Intimate images of death in contemporary Polish documentaries

Abstract

AbstractThe theme of death in contemporary Polish documentary cinema is increasingly present, which is distinctly evidenced by the creative works of Marcin Koszałka, who debunks one more social taboo. The author of the paper is interested in the intimate presentation of death, which, on the one hand, has a provocative dimension, and, on the other, it stems from the personal need to confess, which is carried out by the film alter egos of Koszałka, for example by his sister in Ucieknijmy od niej [Let’s run away from her] or by Piotr Korczak in Deklaracja nieśmiertelności [Declaration of Independence]. The films made by Koszałka - the author of Istnienie [The Existence] are based on baroque concepts which, by shocking the audience with their form, are meant to ask fundamental existential questions. Koszałka’s creative output is viewed by scholars first of all from the standpoint of self-treatment, which seems insuficient: when analyzing Koszałka’s films, it is impossible to avoid an ethical or existentialist perspective Another interesting and separate example of intimate presentation of the death theme is the film by Adam Sikora Paweł [Paul], which presents the Mikołów Institute director suffering from cancer: the camera accompanies Paweł Targiel’s “confession”, which reveals the stream of consciousness of the departing man. These extremely different presentations: baroque pieces by Koszałka and ascetic ones by Sikora essentially ask the same questions about the limits of documentary cinema.