Peregrynacja dziadowska w powojennym kinie polskim. Studium postaci

Abstract

The subject of the article is a study of the wandering beggar in selected pictures of Polish post-war cinema. A poor wanderer, a beggar, classified in the social structure of the former village as a „loose man” and at the very bottom of the rural hierarchy, aroused respect combined with superstitious fascination. As a non-obvious figure and characteristic of a traditional Polish village, he aroused the interest of filmmakers. The roles of rural wanderers, interesting and important for the plot, appeared in outstanding movies: Jańcio Wodnik (1993) by Jan Jakub Kolski, Konopielka (1981) by Witold Leszczyński and Znachor (1982) by Jerzy Hoffman. In the films analyzed, the beggar in episodic roles played the role of a prophet announcing fundamental changes in the life of the village, or a man who, by casting a curse, influenced the lives of the characters in the movie. In the film by Jan Jakub Kolski, he also turned out to be a witness to the metamorphosis of the main character. Importantly, the magical and moral features ascribed to itinerant beggars are also possessed by Jańcio and Stygma, the central figures of Jan Jakub Kolski’s Jańcio Wodnik. From the gallery of „beggar” characters, the most trivially treated figure was the wandering worker Rafał Wilczur, alias Antoni Kosiba in Znachor, whose metamorphosis consisted only in crossing class barriers. In conclusion, the figure of the wandering beggar turned out to be so psychologically complex that it became interesting for Polish directors.