The Cinema of Central Europe by Peter s> Hames (review)

Abstract

REVIEWS 13I deliberately engages with the kind of practice pioneered by Godard (his relationshipwith and directing of Anna Karina) and Antonioni (his relationship with and directing of Monica Vitti) in the I96os. Another aspect of Kieslowski's directing practice which requires further investigation, one tantalizinglyairedby Haltof but not pursuedwith any greatvigour, lies in his relationships with his respective cinematographers, in particular his willingness to engage with them at the level of equals, allowing them latitude and creativefreedom, aswell as the rightto interferewith the content of the script. In some respects, these collaborations raise important questions about the limitationsof the concept of the auteurin relation to visual style. Last,but by no means least, is the creative partnership between Kieslowski and his coscenarist Krzysztof Piesiewicz, an extremely fruitful collaboration which accompanied the movement towards the more theological, if not mystical, concerns fromNoEndonwards. Piesiewiczis not only neglected as a source of potentially useful information on the genesis and development of ideas for successivescreenplays,he isvirtuallyair-brushedout of history. School ofSlavonic andEastEuropean Studies PHILIP CAVENDISH University College London Hames, Peter (ed.). T7he Cinema of Central Europe. 24 Frames.WallflowerPress, London and New York, 2004. xv + 291 pp. Illustrations.Notes. Filmography .Bibliography.Index. Ci6.99 (paperback). THISvolume featuresa seriesof essayson twenty-fourkey filmsfrom Central and EasternEurope. Conscious of the terminologyused to referto the cinema of those countries that lay on the 'east' side of the Iron Curtain -whether 'East', 'Central East' or 'East Central' Europe Peter Hames refers,for the sake of argument, to the entire region as Central European. The collection is particularlywelcome because of its coverage not only of well-known cinema, but some excellent filmsvirtuallyunknownin the West,forexample, Frantisek Vladl's I967 Marketa Lazarova. In thisway, PeterHames has broughtthe films of this region back into the limelight where they belong. WallflowerPresshas done much to promote East European film and film-makingin recent years with their publication of The Cinemaof the OtherEurope(2003) by Dina lordanova; Hungarian Cinema (2004) by John Cunningham; the monographs within the series 'Directors' Cuts' dedicated to Kusturica (writtenby Goran Gocic, 200 1), Wajda(edited byJohn Orr and Elzbieta Ostrowska,2003) and Kieslowski (by Marek Haltof, 2004); along with 7The RedandtheWhite(Paul Coates, 2005) and the second edition of Peter Hames's TheCzechoslovak New Wave (2005). The films included in this volume are: Hej-Rup(directed by Martin Fric, 1934); DerDibuk(T7he Dybbuk directed by Michal Waszynski, 1937); Emberek a havason (People oftheMountains, directedby IstvanSzots, 1942); Dalekd cesta (The LongJ_ourney, directed by Alfred Radok, 1949); Eroica(directed by Andrzej Munk, 1957); Popioli Diament (Ashes andDiamonds, directedby AndrzejWajda, 1958);N6J w wodzie(Knifein the Waterdirected by Roman Polanski, i962); Rekopis znaleziony wSaragossie (Manuscriptfound inSaragosa, directedby Wojciech 132 SEER, 84, I, 2006 Has, I964); Obchod nakorze (ShopontheMainStreet, directed byJan Kadar and Elmar Klos, I965); Szege'nylegenyek (T-he RoundUp,directed by MiklosJancs6, I965); Ostfrsledovane vlaky(CloselyObserved Trains,directed by Jifi Menzel, I966); Sedmikrasky (Daisies,directed by Vira Chytilova, I966); 0 slavnostia hostech (AboutthePartyandtheGuests, directed by Jan Nimec, I966); Marketa Lazarova (directed by FrantisekVlacil, I967); Vta6kovia, sirotya blazni(Birds, Orphans andFools,directed by JurajJakubisko, I969); Szerelem (Love,directed by Karoly Makk, 1970); Clowiek z marmuru (ManofMarble,directed by Wajda, I977); Japlo gyermeimnek (Diary for My Children directed by Marta Mezsaros, I982); Redlezredes (Colonel Redldirected by Istvan Szabo, I984); JNeco z Alenky (Something About Alice,directed byJan Svankmajer,I987);Dekalog (directedby Krzysztof Kieslowski, I989); Satdntango(Satan'sTango, directed by Bela Tarr, 1994); Zahrada(The Garden, directed by Martin Sulik, 1995); and BoIse vita (directed by Jbolya Fekete, I996). The collection also includes essays, in translation, written by Central and East European scholars which offer the Westernreadera first-handinsightinto the responsesof contemporary,'local' critics. Without necessarilyattempting to be exhaustive, the aim of the volume, as Peter Hames argues, is to 'drawattention to some remarkableachievements' in Central European film-making. Each essay gives a synopsis of the film under discussion, places it in a historical context, analyses its themes and concludes with a consideration of its reception by both criticsand audiences. Specific consideration of the stylesof these films and the techniques deployed by particular film-makers is, however, largely missing, except in Ewa Mazierka's perceptive study of Polish director Andrzej Munk's Eroica...