Quo Vadis (2001)

Quo Vadis _ One of the most expensive films ever made in Poland--and also the last by veteran filmmaker Jerzy Kawalerowicz--Quo Vadis tells the familiar tale of Christianity set against the backdrop of Emperor Nero and the burning of Rome. It all begins when soldier Marcus Vinicius returns to the Eternal City for rest and relaxation. Polish action star Boguslaw Linda costars as Vinicius's uncle Petronius, an official in good standing with the corrupt Emperor. Vinicius's loyalties are tested when he becomes interested in the teachings of Jesus through his sweetheart Lygia. _ Though the best known Quo Vadis is the 1951 Hollywood recent Polish-produced film surpasses it in every respect. --Chicago Tribune _ This Polish remake of Quo Vadis looks and plays very much like a '50s-style Hollywood epic. Bright, glossy, grandly scaled and dramatically stolid, 79-year-old writer-director Jerzy Kawalerowicz's longtime dream project mixes earnest religiosity with the depraved cruelty of Nero's Rome in the classic De Mille tradition. --Variety