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| Big Shar |
Translation by Adrian Kołodziński
I believe everyone's got certain movies that they like more than other. In my case I divide them into specific categories, which don't compete for a spot in my heart and memory. I've got my favorite SF movie, I've got my favorite B-movie, got favorite productions of the 21st century, and going further I've got my favorite Polish movies from the period of... PRL!* I suspect that some of you, my dear readers, might've heard of some of them, or perhaps even watched them. Today I'll focus on some of the works from the last group, maybe this is not the most popular of topics, but still incredibly sentimental.
Why did I decide to study the cinematography of PRL? It's a part of our culture, and as such, also our history. More often than not they are saturated with positive values, messages, they allow us to better understand our families and ancestors, and on top of that tend to be an unmatched parody of those times. And it's hard not to agree that it's a part of Polish cinematography on a quite high level in view of its current state in our country.
"Big Shar" (1982) directed by Sylwester Chęciński has remained as my favorite movie of that period. A story of a swindler-gambler, that made himself known as the best poker player in town, but finally "met his match" and ended up in prison. Once he served his sentence and wanted to come back to his reality, start anew, it turned out that he has nothing to go back to. Here begins a story of his further experiences and endeavours, which one can only learn about by watching this movie.
"Death of a President" (1977) directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz is a terrificaly told history of the presidental election and assassination of Gabriel Narutowicz. I take it with a pinch of salt, as the movie was layered with the necessary minimum of propaganda, although the events described in it did take place. Poland was astir and in general unrest after reclaiming its independence and the director worked hard to present that atmosphere. Though the fact most terrifying is how strong of a reflection of the present day attitudes we can find in those of our grandfathers and even their fathers, about whom the movie is about.
"Ashes and diamonds" (1958) directed by Andrzej Wajda is an absolute classic of our cinematography. The Second World War had come to an end, yet the underground National Army does not relent and decides to fight against communists, whom they perceive as the new occupying force. The movie shows the woes of a young man, whose soul had grown old and tired due to the war, who starts to doubt whether there's a point in fighting. He sees how many of his friends had died, he doubts while being placed in a tragic situation.
"Teddy Bear" (1980) directed by Stanisław Barea is probably the best comedy of that period. Grotesque and saturated with paradoxes life of the chairman of the club "Tęcza" ("Rainbow" - translator's note) is an excellent presentation of PRL through a comedic lens. Absurd situations in cafeterias, shops or in offices shows the Polish day-to-day life in times when the core of communism in Poland had already rotten, and started its inevitable fall.
The amount of movies I could enumerate is huge. I would be willing to write something of a book describing just the work of Stanisław Barea as I had always been fascinated with it since I was a kid. I'll allow myself to cut the subject short now, as I'm very interested in your opinions regarding this historical period in the Polish (and the foreign, bearing foreign readers in mind) cinema. Are you fond of it, you don't know about it, or just avoid it?
And finally some links to those movies, which are legal to watch online (it depends on the license).
Big Shar
Death of a President
*PRL - Polska Republika Ludowa (Polish People's Republic) was the name of Poland during years 1952 - 1989, during which Poland had been governed by communists, as it was one of the countries on the Soviet side of the Iron Curtain. Often considered to as the "communistic period".
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