Eastern/Central Europe Film Recs
Jan. 11th, 2008 03:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
valis2I've been meaning to do this for a long time. I have a special place in my heart for Polish films, but there are other European films recommended here as well.
Very generally speaking, mainstream American films (and audiences) are very concerned with the endings of movies. We want to know what happens to the characters we've invested our time and emotions into. We want to know where the story goes, and we it's very important for a movie to conclude properly. If the last ten minutes of the movie don't satisfy us, the movie is a disappointment. Most mainstream viewers know that a mainstream movie will conclude well, and are left to enjoy the unfolding spectacle, because the hero will definitely punish the bad guy, the underdog will win the competition, and the couple will state their undying love for each other in a way that erases all doubts about their future together.
The films below are more concerned with the journey of the film than the ending. The emotions and thoughts you experience on the way are much more important. In fact, some of them have downright depressing endings, or disappointing endings, by American standards. These films have an uncertainty that stems from taking chances. The audience is kept in genuine suspense because anything can happen.
I'm not bashing American films at all. Simply put, these are different experiences than mainstream American films. They have a different pace. Different expectations.
If you're interested, click on the cut to read about some of my favorite European films. They're not always easy to find, but they're worth it. I've liberally borrowed from papers I wrote about the films at the time I watched them.
Krzysztof Kieslowski (Poland) (IMDB link)
Kieslowski is probably my favorite director. His movies are lyrical, haunting, full of insights into the human soul. He's amazing.
What I love most about his work is that he illustrates his concepts with surprising plots. All of my preconceived notions about making a film about inequality or brotherhood were thrown out of the window by his films; instead of a film about the inequality of groups of people, he chooses the intimate story of a man and a woman, and even though this is not radical in itself, the plot and the method of his storytelling is so innovative that this old concept becomes new again. He was a master of his craft.
He's best known for his Three Colors trilogy: Blue, White, and Red. The colors come from the colors of the French flag and stand for Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood, and he contemplates each theme with his usual brilliance. His explorations are subtle and thought-provoking.
White (IMDB link) is probably my favorite of the three films. It follows Karol, a Polish hairdresser, who is being divorced by his French wife Dominique. She claims that because the marriage was never consummated that there was no marriage. During the course of the trial and the subsequent events Karol ends up destitute, with no money, no belongings, no passport, and worse, she burns down his salon, so he has nothing. Less than nothing. The theme of the movie is equality, and the way that Kieslowski shapes the relationship between the two and brings about equality (or does he?) will have you thinking for a long time.
The final scene of the movie is a masterpiece.
Blue (IMDB link) is the moving story of Julie du Courcy, wife of a prominent composer, who loses both him and their daughter in an automobile accident. The film traces her life as she attempts to deal with this tragedy.
The theme of this movie is freedom. Julie attempts to withdraw from everything, to free herself from all connection and human contact. It's a gorgeous movie with gorgeous music and gorgeous visuals, and it will stay with you long after you see it.
Red (IMDB link) is about fraternity. It follows the story of Valentine, a French woman who finds friendship where she least expects it. It's my least favorite of the three, but it seems to be the favorite of most people who've watched the trilogy.
The symbol of this film is the telephone. The telephone changes friendship, offering more opportunities for people to relate, yet ironically eliminating the need for face-to-face communication.
The Double Life of Veronique (IMDB link) is one of my favorite films ever. It's a beautiffuly rendered, lyrical exploration of individuality. The visual and audio effects are both absolutely amazing.
It's not a straightforward story. Kieslowski allows us to watch the story unfold in two distinct narratives. The first narrative deals with Veronika, a Polish girl who comes to Krakow to sing. A tragedy occurs, and then we are drawn to Veronique in France, who seems to be identical, and living a parallel life. We watch as she unravels mysteries about herself and, at the same time, Veronika.
This movie is haunting. It's an experience, a journey that asks us to think about individuality and how people are created and the choices they make.
The Decalogue Series (IMDB link) is actually a TV series. It's loosely based on the Ten Commandments. He doesn't set up a simple one commandment/one film scenario; rather, he uses the commandments as inspiration, and creates short films that explore the consequences of breaking the commandments. All of the films are interesting, and the different plots and subplots are fascinating.
No End (IMDB link) is a movie that I've thought about again and again. The lyrical nature of the film, the ending--this movie is so amazing. The actress Grazyna Szapolowska (IMDB link)is absolutely luminous in this film. She inhabits her role so perfectly that there is no line between actress and character.
Said to be the basis for Truly, Madly, Deeply, this film is a stunning exploration of grief.
From the IMDB description:
It's 1982: Poland is under martial law, and Solidarity is banned. Ulla, a translator working on Orwell, suddenly loses her husband, Antek, an attorney. She is possessed by her grief, and Antek continues to appear to her. She seeks to free herself in her work, in her relationship with her son, in sex, and in hypnosis.
Marvelous.
Personel (IMDB link) is one of his early works. It's the fascinating story of Raymond, who at age nineteen gets a job as a tailor at the theatre. It's a fascinating look at what goes into making art, and the people behind the curtain who toil on it, as well as the person in front of the curtain. Raymond ends watching a strange rivalry between Sowa, another tailor, and the star of the opera.
Everywhere Raymond looks at the splendor of art, it breaks down into something vulgar, something almost unrecognizable. It's an intimate look at the art of the theatre, and how the whole is produced.
Camera Buff (IMDB link) follows a plant worker named Mosz who purchases a camera (with two months' salary--a fortune) in order to film his (unborn at the time) child. When the head of the plant finds that he has a camera, he takes Mosz into his office and tells him that they will form a film club, and he must film a special twenty-fifth celebration.
What follows is a sly criticism on the difficulty of filming in Communist Poland. Mosz tries to add artistic touches, and becomes quite enraptured with the camera. The head of the plant forces him to make changes to the film, and eventually the film is taken from him. Mosz cannot stop, though; making films is his life, and he wants to see the world only through his lens.
A very good movie, though not really one of my favorites.
Andrzej Wajda (Poland) (IMDB link) is probably the most influential and well-known Polish director--for good reason. His work is fantastic. His first film debuted in 1955. Often critical of Communist-controlled Poland, fond of the epic and the individual, and a master of his craft, his work is still compelling and relevant today. Two of his earliest films, Kanal (IMDB link) and Ashes to Diamonds (IMDB link), are considered masterpieces of their subject matter, namely, the German occupation of Poland, and the subsequent Communist oppression immediately after.
The Birch Wood (IMDB link) is my favorite Wajda film. It's the haunting story of two brothers, one whose body is dying, one whose spirit is dying. A dying man full of life; a living man full of death.
Malina, a ripe, gorgeous woman, lingers between them as beautiful Death, lovely, scything a field of flowers.
Outside their windows stand the birches, stark, patterned black and white, their silence and stillness a perfect counterpoint to the brothers.
If you have any intention of watching any of these films--this is the one not to miss. It's both wonderful and harrowing.
The Maids of Wilko (IMDB link) is the engrossing story of six sisters and the man who captivates them. Wiktor Ruben dallies with all of the maids, and there are consequences to his behavior when he voyages back to them fifteen years later. The maids--now mostly wives--interact with each other and him, providing the film with depth and secrets to uncover. Wiktor is a strange force in the film, initiating all of the women into the harsh reality of life fifteen years ago, and now having to face that fact. The youngest, Tunia, becomes enraptured with him, and the reaction of the other sisters is predictable--they've been burned by him before, and are worried for their younger sister now. A fascinating film.
Man of Marble (IMDB link) is a pretty amazing film for its time. It is a mock-documentary, following a young woman in Krakow during the seventies who wants to film a story about a bricklayer from the fifties. She tracks down information about the proletariat hero named Birkut, slowly but surely building a portrait of him from the people she interviews. Birkut was an innocent from a farm who truly believed in building houses for people; he is championed as a tremendous bricklayer, and his fellow bricklayers (including his best friend) set him up for a terrible fall which leaves his hands scarred and his idealism broken but not entirely given up.
It's an important film if you have any interest in Communist-controlled Poland. And it's interested to see this format--quite innovative. It teams Radziwilowicz and Janda, who are fantastic actors.
Land of Promise (IMDB link) is a complex film that traces the rise, fall, and rise again of three friends in Poland. It explores the beginnings of capitalism and the Industrial age.
There are other subplots as well. Isolationism comes up (they are counseled to business only with their fellow countrymen), as well as the character of the machine, and the element of fire. It's a portrait of money and the cogs of business and how it can enslave.
Without Anesthesia (IMDB link) chronicles the destruction of a man's life under a Communist regime. Wajda illustrates the fear of the time, the pandering to mediocrity, the need to avoid attention. Jerzy is a journalist who excels at his art, and because of it, is eventually destroyed by it.
Janda plays a student, who stays by his side even through his darkest trials--the embodiment of his muse? his art? his death?--and only when she leaves him (for just a moment) at the end does the inevitable occur. An absorbing film, though not one of my favorites.
Jirí Menzel (Czechoslovakia) (IMDB link)
Closely Watched Trains (IMDB link) is a comedy and a drama--a gentle movie that does not overburden inself with ranting dialogue, but conveys its missive through understated power.
Milos Hrna is a young man hired to be a train dispatcher at a Czech train station. It follows his growth as an individual and his transformation into an adult.
This film chronicles the last breath of fresh air before the country is plunged into the darkness of World War II. The audience understands the deeper horror--what these innocent railroad employees will soon be experiencing--and the movie carefully illustrates the danger of activity versus inactivity. Not to be missed.
My Sweet Little Village (IMDB link) is a loving comedy, so wonderful and sweet that you will leave its presence feeling as if you are floating on a giant cloud of beautiful humanity.
There are so many wonderful characters and moments that I can't even begin to summarize it.
From IMDB's description:
Comedy about the people who inhabit a small town. For years the overbearing Pavek has endured Otik, the "town idiot," sharing his meals and the front seat of their dump truck. But Otik is such a sweet-natured fool that Pavek, exasperated as he becomes, always relents on his threats to find another partner. This Laurel and Hardy-like pair are at the heart of a comedy which finds humor in an abundance of everyday situations.
It's a sunbeam compared to the rest of this list, one of the few comedies I have to recommend.
Other filmmakers
Waldemar Krzystek's Suspended (Poland) (IMDB link) is a movie that I still think about all of the time. It's based upon the sad life of many Polish freedom fighters who, after World War II, were rounded up and imprisoned and/or killed by the Communist government that took power at that time.
Marcel (played by a fantastic actor named Jerzy Radziwilowicz (IMDB link)) is one such person. He was a member of the Polish Home Army and is trying to escape the country. He meets up with a woman named Anna (played by a fantastic actress named Krystyna Janda(IMDB link)) who lets him shelter in her home. I don't want to say more, because the film slowly reveals things.
This is one of the best films I've ever seen. The situation is heartbreaking--Marcel wants to leave because he knows the danger, but he can't, and she doesn't want him to. These actors are at the height of their game, and they're just absolutely amazing. Imagine that your SO is hidden in your basement and cannot be seen by anyone, and must sit there, helpless, anguished, losing years of his life, wasting away in the dark. Do not miss this film.
Burnt by the Sun (IMDB link) (Director: Nikita Mikhalkov (IMDB link), Russia) is one of the most powerful, harrowing movies I've ever seen. The force of the film comes from the heartrending dichotomy of "pure" communism and the twisted communism that existed under Stalin.
The story is about revolution hero Colonel Kotov, who honestly believes in the system and what it can do for Mother Russia. He loves his daughter and his wife, would give up everything to fight for the country he is devoted to, and explains to his wife Marussya that it is duty that drives him, and not fear.
There is a dark secret in his past, and eventually it is his downfall, in the form of Mitya, who returns to wreak his revenge. The story develops slowly and its analogy to Russia is obvious. It's an absolutely heartbreaking, fantastic story.
East - West (France/Russia) (IMDB link), by director Régis Wargnier (IMDB link), is a stunning film.
From the IMDB description:
June 1946: Stalin invites Russian emigres to return to the motherland. It's a trap: when a ship-load from France arrives in Odessa, only a physician and his family are spared execution or prison. He and his French wife (her passport ripped up) are sent to Kiev. She wants to return to France immediately; he knows that they are captives and must watch every step...Patience, her husband's self control, and her good looks may be their only assets.
This film is amazing, from beginning to end. So many scenes linger in my memory.
Imagine travelling with your husband to his home country, only to be trapped there, in a tiny, dismal apartment, with all of your neighbors watching you, with no hope of escape. A film of astonishing power.
The Cow (IMDB link) (Czech Republic, director Karel Kachyna (IMDB link)) is a film I think about at least once every two months. Yet I've only seen it once, in 1999.
It centers on a young man named Adam who lives at the top of a steep hill on the outskirts of his village.
This film is deeply interested in the cycles of a human life. Adam's existance is illustrated not so much through exposition as through the simple day-to-day activities that form his world. Even though the film seems intent on showing us the simple chores he engages in, eventually the transformation becomes apparent, slowly and sweetly, with a minimum of dialogue.
The film's cyclical nature repeats symbols, themes, moments. It's a truly amazing accomplishment that at the end of this journey we've taken so much away from it. I cannot recommend this journey enough.
Interrogation (IMDB link) (Poland, director Ryszard Bugajski (IMDB link)) is an absolutely amazing film. It's the harrowing story of a woman who must find in herself the power and strength to hold against an oppressive, brutal system. Tonia is a tiny cog in the gears, a lone opponent, a single voice of dissent. She is a performer, imprisoned in Stalinist Poland. She is not told why. She is subjected to interrogation after interrogation.
Tonia's struggle is portrayed by Janda, and it's truly a magnificent performance. Will she give in? Will she crack? This movie goes from unexpected moment to unexpected moment, and Tonia's fate is amazing.
"One doesn't die so quickly," she's told at the beginning.
Not to be missed.
Time of the Gypsies (IMDB link) (Bosnia/Herzegovina, director Emir Kusturica (IMDB link)) is another film that really affected me. It's a coming-of-age story, with magic realism, along with a dose of terrible reality.
From the IMBD summary:
In this luminous tale set in the former Yugoslavia, Perhan, an engaging young Romany with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime that threatens to destroy him and those he loves.
The change in Perhan from chicken-clutching awkward teen to revenging adult is startling. At first he is astonished that people would sell their children, but later he is ready to duplicate the feat.
Kolya (IMDB link) (director Jan Sverák (IMDB link), Czech Republic) is pretty well-known in the States, but I thought I'd include it anyway. Franko's life when he marries for money to procure a visa for a woman to stay in Czechoslovakia. However, she skips town, and leaves her young Russian son Kolya behind, and Franko must take care of him.
The film is interesting because it explores more than just the obvious--a confirmed bachelor boradening his horizons and becoming a better human being. There are themes of Czech/Russian animosity, and Kolya becomes a symbol of better understanding, a reminder that not all Russians are the same.
Knife in the Water (IMDB link)) (Poland, Director Roman Polanski (IMDB link) is an ambitious film--an allegory of sorts. It explores the animal within the human. Three human archetype characters are introduced--Young Man, Older Man, and Young Woman. Young Woman and Older Man are a married couple, and they invite Young Man, a suspicious hitchhiker, to vacation with them.
Polanski isolates these characters on a yacht. The pacing is slow and restrained, and the situations are innocuous at first. Eventually it becomes focused on the struggle between the Older Man and the Young Man, and the Young Woman is used to defuse the situation or inflame it further. The Older Man seeks to antagonize the Young Man; he wishes to prove his superiority, and to prove that he is still important, vital and manly. They both want to impress the Young Woman.
The Young Man does not know what he wants, though he knows that he likes excitement. He's rash, energetic, and resents Older Man, who orders him around continually.
A really interesting film.
Nights and Days (IMDB link) (Poland, director (IMDB link)), sometimes called Poland's version of Gone With The Wind, follows the life of a woman as she becomes wife, mother, and widow. The audience is shown her story in a series of converging glashbacks that illuminate her life in vignettes.
One of the images that has stayed with me for years is that of a man--a handsome, amazing man who seemed to like her when she was young. She says that she loves water lilies, and even though he is dressed in an impeccable white suit, he strides right into a nearby pond and brings her back water lilies. That image stays with her for years and years, even though she marries someone else. I still think of that scene occasionally.
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svartalfur found one of the films I was looking for--it's called Stalker (IMDB link), by director Andrei Tarkovsky (IMDB link). It's a really strange film, but I still think about it.
From the IMDB summary:
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. Over his wife's numerous objections, a man rises in the dead of night: he's a stalker, one of a handful who have the mental gifts (and who risk imprisonment) to lead people into the Zone to the Room, a place where one's secret hopes come true. That night, he takes two people into the Zone: a popular writer who is burned out, cynical, and questioning his genius; and a quiet scientist more concerned about his knapsack than the journey. In the deserted Zone, the approach to the Room must be indirect. As they draw near, the rules seem to change and the stalker faces a crisis.
Yes, it's just that strange and amazing.
Hmm. There's another film that I'm really upset that I'm not including because I can't remember the name--it's also Russian, about a young boy who comes of age in Communist Russia, and his father is a nasty piece of work. It's a really amazing film.
Very generally speaking, mainstream American films (and audiences) are very concerned with the endings of movies. We want to know what happens to the characters we've invested our time and emotions into. We want to know where the story goes, and we it's very important for a movie to conclude properly. If the last ten minutes of the movie don't satisfy us, the movie is a disappointment. Most mainstream viewers know that a mainstream movie will conclude well, and are left to enjoy the unfolding spectacle, because the hero will definitely punish the bad guy, the underdog will win the competition, and the couple will state their undying love for each other in a way that erases all doubts about their future together.
The films below are more concerned with the journey of the film than the ending. The emotions and thoughts you experience on the way are much more important. In fact, some of them have downright depressing endings, or disappointing endings, by American standards. These films have an uncertainty that stems from taking chances. The audience is kept in genuine suspense because anything can happen.
I'm not bashing American films at all. Simply put, these are different experiences than mainstream American films. They have a different pace. Different expectations.
If you're interested, click on the cut to read about some of my favorite European films. They're not always easy to find, but they're worth it. I've liberally borrowed from papers I wrote about the films at the time I watched them.
Krzysztof Kieslowski (Poland) (IMDB link)
Kieslowski is probably my favorite director. His movies are lyrical, haunting, full of insights into the human soul. He's amazing.
What I love most about his work is that he illustrates his concepts with surprising plots. All of my preconceived notions about making a film about inequality or brotherhood were thrown out of the window by his films; instead of a film about the inequality of groups of people, he chooses the intimate story of a man and a woman, and even though this is not radical in itself, the plot and the method of his storytelling is so innovative that this old concept becomes new again. He was a master of his craft.
He's best known for his Three Colors trilogy: Blue, White, and Red. The colors come from the colors of the French flag and stand for Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood, and he contemplates each theme with his usual brilliance. His explorations are subtle and thought-provoking.
White (IMDB link) is probably my favorite of the three films. It follows Karol, a Polish hairdresser, who is being divorced by his French wife Dominique. She claims that because the marriage was never consummated that there was no marriage. During the course of the trial and the subsequent events Karol ends up destitute, with no money, no belongings, no passport, and worse, she burns down his salon, so he has nothing. Less than nothing. The theme of the movie is equality, and the way that Kieslowski shapes the relationship between the two and brings about equality (or does he?) will have you thinking for a long time.
The final scene of the movie is a masterpiece.
Blue (IMDB link) is the moving story of Julie du Courcy, wife of a prominent composer, who loses both him and their daughter in an automobile accident. The film traces her life as she attempts to deal with this tragedy.
The theme of this movie is freedom. Julie attempts to withdraw from everything, to free herself from all connection and human contact. It's a gorgeous movie with gorgeous music and gorgeous visuals, and it will stay with you long after you see it.
Red (IMDB link) is about fraternity. It follows the story of Valentine, a French woman who finds friendship where she least expects it. It's my least favorite of the three, but it seems to be the favorite of most people who've watched the trilogy.
The symbol of this film is the telephone. The telephone changes friendship, offering more opportunities for people to relate, yet ironically eliminating the need for face-to-face communication.
The Double Life of Veronique (IMDB link) is one of my favorite films ever. It's a beautiffuly rendered, lyrical exploration of individuality. The visual and audio effects are both absolutely amazing.
It's not a straightforward story. Kieslowski allows us to watch the story unfold in two distinct narratives. The first narrative deals with Veronika, a Polish girl who comes to Krakow to sing. A tragedy occurs, and then we are drawn to Veronique in France, who seems to be identical, and living a parallel life. We watch as she unravels mysteries about herself and, at the same time, Veronika.
This movie is haunting. It's an experience, a journey that asks us to think about individuality and how people are created and the choices they make.
The Decalogue Series (IMDB link) is actually a TV series. It's loosely based on the Ten Commandments. He doesn't set up a simple one commandment/one film scenario; rather, he uses the commandments as inspiration, and creates short films that explore the consequences of breaking the commandments. All of the films are interesting, and the different plots and subplots are fascinating.
No End (IMDB link) is a movie that I've thought about again and again. The lyrical nature of the film, the ending--this movie is so amazing. The actress Grazyna Szapolowska (IMDB link)is absolutely luminous in this film. She inhabits her role so perfectly that there is no line between actress and character.
Said to be the basis for Truly, Madly, Deeply, this film is a stunning exploration of grief.
From the IMDB description:
It's 1982: Poland is under martial law, and Solidarity is banned. Ulla, a translator working on Orwell, suddenly loses her husband, Antek, an attorney. She is possessed by her grief, and Antek continues to appear to her. She seeks to free herself in her work, in her relationship with her son, in sex, and in hypnosis.
Marvelous.
Personel (IMDB link) is one of his early works. It's the fascinating story of Raymond, who at age nineteen gets a job as a tailor at the theatre. It's a fascinating look at what goes into making art, and the people behind the curtain who toil on it, as well as the person in front of the curtain. Raymond ends watching a strange rivalry between Sowa, another tailor, and the star of the opera.
Everywhere Raymond looks at the splendor of art, it breaks down into something vulgar, something almost unrecognizable. It's an intimate look at the art of the theatre, and how the whole is produced.
Camera Buff (IMDB link) follows a plant worker named Mosz who purchases a camera (with two months' salary--a fortune) in order to film his (unborn at the time) child. When the head of the plant finds that he has a camera, he takes Mosz into his office and tells him that they will form a film club, and he must film a special twenty-fifth celebration.
What follows is a sly criticism on the difficulty of filming in Communist Poland. Mosz tries to add artistic touches, and becomes quite enraptured with the camera. The head of the plant forces him to make changes to the film, and eventually the film is taken from him. Mosz cannot stop, though; making films is his life, and he wants to see the world only through his lens.
A very good movie, though not really one of my favorites.
Andrzej Wajda (Poland) (IMDB link) is probably the most influential and well-known Polish director--for good reason. His work is fantastic. His first film debuted in 1955. Often critical of Communist-controlled Poland, fond of the epic and the individual, and a master of his craft, his work is still compelling and relevant today. Two of his earliest films, Kanal (IMDB link) and Ashes to Diamonds (IMDB link), are considered masterpieces of their subject matter, namely, the German occupation of Poland, and the subsequent Communist oppression immediately after.
The Birch Wood (IMDB link) is my favorite Wajda film. It's the haunting story of two brothers, one whose body is dying, one whose spirit is dying. A dying man full of life; a living man full of death.
Malina, a ripe, gorgeous woman, lingers between them as beautiful Death, lovely, scything a field of flowers.
Outside their windows stand the birches, stark, patterned black and white, their silence and stillness a perfect counterpoint to the brothers.
If you have any intention of watching any of these films--this is the one not to miss. It's both wonderful and harrowing.
The Maids of Wilko (IMDB link) is the engrossing story of six sisters and the man who captivates them. Wiktor Ruben dallies with all of the maids, and there are consequences to his behavior when he voyages back to them fifteen years later. The maids--now mostly wives--interact with each other and him, providing the film with depth and secrets to uncover. Wiktor is a strange force in the film, initiating all of the women into the harsh reality of life fifteen years ago, and now having to face that fact. The youngest, Tunia, becomes enraptured with him, and the reaction of the other sisters is predictable--they've been burned by him before, and are worried for their younger sister now. A fascinating film.
Man of Marble (IMDB link) is a pretty amazing film for its time. It is a mock-documentary, following a young woman in Krakow during the seventies who wants to film a story about a bricklayer from the fifties. She tracks down information about the proletariat hero named Birkut, slowly but surely building a portrait of him from the people she interviews. Birkut was an innocent from a farm who truly believed in building houses for people; he is championed as a tremendous bricklayer, and his fellow bricklayers (including his best friend) set him up for a terrible fall which leaves his hands scarred and his idealism broken but not entirely given up.
It's an important film if you have any interest in Communist-controlled Poland. And it's interested to see this format--quite innovative. It teams Radziwilowicz and Janda, who are fantastic actors.
Land of Promise (IMDB link) is a complex film that traces the rise, fall, and rise again of three friends in Poland. It explores the beginnings of capitalism and the Industrial age.
There are other subplots as well. Isolationism comes up (they are counseled to business only with their fellow countrymen), as well as the character of the machine, and the element of fire. It's a portrait of money and the cogs of business and how it can enslave.
Without Anesthesia (IMDB link) chronicles the destruction of a man's life under a Communist regime. Wajda illustrates the fear of the time, the pandering to mediocrity, the need to avoid attention. Jerzy is a journalist who excels at his art, and because of it, is eventually destroyed by it.
Janda plays a student, who stays by his side even through his darkest trials--the embodiment of his muse? his art? his death?--and only when she leaves him (for just a moment) at the end does the inevitable occur. An absorbing film, though not one of my favorites.
Jirí Menzel (Czechoslovakia) (IMDB link)
Closely Watched Trains (IMDB link) is a comedy and a drama--a gentle movie that does not overburden inself with ranting dialogue, but conveys its missive through understated power.
Milos Hrna is a young man hired to be a train dispatcher at a Czech train station. It follows his growth as an individual and his transformation into an adult.
This film chronicles the last breath of fresh air before the country is plunged into the darkness of World War II. The audience understands the deeper horror--what these innocent railroad employees will soon be experiencing--and the movie carefully illustrates the danger of activity versus inactivity. Not to be missed.
My Sweet Little Village (IMDB link) is a loving comedy, so wonderful and sweet that you will leave its presence feeling as if you are floating on a giant cloud of beautiful humanity.
There are so many wonderful characters and moments that I can't even begin to summarize it.
From IMDB's description:
Comedy about the people who inhabit a small town. For years the overbearing Pavek has endured Otik, the "town idiot," sharing his meals and the front seat of their dump truck. But Otik is such a sweet-natured fool that Pavek, exasperated as he becomes, always relents on his threats to find another partner. This Laurel and Hardy-like pair are at the heart of a comedy which finds humor in an abundance of everyday situations.
It's a sunbeam compared to the rest of this list, one of the few comedies I have to recommend.
Other filmmakers
Waldemar Krzystek's Suspended (Poland) (IMDB link) is a movie that I still think about all of the time. It's based upon the sad life of many Polish freedom fighters who, after World War II, were rounded up and imprisoned and/or killed by the Communist government that took power at that time.
Marcel (played by a fantastic actor named Jerzy Radziwilowicz (IMDB link)) is one such person. He was a member of the Polish Home Army and is trying to escape the country. He meets up with a woman named Anna (played by a fantastic actress named Krystyna Janda(IMDB link)) who lets him shelter in her home. I don't want to say more, because the film slowly reveals things.
This is one of the best films I've ever seen. The situation is heartbreaking--Marcel wants to leave because he knows the danger, but he can't, and she doesn't want him to. These actors are at the height of their game, and they're just absolutely amazing. Imagine that your SO is hidden in your basement and cannot be seen by anyone, and must sit there, helpless, anguished, losing years of his life, wasting away in the dark. Do not miss this film.
Burnt by the Sun (IMDB link) (Director: Nikita Mikhalkov (IMDB link), Russia) is one of the most powerful, harrowing movies I've ever seen. The force of the film comes from the heartrending dichotomy of "pure" communism and the twisted communism that existed under Stalin.
The story is about revolution hero Colonel Kotov, who honestly believes in the system and what it can do for Mother Russia. He loves his daughter and his wife, would give up everything to fight for the country he is devoted to, and explains to his wife Marussya that it is duty that drives him, and not fear.
There is a dark secret in his past, and eventually it is his downfall, in the form of Mitya, who returns to wreak his revenge. The story develops slowly and its analogy to Russia is obvious. It's an absolutely heartbreaking, fantastic story.
East - West (France/Russia) (IMDB link), by director Régis Wargnier (IMDB link), is a stunning film.
From the IMDB description:
June 1946: Stalin invites Russian emigres to return to the motherland. It's a trap: when a ship-load from France arrives in Odessa, only a physician and his family are spared execution or prison. He and his French wife (her passport ripped up) are sent to Kiev. She wants to return to France immediately; he knows that they are captives and must watch every step...Patience, her husband's self control, and her good looks may be their only assets.
This film is amazing, from beginning to end. So many scenes linger in my memory.
Imagine travelling with your husband to his home country, only to be trapped there, in a tiny, dismal apartment, with all of your neighbors watching you, with no hope of escape. A film of astonishing power.
The Cow (IMDB link) (Czech Republic, director Karel Kachyna (IMDB link)) is a film I think about at least once every two months. Yet I've only seen it once, in 1999.
It centers on a young man named Adam who lives at the top of a steep hill on the outskirts of his village.
This film is deeply interested in the cycles of a human life. Adam's existance is illustrated not so much through exposition as through the simple day-to-day activities that form his world. Even though the film seems intent on showing us the simple chores he engages in, eventually the transformation becomes apparent, slowly and sweetly, with a minimum of dialogue.
The film's cyclical nature repeats symbols, themes, moments. It's a truly amazing accomplishment that at the end of this journey we've taken so much away from it. I cannot recommend this journey enough.
Interrogation (IMDB link) (Poland, director Ryszard Bugajski (IMDB link)) is an absolutely amazing film. It's the harrowing story of a woman who must find in herself the power and strength to hold against an oppressive, brutal system. Tonia is a tiny cog in the gears, a lone opponent, a single voice of dissent. She is a performer, imprisoned in Stalinist Poland. She is not told why. She is subjected to interrogation after interrogation.
Tonia's struggle is portrayed by Janda, and it's truly a magnificent performance. Will she give in? Will she crack? This movie goes from unexpected moment to unexpected moment, and Tonia's fate is amazing.
"One doesn't die so quickly," she's told at the beginning.
Not to be missed.
Time of the Gypsies (IMDB link) (Bosnia/Herzegovina, director Emir Kusturica (IMDB link)) is another film that really affected me. It's a coming-of-age story, with magic realism, along with a dose of terrible reality.
From the IMBD summary:
In this luminous tale set in the former Yugoslavia, Perhan, an engaging young Romany with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime that threatens to destroy him and those he loves.
The change in Perhan from chicken-clutching awkward teen to revenging adult is startling. At first he is astonished that people would sell their children, but later he is ready to duplicate the feat.
Kolya (IMDB link) (director Jan Sverák (IMDB link), Czech Republic) is pretty well-known in the States, but I thought I'd include it anyway. Franko's life when he marries for money to procure a visa for a woman to stay in Czechoslovakia. However, she skips town, and leaves her young Russian son Kolya behind, and Franko must take care of him.
The film is interesting because it explores more than just the obvious--a confirmed bachelor boradening his horizons and becoming a better human being. There are themes of Czech/Russian animosity, and Kolya becomes a symbol of better understanding, a reminder that not all Russians are the same.
Knife in the Water (IMDB link)) (Poland, Director Roman Polanski (IMDB link) is an ambitious film--an allegory of sorts. It explores the animal within the human. Three human archetype characters are introduced--Young Man, Older Man, and Young Woman. Young Woman and Older Man are a married couple, and they invite Young Man, a suspicious hitchhiker, to vacation with them.
Polanski isolates these characters on a yacht. The pacing is slow and restrained, and the situations are innocuous at first. Eventually it becomes focused on the struggle between the Older Man and the Young Man, and the Young Woman is used to defuse the situation or inflame it further. The Older Man seeks to antagonize the Young Man; he wishes to prove his superiority, and to prove that he is still important, vital and manly. They both want to impress the Young Woman.
The Young Man does not know what he wants, though he knows that he likes excitement. He's rash, energetic, and resents Older Man, who orders him around continually.
A really interesting film.
Nights and Days (IMDB link) (Poland, director (IMDB link)), sometimes called Poland's version of Gone With The Wind, follows the life of a woman as she becomes wife, mother, and widow. The audience is shown her story in a series of converging glashbacks that illuminate her life in vignettes.
One of the images that has stayed with me for years is that of a man--a handsome, amazing man who seemed to like her when she was young. She says that she loves water lilies, and even though he is dressed in an impeccable white suit, he strides right into a nearby pond and brings her back water lilies. That image stays with her for years and years, even though she marries someone else. I still think of that scene occasionally.
Yay!
svartalfur found one of the films I was looking for--it's called Stalker (IMDB link), by director Andrei Tarkovsky (IMDB link). It's a really strange film, but I still think about it.From the IMDB summary:
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. Over his wife's numerous objections, a man rises in the dead of night: he's a stalker, one of a handful who have the mental gifts (and who risk imprisonment) to lead people into the Zone to the Room, a place where one's secret hopes come true. That night, he takes two people into the Zone: a popular writer who is burned out, cynical, and questioning his genius; and a quiet scientist more concerned about his knapsack than the journey. In the deserted Zone, the approach to the Room must be indirect. As they draw near, the rules seem to change and the stalker faces a crisis.
Yes, it's just that strange and amazing.
Hmm. There's another film that I'm really upset that I'm not including because I can't remember the name--it's also Russian, about a young boy who comes of age in Communist Russia, and his father is a nasty piece of work. It's a really amazing film.
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(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-11 09:17 pm (UTC)Himmel über Berlin, Der , aka Wings of Desire (1987) IMDB link (http://imdb.com/title/tt0093191/) -Some might recognize this because an American remake was made in the late 90's, City of Angels. However I stand by this being the superior film. :)
Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989) IMDB link (http://imdb.com/title/tt0097728/)
Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, aka Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown (1988) IMDB Link (http://imdb.com/title/tt0095675/)
Basically anything by Jan Svankmajer, but I can only watch it in limited doses in order to preserve my (questionable) sanity. IMDB Link (http://imdb.com/name/nm0840905/)
Nochnoy dozor, aka Nightwatch (2004) IMDB link (http://imdb.com/title/tt0403358/)
I know there are others, but I'm suffering from a serious brainblock right now. :)
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-11 11:26 pm (UTC)Nightwatch is on my list, as well. ;)
Nightwatch is fun...
Date: 2008-01-12 04:06 pm (UTC)Re: Nightwatch is fun...
Date: 2008-01-12 04:29 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-12 12:43 am (UTC)I saw that film back in the 60s, in Montreal. Laughed throughout most of the film, but the ending...OMG! I walked out of the cinema in stunned silence. So stunned I couldn't even weep.
Even if I haven't seen it since, I can still (am right now) see that ending. God, it still brings tears to my eyes.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-12 01:57 am (UTC)I remember being stunned, too. So many of these films have similar moments. I love the character work that goes into them.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-12 11:35 am (UTC)Do you know Solaris (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069293/)? It's by the same director, and so much better than the US version.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-01-12 03:16 pm (UTC)I haven't seen Solaris, but it definitely has been on my list for a while.
Another great movie I just saw....
Date: 2008-01-12 04:14 pm (UTC)Re: Another great movie I just saw....
Date: 2008-01-12 04:28 pm (UTC)Polish movies are really fascinating. Their history is simply wild! I can't believe the different things that have gone on in the past--truly amazing.