The Mandrake Root
Synopsis
Callimaco, a young Sardinian returns from studying in Paris and is overcome by the beauty of Lucrezia, the virtuoso and beautiful wife of the rich and foolish lawyer Nicia. In his desire to bed her, he engages the services of a dubious fixer Liguro who knows that Nicia and Lucrezia are desperate for a child.
With Ligurio's help, Callimaco masquerading as a doctor, convinces Nicia that the surest way for his wife to conceive is by taking a potion made from the Mandrake Root, with the dire warning that the first man to sleep with her will die within 8 days. Nicia agrees to a plan to kidnap an unsuspecting man to sleep with his wife and thereby draw out the poison, but of course it is the disguised Callimaco who is to be kidnapped.
In order to persuade his wife to agree, because she is so virtuous, Nicia enlists the help of her mother, a woman of questionable virtue, and her confessor, a priest of equally dubious morals.
Ultimately Callimaco succeeds in sleeping with Lucrezia, who herself decides that due to the stupidity of her husband and deception of her mother and confessor, she will continue to be his lover and ‘what her husband wanted for her to have for one night, she now wants him to have forever’. The story is concludes with everyone getting what they want and believing that each has outwitted the other.
Details
- Year
- 2009
- Type of project
- Features
- Running time
- 75 mins
- Format
- HiDef
- Director
-
Malachi Bogdanov
- Producer
- Simon M Woods
- Editor
- Nat Higginbottom, Simon M Woods, Malachi Bogdanov
- Screenwriter
- Malachi Bogdanov
- Director of Photography
- Tony Yates
- Production Designer
- John Plush
- Sound
- Neil Hillman, Brian Murrell
- Composer
- Christopher Ash
- Principal cast
- Geoffery Bateman, Den Woods, Jonathan Owen, Chara Jackson, Mike Rogers, Craig Painting, Jason Nicoli
Categories
Production Status
Production Company
European Drama Network
1 Poplar CottageIcknield Street, Beoley
Worcestershire B98 9AP
UK
T +44 (0)7754 888 180
Page updates
This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.
See also
You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.
Everybody Wants to F*ck Me
Director: Jonathan Schey
Year: 2026
Adam strives to present as a sensitive feminist but behind the facade he's a serial womaniser. After a one night stand with a mysterious stranger leaves him suddenly irresistible, Adam's dream quickly turns into a nightmare. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere
Faith
Director: Paul Andrew Williams
Year: 2026
Gina, a single mother, meets Michael, an enigmatic stranger. As their relationship deepens, Michael's extraordinary true identity is revealed, teaching Gina to embrace life fully again. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere
Up Against It
Director: Trudie Styler
Year: 2026
When a divorced couple's daughter falls ill, doctors tell her parents the only cure is for them to have another child who could save their sister. Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2026 - World premiere