Polish Witcher Trivia #8 – Cianfanelli Bank has a reference to 70s Polish comedy

I know it’s a little late for another installment in our Polish Witcher Trivia series, but you have to forgive me for that. It’s not like you have a choice, right? Let’s make it a quick one, then. This week we’re taking a look at Blood and Wine expansion to The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and how one of the scenes was inspired by a 1978 Polish movie “What will you do when you catch me?” (Polish: Co mi zrobisz, jak mnie zlapiesz?) directed by Stanislaw Bareja.

This is the „before” picture… (source: grynieznane.pl)

So what exactly am I talking about here? You surely remember the quest when you go to the Cianfanelli bank and you try to access the money that was kept in your account since your previous visit to Beauclair (this actually happened in the original Witcher books, specifically in The Tower of Swallows). The whole quest was inspired by the French animated movie, The Twelve Tasks of Asterix, but there’s one element that comes from the Polish comedy. The store in Bareja’s movie has a board with photographs of clients that were behaving badly, and as a result they’re no longer allowed to go shopping to this place. The bank has the same board with 4 drawings… and yes, Geralt joins the infamous people at some point.

You can always visit the Cianfanelli bank whenever you want in order to exchange money. However, once you do the quest “Paperchase” and decide to have a fight with people working at the bank, you will no longer be welcome there… and your face will also appear on the board. That’s a bummer, eh? But it’s a pretty neat reference to the Polish movie that not even many young Poles know these days.

… and this is „after” one. (source: grynieznane.pl)

This is the eighth part of our Polish Witcher Trivia, meaning there are only two more to go (yes, I’ll make it a 10-part bit, there’s a feeling of accomplishment when you reach the tenth installment). If you want to take a look at previous parts, I’m listing them below. See you again in about two weeks!

1. Polish Witcher Trivia #1 – Brunwich and its significance for Polish literature
2. Polish Witcher Trivia #2 – Hearts of Stone and its plot built around a Polish legend
3. Polish Witcher Trivia #3 – Alceas and their role in Poland's rural landscape
4. Polish Witcher Trivia #4 – Forefather's Eve
5. Polish Witcher Trivia #5 – names of von Everec come from a historical family of monarchs
6. Polish Witcher Trivia #6 – Novigrad's port crane was inspired by 600-year-old crane from Gdansk
7. Polish Witcher Trivia #7 – Borsodi Auction House has its roots in the newest Witcher book