However, demythologisation is not the director’s main aim. First and foremost, he attempts to depict the drama of normal people and the ambiguity of times of war. In How to Be Loved, a frustrated mythomaniac and a woman accused of collaboration are deeply humane characters. Wojciech Jerzy Has is not interested in the themes of heroism, moral obligations, and devotion to one’s motherland but in the intimate viewpoint of civilians who suffer their own big and small tragedies every day. Remarkably, the director does not depict the violence of the war through battle sequences but with a rape scene – one which is moving, but also tranquil, portrayed with toned down means of expression. One has to mention that Barbara Kraftówna’s part is a great asset of the film – Felicia in How to Be Loved is the best role of her career.
How to Be Loved might be a surprise for viewers who have seen only the later, ‘baroque-style’ films by Wojciech Jerzy Has. Unlike, for example, The Hourglass Sanatorium, it is an intimate, visually modest story focused on psychological introspection. However, that does not change the fact that the adaptation of Brandys’ novella is also rich in form. Has subjectivises the narrative and masterfully combines different time periods to depict how Felicia’s memory works. How to be Loved is considered to be one of the greatest achievements of Wojciech Jerzy Has and is often named as the final masterpiece of the Polish School of Film.
- How to be Loved, 1962. Director: Wojciech Jerzy Has. Screenplay: Kazimierz Brandys. Cinematography: Stefan Matyjaszkiewicz. Scenography: Anatol Radzinowicz. Music: Lucjan Kaszycki. Cast: Barbara Krafftówna (Felicia), Zbigniew Cybulski (Wiktor Rawicz), Artur Młodnicki (Tomasz), Wieńczysław Gliński (bacteriologist in the airplane), Wiesław Gołas (German soldier), Wiesława Kwaśniewska (photo journalist), Zdzisław Maklakiewicz, (journalist) and others. Production: Zespół Filmowy Kamera. Running time: 97 minut.
Originally written in Polish by Robert Birkholc, translated by Patryk Grabowski, April 2019