Tess

Roman Polanski's Academy Award winning interpretation of Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" is a beautiful and timeless masterwork that is destined to become a classic. Tess, portrayed by the entrancing Nastassja Kinski, is the daughter of a poor, drunken farmer who discovers that he is actually of noble descent. Tess is sent off to live with their proper and wealthy relatives. There, she is seduced by a suave but sinister cousin and bears him a bastard son who dies while still an infant. The backdrop is morally rigid Victorian England where Tess must carry the same of her past even into her marriage to a minister's son - until she cleanses herself of all guilt in one ultimate act of passion. Tess was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and won three for its stunning beauty: Cinematography, Art Direction and Costume Design (1980).