Andrzej Barański made a film about the joint daily life of Miron Białoszewski, a poet whose avant-garde poetry made it to the mainstream of literature, and Jadwiga Stańczakowa, also a poet, Białoszewski's friend and blind secretary. The couple, whose relationship remains a mystery to the young generation of Poles, were mutually indispensable. She bought his shoes and shirts, did the washing, ran errands, tape-recorded his poetry and wrote a diary "Dziennik we dwoje" ("Diary of a Twosome"), on which Barański based his picture. Says Barański:
"The feature 'Parę osób, mały czas / A Few People, a Little Time' is primarily about people while also showing the phenomenon of artistic creation, the circumstances in which ordinary reality turns into a work of art."
This is a film about a small and highly personal segment of the world, the private space in which people get together to talk about art in the drab Warsaw of the communist times. Since Barański shows the very middle of the couple's relationship, we do not see the beginning or end of Białoszewski's friendship with the blind Stańczakowa, for whom it is a way of fighting depression caused by her overprotective father and her disability. Białoszewski makes her able to create, takes her on crazy escapades, helps her to fulfill her artistic potential. "Z latarką medytacji zeszłam w głąb siebie, do piwnic, a tam ciemno, cicho i nic strasznego nie ma / With a torch of meditation, I went down into myself, to the cellars, to find darkness, quiet and nothing to fear", reads one of Stańczakowa's poems.
Stańczakowa wanted Białoszewski to feel deeper affection for her - or at least to value her. She needed confirmation that she was important to him. Theirs was a difficult relationship, what with Białoszewski being homosexual and Stańczakowa idolizing him and unable to love him other than emotionally.
"Under the martial law, when everybody around talked about the possibility of emigration, Białoszewski noted down in his diary: 'There is nobody who would stay here for me. Very simply, I am not number one to anyone. Which, incidentally, suits me... But then I am number two to many people. To too many people, as it sometimes seems to me'. He was wrong: he was number one to her." (Tadeusz Sobolewski)
- Parę osób, mały czas / A Few People, a Little Time, Poland, 2005. Directed by Andrzej Barański, written by Andrzej Barański after Jadwiga Stańczakowa's "Dziennik we dwoje", photography: Dariusz Kuc, art director: Arkadiusz Kośmider, costume designer: Katarzyna Morawska, editor: Wanda Zeman, produced by Paweł Rakowski. Starring: Krystyna Janda (Jadwiga Stańczakowa), Andrzej Hudziak (Miron Białoszewski), Igor Przegrodzki (Jadwiga Stańczakowa's father), Arkadiusz Detmer (Tadeusz Sobolewski, Jadwiga Stańczakowa's son-in-law), Monika Obara (Ania Sobolewska, Jadwiga Stańczakowa's daughter), Witold Skaruch (Julian), Elżbieta Kępińska (Stacha), Krystyna Tkacz (Zosia), Maria Gładkowska (Marysia), Joanna Pierzak (Agnieszka), Zdzisław Wardejn (Zdzisław Stańczak, Jadwiga Stańczakowa's ex-husband). Produced by Skorpion Art Film, Telewizja Polska - Agencja Filmowa. Distribution: Telewizja Polska. Duration: 104 min. Released on 27th April 2007.
Author: Joanna Pawluśkiewicz, December 2006
Awards:
- 2005 - Actress in a Leading Role Award for Krystyna Janda, Chairman of the Board of Polish Television Award and Journalists' Award for Andrzej Barański at the Polish Film Festival in Gdynia.
- 2006 - Special Award for Andrzej Barański at the Prowincjonalnia Film Festival in Września; TVP Kultura 2005 Film Award for Andrzej Barański; Best Actor Award for Andrzej Hudziak at the Karlove Vary International Film Festival; Juliusz Burski Award for Andrzej Barański at the Lubuskie Film Summer in Łagów.
- 2007 - Television Feature Film Award for Andrzej Barański at the Prix Visionica International Festival for Creative Television in Wrocław;
- 2008 - Orzeł, Polish Film Award in 2 categories: best scenario and best editing.