from filmpolski.pl
The original movie prepared by the Polish Television for the celebration of August 80 events. Film consists 13 etudes realized by prominent Polish directors, who share their reflections connected with 25. anniversary of NSZZ "Solidarity". Every etude is the stand-alone artistic statement, different in form and the content. Some have documental character, other are plot based shorts, one is even realized as a video clip. Mockery shuffles with pathos, seriousness with grotesque, nostalgia and emotion with disappointment, sorrow and anger. They present rather bitter view on polish latest history. Distorted ideals, lost heroes, unnecessary symbols - it shouldn't be this way. But though the movement didn't stamped its influence on the society, and young generation think about the "Solidarity" more often in the category of careerists and dirty politics than democracy and justice, it was the time of social unity, hope and belief, which majority of us never before experienced, and probably won't never again.
The films
Clever scheduling by the project's producers: the opener is easily one of the best of the bunch. Gets the project off to a bang on jauntily satirical and unexpectedly self-referential (even Charlie Kaufmanish) note. A successful TV company hears about the Solidarity, Solidarity project and the cocksure middle-aged boss (Marek Kondrat, from The Third) reckons they should get involved - for prestige if not money ("they pay peanuts... It won't be a masterpiece.") His underlings aren't sure - did Solidarity really make any difference? The boss shows them - and us - the answer. Laugh-out-loud funny, as befits Poland's prime source of spoofy thrillers etc. You don't have to be Polish to get the gag here - one-joke stuff, perhaps, but it's a very good joke.
Three-handed drama on a train adheres more to what you expect from such portmanteau projects, especially those on political theme. More oblique treatment of the Solidarity issue, taking a historical approach - we're heading towards Gdansk, it's summer 1980, the secret police are in hot pursuit of dissidents. Nicely atmospheric and artily shot, pleasingly ironic "kick" at the end, captures the feel of the times, but is perhaps a little undercooked as a drama.
If the first episode went for the funny-bone, Domaradzki successfully targets the tearducts. Blends archive footage and recreations in skilful fashion to tell the story of the two plywood boards which were painted and hung on the Gdansk shipyard gates, broadcasting the strikers' 21 demands. Shades of Martin Luther nailing his famed "95 theses" to the Wittenberg church door. Rousing, inspirational stuff - history-in-the-making, vibrant and exciting. First appearance of the Pope (he's among the religious icons hanging on the gates, which were to become iconic themselves) and of Lech Walesa in Solidarity, Solidarity - but by no means the last for either.
Another so-so piece of 'straight' fiction, albeit here with a heavily allegorial subtext. In summer 1980, three Polish cave-explorers are trapped while holidaying in Italy. As the rescuers attempt to dig them out, the three start discussing current events back in their home country. One has broadly pro-Solidarity motives; another is a proto-capitalist; a third is the son of a Communist official. They soon come to blows. Wears its intentions rather baldly on its sleeve ("We're like our entire Poland!") but redeems itself with nice, low-key climactic shot of a certain constellation - followed by wordless coda showing the real-life cavers as they now are.
As wry, delightful and compact as Trzaskalski's feature-film Edi, a proper little 'tale of the unexpected' which will, unlike the other episodes, actually play better for foreign audiences: alert Polish viewers will probably spot the final twist/gag a long way off. In a backwater town, a henpecked middle-aged man spends his time making outsize ball-point pens; his wife disapproves, reaching the end of her patience as she struggles to make ends meet. But fate brings a deliciously unexpected windfall... Five episodes down, and the standard is clearly pretty high - Ballpen being perhaps the best 'straight' short of the lot.
One of the more disposable episodes - and we're back on a 1980 train yet again. Two youngish men fall to talking as their train approaches Gdansk, where events are rapidly reaching fever pitch. But why is one of them carrying a jerry-can of petrol. Another 'twist in the tale' affair, but rather fuzzier and more ambitious than Trzaskalski's version. Period detail of hair and clothes is a delight; metaphysical discussion between the two chaps soon becomes a touch verbose. Muzak-ish score doesn't help.
From the director widely regarded as the most intellectual in Poland - and perhaps the whole of Europe - this pair of droll anecdotes, while amusing, is perhaps a minor letdown. Zanussi himself is charm personified as he recalls difficulties he had while filming papal biopic From a Far Country during those febrile days of 1980. Captures the spirit of the time quite well, as what's described (in a news report) as "Poland's perilous balancing act" becomes impossible to maintain.
On reflection, the most notable of the 13 episodes: if you were a grant-awarding body and had to give just one director funds to make a feature, Glinski (whose Hi, Teresa attracted favourable reaction on the festival circuit a couple of years back) would probably be the one. Near-wordless, it's an impressionistic meander/wander round the Gdansk shipyards as they now are: a home for flora and fauna, and more a focus of tourism than of heavy industry. Japanese visitors are guided through various historic sites, and the camera glides along with them. Enigmatic and elegaic, but makes its points with impressive force and economy. A "lingerer."
In another nifty scheduling decision, a jarringly effective change of pace as Bugajski delivers a raucous pop/rock video. Star of the show is 1970s folkie-guitarist Markowski, who we glimpse in archive footage. Older, hairier and greyer of beard, he marches towards us flanked by a pair of twentyish rappers, delivering a breakneck history-lesson-cum-savage-indictment of Solidarity's failings and the problems of modern Poland. "Switon, Gwiazda, Borusewicz," he sings, "a strong opposition. Anna Walentynowicz - a truth coalition!" Not exactly Eurovision fare - and all the more bracing for that. Despite the constraints of the format, Bugajski imparts more solid information about Solidarity than any of the other directors on this project. Goes on a bit, but hits the target in energising style.
Another dispensible, conventional, two-handed talkfest: pro-Solidarity bloke, now adapting to EU-member Poland's embrace of capitalism, seeks a loan for some business project. He has a crucial interview with some financial bigwig who'll make the decision - and the latter turns out to be a former government official who put the applicant in jail decades before. They discuss the pros and cons of Solidarity and its aftermath. Not unrevealing, and with a nice line in acidic irony - but ultimately feels like the first act of a feature rather than a coherent, stand-on-its-own short.
Fanciful story of one of the original plywood boards onto which the famed Solidarity logo was painted; the board's progress mirrors that of Poland as a whole - culminating in the brave new era of anything-goes capitalism. Like chapter ten, does end rather abruptly - but the conclusion does tie in with Falk's thesis, on reflection. Perhaps the most innovative episode in visual terms - heavy-contrast black and white is the colour-palette, with splashes of red; Falk largely relies on manipulated stills: inventive and eyecatching, if ultimately a touch inconsequential.
Still the biggest name in Polish cinema and apparently the brains behind this project. Wajda himself appears in his own segment alongside Jerzy Radziwilowicz and Krystyna Janda, stars of his 1981 classic Man of Iron which lightly fictionalised the Solidarity summer. They debate those days and watch clips from the film - interesting enough on its own, but Lech Walesa himself is also in the theatre and the four engage in good-natured debate. Nothing remarkable in terms of film-making, but fascinating to see and hear. Should have been the last episode. But...
Perhaps the least memorable or effective of the 13 episodes: doubly unfortunate and disappointing, as it's the only one by a female director and is for some reason placed right at the very end. A young woman remembers her childhood, and how her father's support for Solidarity resulted in all manner of trouble. Has an engagingly low-key autobiographical feel, but really tries to cover too much ground - structure feels wrong for a short film. Uninspired score and tint-heavy cinematography are also negatives.
http://rapidshare.com/files/239764776/Solidarnosc.Solidarnosc._2005_.part1.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/239905192/Solidarnosc.Solidarnosc._2005_.part2.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/239934887/Solidarnosc.Solidarnosc._2005_.part3.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/239950224/Solidarnosc.Solidarnosc._2005_.part4.rar
eng hardsub
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