With the tough economic times in the 1930s, escaping the reality of every day life was a nice break from one's worries. Coming into a lot of money was a fantasy many people would dream about. Ten Percent for Me (Dziesiec Procent dla Mnie) is a comedy that does both of these, as it is an amusing story about a family that inherits a fortune.
When a notary informs a family that their aunt that moved to America has given them $50,000 in her will, they are overjoyed! The mother, who sees herself as having noble blood, sees this as her chance to finally live a life more fitting to her tastes. The family decides to move to Warsaw to begin their new life. But the daughter is leaving behind her sweetheart she loves from the same village. Although her father is laid back about the matter, her mother is totally against them being together and sees this as a great way to keep them apart.
When they get to the city, things get pretty funny. This family from the country is a little out of place in the big city. Furthermore, while the wife imagines herself to be royalty, she lacks cultural refinement and constantly makes a fool of herself. Top it off with they are all very naive and make easy targets for con men looking to make some money. When they arrive in the city, they meet a man who agrees to take them around the city, but he tells the shops beforehand that he wants his ten percent. I found a lot of things in this film funny, albeit the humor was based on the ridiculous.
Ten Percent for Me is both a comedy and a musical. There is plenty of singing throughout the movie for those who like such things. Each and every Polish film made during the inter-war period is special in some way. We are lucky that these movies were not destroyed over the years and that we are still able to watch them today. With Ten Percent for Me, it is quite a treat to see how beautiful Warsaw was in 1933.
