Still-frame from the film
The Film Society of Lincoln Center and The Museum of Modern Art present the jarringly honest debut film by the artist couple as part of the New Directors/New Films series
Wilhelm Sasnal, the Polish artist known for his precise yet abstract paintings, and Anka Sasnal, his wife and collaborator, set their first film in the idyllic rural scenery of a country village in Poland. The film is an artistic experiment with traditional forms of narrative and dialogue, drawing mainly from a strong visual pace.
The village portrayed in the film is home to a dozen families. The world they live in is condensed and small, yet all areas of life are properly prioritised and kept in a quietly guarded order. It Looks Pretty From a Distance tells the story of villagers whose lives unfold in safe monotony and repetition, and yet, beneath the surface, a sharp alertness is preserved. This hidden reactivity turns their attention to any signs of otherness they encounter and allows them to profit from any opportunity. A covert and unpredictable lust seems to run the course of their lives. In the film, the heat itself drives everybody in the village to their wit’s ends, making them balance a thin line between rage and a lifeless stasis. Aggression and hatred on one hand, and fears, longings and emotional crises on the other are constantly about to break through a seemingly indifferent and still surface.
The main character of the film is Paweł. He lives with an old, ailing mother, and collects scrap metal, cutting away bits of old cars in his cluttered backyard. When he finally places his mother in a day-care facility, all seems prepared for the new life he wants to begin with his fiancee. But one day, Paweł vanishes without a trace and leaves his homestead abandoned. The village neighbors begin to steal things from this deserted farm house. At first they proceed secretly, in the night's guise, but gradually they come to treat the remains of Paweł's belongings like a left-behind property they all have a right to. Upon Paweł's unexpected return, the surprised community won't allow him to return to this plundered habitat.
From the idyllic vision at the outset, the ugliness that dwells below the surface begins to seep out, showing the crimes and violence that lurk within this society.
Screening programme:
Tuesday, 27th of March at 6:00 pm
The Museum of Modern Art
Titus 1 Theater
11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY
Tel. 212-708-9400
Wednesday, 28th of March , 8:30pm
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center
165 W 65th Street, New York, NY
Tel. 212-875-5601
Editor: Agnieszka Le Nart
Source: Polish Cultural Institute in New York
Tuesday, March 27, 6pm
The Museum of Modern Art
Titus 1 Theater
11 West 53rd Street, New York, NY
Tel. 212-708-9400
Wednesday, March 28, 8:30pm
Film Society of Lincoln Center
Walter Reade Theater, Lincoln Center
165 W 65th Street, New York, NY
Tel. 212-875-5601