Andrzej Wajda: History, Politics, and Nostalgia in Polish Cinema by Janina Falkowska (review)

Abstract

752 SEER, 87, 4, OCTOBER 2OO9 at Home), David MacFadyen[Carnival Night) and BirgitBeumers(TheNeedle and Brother) are informative and engaging, as are thoseon Moscow Doesn't Believe inTears (David Gillespie) and HouseofFools(MarciaLandy).Josephine Woll givesa usefulcontextto Balladofa Soldier, writing withfeeling, style and persuasiveness about the filmand script.Similarly, Natasha Synessios describes Ivan'sChildhood With lyricism, and encapsulates whatneedstobe said about thefilm'sstyle, narrative (and lack oí), putting it intothecontextof Tarkovskii's career as a whole. StephenHutchingsconvincingly presents ThePrisoner ofthe Mountains as ca dialoguewiththewarfilm'(p. 226),as well as discussing thework'srelationship toitsliterary origins, concepts ofimperialism ,and reporting a revealinganecdote fromthe makingof the film. Another multi-faceted, scholarly, engaging textualand contextual analysis is provided byIan Christie in hischapteron Russian Ark. The most originalchapters,fordifferent reasons,are those by Susan Larsen and Karla Oeler, on BriefEncounters and The ColourofPomegranates, respectively. LarsenshowshowMuratova'swonderful film is remarkable for itsnarrative innovations, and highlights thewayinwhichitconveys a distinctively femalesubjectivity through itsvisuals.She discusses all thekeyaspects ofthefilm and itshistory: technique, narrative, context and reception. Oeler, forherpart,contributes a thoroughly cinematic analysis, illuminating both in its arguments and its style.Her discussions of collage and framing are fascinating. This bookinforms thereadernotonlyaboutthefilms and film history of Russiaandtheformer SovietUnion,butalsoaboutthevarious waysinwhich one can approachthestudy ofcinemaand theanalysis ofindividual works. It shouldproveuseful to students and others inboththeserespects. London Milena Mighalski Falkowska,Janina. AndrzejWajda:History, Politics, andNostalgia inPolishCinema. BerghahnBooks,New Yorkand Oxford,2007.viii+ 340 pp. Illustrations .Notes.Bibliography. Filmography. Index.$90.00: £45.00; $34.95:¿I9-95This bookisoffered as a thorough treatment ofand reference resource tothe life's workoftheOscar-winning Polishfilm director AndrzejWajda, and toa largemeasureitsucceeds.Written byan unabashedadmire infects thereaderwithherenthusiasm, itmakesonewishtovi entireoeuvre from beginning to end. Once pasttheintroduc r ofWajda who ewthedirector's tion'sobligatory film-studies boilerplate, the book turnsintoa highlyreadable,jargon-free accountofWajda's life,education, formative experiences and,especially, his incredibly varied body of creativework,consisting of some thirty-seven feature-length films spanning morethanfivedecadesand stillcounting. One mightthinkit premature to put a period afterWaida's name as of 1999.Although he sloweddown in his 80s, he remainsactiveintothe present decade. No mention is made ofhison-going or future projects as of reviews 753 1999- odd, because theywere surelyno secretas thisbook was nearing completion. It is almosttimetowrite thechapterdevotedto theperiod2000 to 2009,whichwillof necessity includediscussion of his latestmasterpiece Katyn (2007),on thecaptureand individual executionof 15,000Polisharmy officers in 1940bytheSovietNKVD, a film thatexhibits as wellas anyother thedirector's ability to weave history, politics, nostalgia, thenationalcause and romanticlove intocomplex,highlypersonalized, multi-layered pieces (baroque,as theyare oftendescribed)whose striking imageshave staying powerlongafter theviewing is over. Despitehis long beingrecognizedas a nationaltreasure, the director is famously modest, accessibleand helpful to peopleinterested in hiswork.He maintains an extensive archivein Krakow,to whichhe providedtheauthor fullaccess. She claimsto have read everyone of thearchive'smillion-plus documents relating toWajda's directorial activities, and suchdiligence shows in themeticulously footnoted treatments of theindividual films. If thereis anything ofimportance notcoveredin thebodyofthebook,it is likely to be foundamong the some seventy pages of references, bibliography and filmography. Thereismuchofinterest hereconcerning Wajda's personallife, friendships, relationships withactorsand directorial method (saidtobe micromanagerial ). In general, theauthorseemstobe somewhat moreinterested in Wajda thepersonthansheis in placinghisworkin thecontext ofPolishor worldcinema,butthereadability ofthebookbyno meanssuffers. The films arediscussed inchapters devotedtothe1950s, 1960s,1970s, 1980s and 1990s,each consisting ofan introduction, a chronological treatment of thefilms producedin thatdecade,and a conclusion. After theplotofeach filmis summarized, oftenat considerable length,the authordiscussesthe critical responses to itbothin Poland(byno meansall positive) and abroad, to whichsheusuallyadds herownpersonalassessment ofthefilm's quality, importance and place intheoveralloeuvre. Filmsare categorized according to majorand minorthemes, allowing comparison from one film toanother, and thereaderis constantly reminded ofthevariousfilms inwhicha givenmotif (likea whitehorse,carousel,or askew crucifix) occurs.Wajda loves selfreferentiality , and hisworkisreplete withit.Becausethemajority ofhisfilms are based on literary works, whether 'classicsof Polishliterature' or lesserknownworks , theplotretellings often read likestories on theirown merits. One mighthave appreciatedmorediscussion ofwherefilmplotsdepartin important waysfrom theliterary prototypes, as often happens,sometimes for thebetter, and sometimes not. The factthatthefilm commentaries aimat a certain levelofcompleteness leavestheauthoropen to criticism fornotfully treating, forleavingout,or formisanalysing one thingor another.For example,thediscussion ofKanal (1957),in whicha band of fighters in the 1945Warsaw Uprisingwander through the trackless stinking sewersbeneaththe cityto variously perish, literalizing themetaphor cnoexit',managesnottomention thetraceofFrench existentialism. Ashes andDiamonds (1958)contains a description ofthepossible resonances oftheriderless...