Polish Film Classics with English Subtitles

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Mon, 01/31/2011 - 01:00 - Mon, 06/20/2011 - 02:00

Podsumowanie

The Polish films in English series at Kino Alchemia gives foreigners a chance to see some of the greatest Polish films with subtitles.

It might be hard, however, for foreigners to appreciate such cinematic gems without the opportunity to watch the films with adequate translation, or not knowing the background of the films in question.

The films presented within the Polish films in English series are mainly intended for a foreign-language audience, but also for Poles learning English, and everybody else who yearns for good Polish productions on the big screen.

2011 Progamme:

January 31, 2011: Przypadek" / "Blind Chance - Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1981, 122 min

The film shows three different fates of one man, Witek Długosz (Bogusław Linda). In a kind of Groundhog day retrospective, Witek's future depends on three different case scenarios - which revolve around running to catch a train. The people he would meet and the decisions he would make all depend on him catching the train. Three different scenarios are presented, reflecting the way man's profound life decisions depend on seemingly trivial matters.
February 7, 2011: Seksmisja" / "Sexmission - Juliusz Machulski, 1983, 116 min
In this cult science-fiction comedy, Maks and Albert agree to participate in a dangerous experiment which involves them being hibernated. When they wake up in 2044, they learn that following a nuclear war that killed all male genes, they are likely the last two surviving men on the face of the Earth. This leads to a social satire at the social realities present in Poland at the time.
February 21, 2011: Poszukiwany, poszukiwana" / "Man – Woman Wanted - Karol Chodura, Stanisław Bareja, 1973, 82 min
Stanisław, a worker at an art museum in Warsaw, is accused of stealing a painting from the store room. His boss gives Stanisław a 24-hour deadline to return it, or face a jail sentence. Since he does not possess the painting, he decides to go into hiding - by dressing up as a woman, Maria. He gets a job as housemaid – despite knowing little about cleaning a house - but a succession of amorous husbands, difficult children, and eccentric bosses drives him from one job to the next. The film, a nudge at Polish society in communist times, is a tragic (comedic) reminder of what it was like to live in those times.
March 7, 2011: Miś" / "Teddybear - Stanisław Bareja, 1981, 111 min
A comedy made up of a grotesque episodes showing the breakup of the PRL system. Multiple scenes from milk bars, offices and shops show the absurdity of everyday existence of ordinary Poles. The centre of the film is the character of Ochódzki (Stanisław Tym) around which grow many important, smaller stories which characterize the reality of the beginning of the 1980s in Poland.
April 4, 2011: Zezowate szczęscie" / "Bad Luck - Andrzej Munk, 1960, 107 min
Bad Luck tells a story in a grotesque caricature way, describing the unfortunate fate of an opportunist, who - over the course of twenty years - tries to please the current authorities. All these attempts end in failure: Piszczyk remains the anti-hero, as all the changes he tries to make, always turn out to be made too late. He tries, at all costs, to adapt to requirements of the current political situation, but for various reasons, does not succeed.
April 11, 2011: Matka Joanna od aniołów" / :Mother Joan of the Angels - Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961, 103 min
The screenplay of this film was based on themes of a well known story by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. The action of both the story and film, takes place in a secluded monastery in the eighteenth century. Local nuns, with their abbess Joanna, become possessed by the devil. A young exorcist, priest Suryn, comes to the rescue. His treatments, prayer and mortification, however, prove fruitless. The priest begins to absorb the atmosphere of anxiety which prevails in the monastery. He decides to heal the woman he loves, even at the cost of mortal sin.
April 18, 2011: Rewers" / "Reverse - Borys Lankosz, 2009, 101 min
The film, set in two time frames - in the early fifties, and the present. The main character is Sabina (Agata Buzek), a timid, average girl, who has just turned thirty. In her life, she is clearly missing a man. Her mother (Krystyna Janda) knows how it feels, and therefore, tries, at all costs, to find her daughter a suitable candidate for a husband. The whole situation is controlled by the grandmother (Anna Polony), an eccentric lady with a wicked tongue. An ever-increasing number of admirers show up at their apartment. None of them, however, interests Sabina. One day, appears a charming, intelligent, and devilishly handsome, Bronisław (Marcin Dorociński). His presence will catapult a series of surprising events that reveal the other side of the feminine nature.
May 9, 2011: Rejs" / "The Cruise - Marek Piwowski, 1970, 65 min
An experimental satiric comedy: the plot of the film is based on improvised short scenes, taking place among passengers of a cruise ship on the Vistula river. The ship's captain mistakes a stowaway for Polish party cultural coordinator. The latter quickly adapts his new person to influence the other passengers to do as he pleases.
May 23, 2011: Popiół i diament" / "Ashes and diamonds - Andrzej Wajda, 1958, 97 min
Popiół i diament is perhaps one of the most famous films by Andrzej Wajda, and arguably one of Poland's best known films. A young activist of the opposition, Maciek Chełmnicki, receives an order to kill the secretary of a communist party. A coincidence causes him to kill somebody else. Meeting his victim, face to face, gets him in the state of shock. He needs to repeat the assassination. He meets Krystyna, a girl working as a barmaid in the "Monopol" hotel restaurant. The feelings he begins to have towards her make him realize that killing is nonsense.
June 6, 2011: Sami swoi" / "Our folks - Andrzej Mularczyk, 1967, 78 min
A story about two feuding families: the Pawlaks and the Karguls. Before the war, Kargul ploughed into the Pawlaks' field, which caused the two to argue. The fight which ensues sees Pawlak hitting Kargul with a scythe. After this incident, Pawlak emigrates to America, but this did not stop the dispute between the two families.
June 20, 2011: Nóż w wodzie" / "Knife in the water - Roman Polański, 1962, 90 min
Roman Polański's feature début, Nóż w wodzie is a psychological drama, a story of human weakness and betrayal. While on holiday in Poland's lake district, Andrzej and his wife pick up a hitch-hiker. They invite him for they day on their boat. Matters soon turn sour when the two men start vying for the woman's attention. A fight ensues, where the unnamed hitchhiker falls into the water. Presumed dead, Andrzej swims to the shore, but upon seeing the husband jump into the water, the hitch-hiker climbs back onto the boat and has an affair with the wife.

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