Polish film on mystic Alicja Lenczewska draws 160,000 viewers

Approximately 160,000 people in Poland watched the feature film Mistyczka (The Mystic) during its first two weeks in theaters. Written and directed by Jan Sobierajski, the film opened on Sept. 11 and depicts the life of Alicja Lenczewska, a lay Catholic and teacher from Szczecin who experienced mystical phenomena.

The film stars Dorota Chotecka-Pazura as Lenczewska, who turned to the Catholic Church at age 50 following the conversion of her brother. Lenczewska recorded her spiritual experiences and interior conversations with Jesus in 900 pages of journals. Sobierajski said the production took three years to complete and required extensive research and interviews with people who knew Lenczewska personally to develop the screenplay.

The film's release coincides with a Polish archdiocese beginning a broad examination of Lenczewska's life and writings.