Szamanka

A free-spirited student known as the Italian arrives in Warsaw and starts her search for a place to live. She meets anthropology professor Michał, who agrees to rent the apartment that had belonged to his brother. Their initial meeting hints at a magnetic, unsettling connection that will drive the story forward.

The rental deal is sealed by an intense, violent sex scene in the empty apartment. The encounter marks the beginning of a dangerous, all-consuming relationship between Michał and the Italian. The scene sets a tone of domination and release that threads through the plot.

Michał is engaged to Anna, the architect daughter of his boss, but his fixation on the Italian deepens. He begins to neglect Anna and his social circle as his obsession grows. His personal life starts to deteriorate, foreshadowing future ruptures.

During excavations with his students and Juliuz, Michał's team discovers a remarkably well-preserved shaman corpse from over two millennia ago. The body bears mystical tattoos and is found with a pouch of hallucinogenic mushrooms. The cause of death appears unnatural, with a crushed skull hinting at a ritual act.

In the laboratory, the team studies the shaman's remains and the mushroom pouch, speculating about their cultural and mystical significance. They discuss how the mushrooms might relate to the shaman's power and death. The discovery unsettles Michał and foreshadows the film's supernatural turn.

The shaman discovery coincides with Michał's intensifying fixation on the Italian, leading him to break up with his fiancée Anna. Friends notice his erratic behavior and warn him of losing himself. His personal and professional life begins to unravel.

In the lab, the researchers ingest the shaman's mushrooms and slip into delirium as they attempt to revive him. The experience blends scientific curiosity with occult overtones and unsettles the team. The boundary between life and death starts to blur.

During the delirium, Michał speaks with the shaman's spirit, who reveals that the shaman was killed by a woman seeking to seize his magic. The revelation reframes Michał's understanding of power and control. The line between science and superstition becomes dangerously thin.

Renewed by the shaman's message, Michał declares himself free and lucid and ends the relationship with the Italian. He believes he has escaped the obsessive hold she has over him. This moment marks a fragile equilibrium before the film's final tragedy.

The Italian reacts with lethal violence to Michał's decision, bludgeoning him to death by crushing the back of his skull. She then eats his brain, a shocking culmination of her pursuit of power. The act concludes their toxic romance with a brutal, ritualistic edge.

With Michał dead, the Italian remains in the apartment, now a scene of their tragic power struggle. The room carries an oppressive stillness as the tragedy settles in. The ending leaves the audience with a sense of ominous consequence.

The mushroom-induced delirium and shamanic influence linger in memory and space, suggesting that the shaman's magic continues to exert a pull on the living. The laboratory and apartment bear the echoes of the ritual, hinting at consequences beyond the visible tragedy.