ANDRZEJ WAJDA. The Complete Works of a Polish Master
He is a true veteran of contemporary cinema, acclaimed both in Poland and internationally. This recognition goes beyond the honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement, which was a mere formality. He is a director whose films are listed among the best in the history of cinema. Importantly, this acclaim comes not from popularity rankings, which follow different rules, but from voices such as Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola, who count Ashes and Diamonds among their favorite films (both of whom are also veterans, though they debuted several to many years later than Wajda).
The Birch Wood (1970)
Starring: Daniel Olbrychski, Olgierd Łukaszewicz, Emilia Krakowska
Major Awards: Milan (International Film and Television Fair MIFED) – FIPRESCI award, Łagów (Lubuskie Film Summer) – award for Andrzej Wajda for directing and award for Best Male Lead Role for Daniel Olbrychski, Moscow (IFF) – Gold Medal, Moscow (IFF) – award for Best Male Role for Daniel Olbrychski, Finnish Film Association “Filmaur” award – honorary diploma, Milan (IFF) – “Golden Seal” (City of Milan award) award at the VII IFF organized by the Italian Film Archive in Milan
This is one of the director’s best films. This time, Wajda is not conventional, not formulaic, but symbolic, poetic, painterly, and philosophical. The film is brilliant in its form. The shots, interior set design, landscapes, makeup, and costumes are like paintings. There is no randomness in framing and mise-en-scène, all elements and movements are thoughtful and meaningful, referring to something. Wajda, along with the cinematographers, and in collaboration with the set designer, decorator, and costume designer, invokes the paintings of Malczewski in his film. The director is also responsible for the screenplay, based on Iwaszkiewicz’s prose. He manages to show the impressionism, allusiveness, eroticism, and deep philosophical reflections from the writer’s work. The characters are coherent and complex, and the narrative is smooth (without flashbacks). The Birch Wood presents a complicated relationship between brothers: to the forester Bolesław, a widower grieving after his wife, comes his terminally ill brother Stanisław, who wants to die here. The brothers are opposites, but there is a visible bond between them. The director juxtaposes Stanisław’s desperate cheerfulness and sensitivity with Bolesław’s depression and nervousness. Their relationship is complicated by a young neighbor – Malina, beautiful and primitive. The film touches on the themes of death and love. People’s entanglement in passion – love, jealousy, sadness, desire derived from biology – is contrasted with the inevitable, ruthless, also biological, death. The film raises questions: where does desire come from? How to reconcile the desire for life and love with the inevitability of death? Excellent performances by Krakowska (Malina) and Łukaszewicz (Staś), with only Olbrychski’s (Bolesław) star performance seeming overly exaggerated, feeling pompous, as if the actor directed himself. This exaggeration seems to be the only drawback of the film. [Ewelina Świeca]
Pilate and Others (1971)
Starring: Jan Kreczmar, Daniel Olbrychski, Wojciech Pszoniak
Major Awards: No information available
An extremely original screen adaptation of the Jerusalem part of Mikhail Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita. It is more an inspiration from the conversation between Pilate and Jesus than an adaptation of fragments of the novel. Jesus is portrayed as a rebel, a modern hippie – his trial takes place in Nuremberg, similar to the rallies of the Third Reich; Jerusalem is an urban jungle (Frankfurt), and the crucifixion happens in a dump next to a highway. The result? Unfavorable comments in the German press (despite the West German television ZDF being the producer) and only one copy of the film in Poland, screened only in art-house cinemas for a short time – Prime Minister Jaroszewicz reportedly pulled the film due to the outrage of Catholics at such a blasphemous vision… To this day, it is very difficult to find Pilate and Others anywhere – I myself saw it once, nearly 15 years ago at a single screening. Brilliant Daniel Olbrychski, excellent Wojciech Pszoniak, and the late Jan Kreczmar, who died before the film’s premiere. [Rafał Oświeciński]
The Wedding (1972)
Starring: Daniel Olbrychski, Ewa Ziętek, Wojciech Pszoniak, Andrzej Łapicki, Marek Walczewski
Major Awards: San Sebastian International Film Festival (Best Feature Film)
Andrzej Wajda enjoys drawing from immortal Polish texts, often interpreting them in his works. However, The Wedding is an example of a nearly literal adaptation in terms of text and form. Wyspiański’s play is an observation of late 19th-century society, capturing the essence of Young Poland with its historical complexes (failed uprisings, the Galician slaughter) and fascinations (rural culture, the lifestyle of provincial people). This is precisely what the film portrays. The combination of Stanisław Wyspiański’s text with Wajda’s directorial skill and technical professionalism was bound to succeed. Unlike any other film, The Wedding makes one feel stifled, sweaty, and desperate to step out of the Bronowice cottage for fresh air. In terms of content, similar to the play, it forces reflection and a reassessment of one’s view of history. It is certainly a heavy film that one returns to occasionally, but each time, it astonishes with its visual artistry (use of color, vision, and dreamlike quality) and execution (moving camera and editing). [Maciej Niedźwiedzki]
The Promised Land (1974)
Starring: Daniel Olbrychski, Andrzej Seweryn, Wojciech Pszoniak, Anna Nehrebecka
Major Awards: Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film, Chicago International Film Festival – Grand Prix “Gold Hugo”, Łagów (Lubuskie Film Summer) – Grand Prix “Golden Grapes”, Moscow International Film Festival – Gold Medal, Golden Duck (awarded by “Film” magazine) “Golden Duck” of the 50th anniversary in the category: Best Film, End of the Century – “Polityka” magazine survey – 4th place in the survey of “The Most Interesting Polish Films of the 20th Century”
A completely different work from anything Wajda had done before. Instead of neo-romantic raptures, it’s a romance with the positivist ideas of Reymont. Instead of national allegories, it focuses on individual matters, personal needs, and theories of freedom. The result? The best, most mature film by Andrzej Wajda, where everything plays perfectly: beautiful cinematography by Sobociński, expressive music by Kilar, grand production scale, and the crème de la crème: the cast. Olbrychski, Seweryn, and Pszoniak are outstanding as Lodz entrepreneurs, creating the roles of their lives. Wajda himself admits it was one of the happiest periods of his life: he gathered an excellent team around him and worked without looking back at the judgment of the people’s government, which was proud to “own” such a recognized creator as Wajda. Despite this, the Ideological and Educational Department of the Central Committee of the Polish United Workers’ Party had much work in combating the capitalist message of The Promised Land. Nonetheless, the film achieved tremendous success – an Oscar nomination (it lost to Kurosawa‘s Dersu Uzala) and today is considered one of the best films in the history of Polish cinema (voted the greatest in history in “Film” magazine in 1996). [Rafał Oświeciński]
The Shadow Line (1976)
Starring: Marek Kondrat, Graham Lines, Tom Wilkinson, Bernard Archard
Major Awards: Silver Lion at the Gdańsk Polish Film Festival
Adapting Joseph Conrad requires a creative approach. The best adaptations of his prose are characterized by their departure from slavishly adhering to the text, even significantly deviating from the literary original. This is what Francis Ford Coppola did by setting the action of Heart of Darkness during the Vietnam War in Apocalypse Now; similarly, Ridley Scott made The Duellists more dramatic by focusing on the two adversaries rather than the witnesses to their duels, as in the story. Meanwhile, Wajda’s English-language The Shadow Line feels like a very cautious attempt to transfer Conrad’s work to the screen, losing the main idea in the process. The story of an ill-fated voyage under a newly appointed captain has an overly prolonged prologue in the port and an unsatisfactory finale. The constant off-screen thoughts of the main character, played by a young Marek Kondrat, don’t help either. Fortunately, what’s best in the book is also present in Wajda’s film – the helplessness of the sailors (including the debuting Tom Wilkinson), especially their captain, stranded at sea without wind or quinine, awaiting their inevitable end. For these scenes, as well as Witold Sobociński’s cinematography and Wojciech Kilar’s music, The Shadow Line is worth watching, though they cannot save the film from being a failure. [Krzysztof Walecki]
Man of Marble (1976)
Starring: Krystyna Janda, Jerzy Radziwiłowicz, Tadeusz Łomnicki, Jacek Łomnicki, Michał Tarkowski
Major Awards: Cannes Film Festival – FIPRESCI Prize, Belgrade (FEST) – Grand Prize
Significant troubles with the people’s government. The film was so inconvenient that the script was constantly debated, its tone and accents were changed until finally, after much struggle, it was accepted. As it turned out, Wajda stabbed a dagger in the back, openly criticizing the era of lies and mediocrity, which did not end with the distorted Stalinist period (as they later tried to explain) but continued for many years. The story of Mateusz Birkut, a classic Stakhanovite celebrated by the government, becomes a starting point for reflections on the nature of rebellion. Birkut (an excellent Radziwiłowicz) becomes aware of how the socialist world is constructed, and Agnieszka (a stunning, remarkable debut by Krystyna Janda) also matures while conducting her investigation. A brilliant film by Wajda, one of the best and most intelligent works of Polish cinema. A sharp slap in the face during the Gierek era. [Rafał Oświeciński]
Without Anesthesia (1978)
Starring: Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Ewa Dałkowska, Andrzej Seweryn, Krystyna Janda, Emilia Krakowska, Roman Wilhelmi
Major Awards: Cannes Film Festival – Ecumenical Jury Prize, Cannes (nomination for the Palme d’Or), Golden Duck (nomination for Andrzej Wajda), Golden Lion (Best Film)
The year 1978, Polish screens are stormed by the cinema of moral anxiety. Agnieszka Holland directs Provincial Actors, three years have passed since the premiere of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Personnel, two since Zanussi‘s Camouflage, one since Feliks Falk’s Top Dog. Wajda’s Without Anesthesia is an inseparable child of these times (worth noting, the screenplay was written by Agnieszka Holland). The story of the downfall of a popular journalist combines an intimate individual drama with a sharp satire of the communist government. Family tragedy and social tragedy sometimes merge too easily, complementing each other too straightforwardly, and like all cinema of moral anxiety, they are made with an anti-system key. What is truly great in Without Anesthesia is the role of Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, one of the best performances in the history of Polish cinema. [Filip Jalowski]
The Maids of Wilko (1979)
Starring: Daniel Olbrychski, Maja Komorowska, Anna Seniuk, Stanisława Celińska
Major Awards: Academy Award (Nomination: Best Foreign Language Film), Golden Lions (Best Set Design, Special Jury Award for Andrzej Wajda)
I am not a fan of Wajda’s films based on the stories of Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. They require a special sensitivity from the viewer, which I unfortunately lack. They are not edgy or expressive. They focus on subtle emotions and nuances. The Maids of Wilko is certainly proof of the director’s versatility, as he can handle grand historical narratives like in Danton as well as more modest and intimate stories. This film is more feminine, calm, balanced, and sentimental. Wajda demonstrates his skill in directing actors. Daniel Olbrychski as Wiktor and Maja Komorowska as Jola are compelling. I must admit this even though I prefer a different kind of cinema. Wiktor’s confrontation with the past is an interesting theme, but despite this, I couldn’t help but check the time during the screening. [Maciej Niedźwiedzki]
The Conductor (1979)
Starring: John Gielgud, Krystyna Janda, Andrzej Seweryn
Major Awards: Silver Bear (Andrzej Seweryn, Best Actor), San Sebastian (FIPRESCI Prize, Catholic Office of Film Award)
In Poland, this film is somewhat forgotten, largely due to domestic critics who did not give it very positive reviews. They accused it of being postcard-like and lacking psychological depth. Abroad, the reactions were quite different. The Conductor was among eleven films mentioned by Ingmar Bergman as those that left the greatest impression on him. Wajda’s film was warmly received in Berlin and San Sebastian. Personally, I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The story of tense relationships between a world-class musician and a young married couple is solid cinema with an excellent performance by Andrzej Seweryn and good performances by John Gielgud and a young Janda. Particularly convincing are the almost paranoid behaviors of Seweryn’s character and the nostalgic actions of Gielgud’s character. Ultimately, The Conductor lacks a strong moment that would lead to a climactic explosion of emotions. When the screening ends, there is a feeling that everything has been left unresolved – without a conclusion, without an explanation. Such an approach can be somewhat irritating. [Filip Jalowski]
Man of Iron (1981)
Starring: Jerzy Radziwiłowicz, Marian Opania, Krystyna Janda
Major Awards: Palme d’Or at Cannes, Academy Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film
This is a strange film. It’s more of an illustration of recent events in the country than a normal story with a main character. The authorities underestimated the screenplay, and the film was made in a great hurry, as if in anticipation that something important might soon happen (rightly so, as martial law broke out a few months after the premiere). Even Wajda considered it the weakest of his works to date. And suddenly, as if by magic, a miracle happened: the film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Moreover, it became a huge box office success (5 million viewers in four months!). What made the difference? The mood of those times – Wajda captured that moment when something extraordinary was being born, something with a concrete goal and a face (yes, Wałęsa, Walentynowicz, and Gwiazda appear in the film). Man of Iron is another slap in the face of the authorities, all the more painful because it was noticed worldwide and showed those who were dealing the blow. Again, Janda is outstanding, and Radziwiłowicz is no less excellent. Alongside them, Opania in a career-defining role and Gajos, who is in a class of his own. [Rafał Oświeciński]
Danton (1983)
Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Wojciech Pszoniak, Anne Alvaro, Roland Blanche
Major Awards: BAFTA (Best Foreign Language Film), César Awards (Best Director; Nominations: Best Film, Best Actor, Best Sound, Best Adapted Screenplay), Golden Lions (Special Journalists’ Award for Andrzej Wajda)
Alongside The Promised Land, this is my favorite Andrzej Wajda film. Based on an excellent drama by Stanisława Przybyszewska, there is a certain similarity in both films. The Promised Land deals with the technological revolution and the associated social changes, while Danton addresses the political revolution and radical changes in the social structure. Danton spectacularly captures the atmosphere and intensity of the French Revolution. The committed performances of Depardieu and Pszoniak are impressive. In Wajda’s film, all of Paris comes alive and is multi-dimensional: the costumes, set design, and cinematography are, as usual with this director, of the highest level. Playing with color, light, and shadow has always been very important for Wajda, known for his passion for painting and artistic interests. Here, every frame is painted with the eye of a painter. Simultaneously, there is immense power and necessary (but not overbearing) pathos in this story. All this makes Danton, in my opinion, Wajda’s last great film. [Maciej Niedźwiedzki]
A Love in Germany (1984)
Starring: Hanna Schygulla, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Piotr Łysak
Major Awards: No information
For the first time, Wajda takes a close look at Germany and the totalitarian system, whose main political goal was indoctrination. This is a story about forbidden love in 1940 between a German woman and a Polish prisoner of war working in Bavaria. The film met with crushing criticism in Germany, which preferred to conduct its own psychoanalysis. In Poland, it did not appear in cinema distribution.
Chronicle of Amorous Accidents (1985)
Starring: Paulina Młynarska, Piotr Wawrzyńczak, Dariusz Dobkowski, Jarosław Gruda, Tadeusz Konwicki
Major Awards: Golden Tape (awarded by the SFP Screenwriting Circle) in the “Polish Film” category
The collaborative effort of Andrzej Wajda and Tadeusz Konwicki to bring the latter’s novel to the screen resulted in significant success. The film is warm and humorous, treating the first love of the main characters (excellently portrayed by Wawrzyńczak and Młynarska) with due respect while not omitting the charming awkwardness typical of young love. This contrasts significantly with the looming specter of the upcoming war (the story is set in the spring of 1939) and the figure of a mysterious stranger (played by Konwicki himself), who reminisces about his youth, untainted by future experiences. Wajda constructs this world with bright colors, pervasive sunshine, and picturesque landscapes, fully aware of the impending tragedy. Both creators reference their previous works – Konwicki’s psychological cinema has always emphasized the role of memory, allowing people to return to the past, while Wajda has frequently explored the themes of love and death. Nonetheless, Chronicle of Amorous Accidents stands out in their oeuvre, perhaps because innocence and youthful feelings are the primary themes of this story, refusing to be relegated to the background. [Krzysztof Walecki]
The Possessed (1988)
Starring: Piotr Machalica, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Lambert Wilson, Omar Sharif
Major Awards: None
Adapting Dostoevsky is always a great challenge. The complexity of his characters often poses an insurmountable obstacle for filmmakers. However, Wajda had a strong ally in this endeavor. The screenplay was written by Jean-Claude Carrière, who also worked on The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and That Obscure Object of Desire by Luis Buñuel. The collaboration between the Frenchman and the Pole is more than interesting. Fans of the novel criticize the filmmakers for not fully capturing the complexity of the characters and for omitting many plot points that contribute to the greatness of the original. Personally, I disagree with these criticisms. Wajda and Carrière effectively convey the heavy, somewhat psychotic atmosphere of The Possessed. Although many plot points are indeed omitted, and some characters acquire traits not found in Dostoevsky’s text, the essence of the novel is preserved and rendered in a surprisingly faithful manner. This is achieved through cinematography, good direction, and music, which perfectly underscore the on-screen events. [Filip Jalowski]
EDITORIAL team