Thursday, December 6, 2012

Men in skirts in communists Poland “

After World War II many historical issues made a long way towards communism rules in Poland. Communism party follow the idea of equal opportunities for women and men , in different work places like factories , fields, schools, but still men dominated some professionals. It was so hard to find women , who achieve success as master in some jobs . During few decades women graduate Film Schools and made some films, but only few succeeded. In this essay I want to show great achievement of the “men in skirts” in Polish communist era. It was not easy to enter the world of Polish cinematography dominated with men. Before the war a few women were writers and screenwriters, only three stand behind the camera.
The situation hardly became any better after 1945. Theoretically the universities accepted both genders, but the real chance to direct films were given only to men and only men.
Women were also pushed toward directing for children and eventually they dominated the field. This kind of cinema is not appreciated much in Poland ,so female directors existed outside the mainstream, and were not commonly known. They successfully adapted child literature, often were prized at International Children's Film Festivals.
Bielinska Halina Nutcracker ,1967

There were a dozen or so successful debutantes who were never given a chance to repeat it. Only three women are accredited Polish directors before 1990: Barbara Sass-Zdort, Magdalena Lazarkiewicz and her sister Agnieszka Holland. 
Finally Agnieszka Holland by all means belongs not only to the Polish, but to the world cinematography. She does not represent any specific women' film school or feminist cinema. She is a great auteur creating discussion about women cinema as continuity, opening dialogue with different works, offering new answers for universal, repeated questions. 
Her determination to realize the professional plans and ability to manage the film set became legendary and ridiculed by the male directors .She was called “the only man” in her movie studio. She was like “men in the skirt”, which know that to expect from herself and from others.
Agnieszka Holland is an excellent representative of the auteur cinema. She wrote many of the screenplays she filmed. The most important subject in Holland's movies is human and his various complicated, difficult relations. She explores different environments, opportunities in which one can fulfill. She does not hesitate to broad controversial issues as social or political and religious matters.
The first Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film Holland received for her ”Gorzkie żniwa” (“Angry Harvest, 1985) This was German production trying to tackle with World War II, to show different attitudes in the face of fatal danger and complicated, abusive relations between women and men, wife and husband.



Angry Harvest ,1985 (c)

She also tried to show forbidden homosexual love affair of XIX poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlain in “Całkowite zaćmienie” (“Total eclipse”,1995). The relation full of brutality and emotional tensions prompted Holland to strong conclusion: “It doesn't matter that this is love between two men. I am touched by those carrying their ugliness and desperately fighting over their place in the love world” (7).

From time to time the the metaphysical world enters to Holland's work. First signals were present in „Olivier Olivier” („Olivier, Olivier”,1991) and in „Tajemniczy ogród” (“The secret garden”, 1993)- her only movie made for younger viewers.


The secret garden , 1993 (d)

Agnieszka Holland does not escape from historical and political issues which influence her characters. “Gorączka” (“The fever”, 1980) tells about Polish revolutionists and anarchists, “Zabić księdza” (“To Kill a Priest”, 1988), a political drama, is based on the true story of father Jerzy Popieluszko and her international recognized film “Europa, Europa”,1990.

In conclusion , now Polish audience have a freedom , communism government stop decide about what to see in the movies , but we haven't see too much women production like Holland or Sass. The young women film makers try to find the way to bigger audience, but still financial problems and male domination stay on the way to studio directors.. I think independent media and internet give some chances to find and discover new talents and bright women , who have something to say and make great movies. Sometimes without big financial cost, with help of young, passion actors new generation of women filmmakers can star exist. We as audience have to support independent productions and women producers. 



 
 


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