Waiting for Guffman is that they seem so real. As a glimpse into the world of high fashion--clothing design as some sort of bizarro planet wearable art--Wild Orchid Dreams is fascinating. The filmmakers remain detached, however. So as much as I'd like to believe that they intended to Guffmanize the world of high couture, there's no way of knowing if that's what they had in mind. NEW HAVEN FILM FEST - MJ