THE CINEMA LIKE A SOAP OPERA
Almost everybody has ever experienced something extreme in his live, be it a bungee-jump or watching a curling match. Going to the theater on Saturday evening was that kind of experience to me. The very first glance at the crowd queuing up at the box office and bustling at the buffet only strengthened my resolution made few years back to steer clear of the seats of the Tenth Muse in the evenings at weekend. That is exactly what gives me the adrenaline rush – two hours in the popcorn siege. Every single crack of popcorn or a sip of cola hurts me as much as the most ingenious tortures inflicted by the Spanish Inquisition and my weary brain is able only to wonder why all these people didn't stuff their bellies at home. If at least the movie was so gripping that I wouldn't mind the noisy neighbours. Unfortunately, this time it wasn't the case. Because of some lapse in rational thinking I let myself be persuaded to go and see the latest Polish box office hit: a romantic comedy entitled Tylko mnie kochaj (Just Love Me). Still, the evening wasn't a total disaster as it made me discover that with some effort everybody can make a successful movie just by keeping in mind that on the silver screen children and dogs always sell best and the audience do not really expect a film to be true to life. It should rather be similar to a soap opera or a fairy tale. In Tylko mnie kochaj the main character is a prince-like 25-year-old architect, whose success is reflected by a posh two-story apartment he proudly owns (considering this model I must assume that my friends-architects are kind of backward since in his age they didn't dare to dream about running their own company and getting high-priced projects but simply worked pretty hard in somebody else's offices instead). Although Michał (the main character) is just in the middle of a life project, meeting deadlines doesn't make him work endless hours or even trouble himself with it. On the contrary, he has plenty of time for sex in a public toilet, romantic dinners, shopping and cooking. It goes without saying that a romantic comedy is but little more than a convention embodied, but this one, 'a product of Poland', seems to bear no traces of realism whatsoever. Or maybe it's just reality seen through rose-coloured glasses? It would be great if everybody had a chance for meeting the love of life in some beautiful surroundings, with lovely music in the background and a prospect of 'becikowe' (a certain amount of governmental money given to a family in Poland whenever a new baby is born).
Even though I am not an enthusiast of that genre, there are some romantic comedies I really like, but Tylko mnie kochaj – so banal and hackneyed – is just not one of them. My only regret is that, judging from the turnout in the theaters, Polish audience finds such a product pleasing. Or maybe it is just liking what you have already seen before? I can' help the impression that recently similar movies were made: adaptations of best selling romances (as in the case of Nigdy w życiu! / Never Ever!) or the offspring of popular TV series, which have already made use of the whole repertoire of melodramatic tricks and motives, promoting new actors in the same time.
My assumptions are in a way confirmed by Monika Zakrzewska (in her article Serial w jednym odcinku / A Serial in One Episode), who in the February issue of Film (2/2006) wrote about recent movies as being 'serial-like'. Also Lech Kurpiewski, commenting on the results of a survey carried out by the magazine Telekinomania, concludes that Poles want cinema to be serial-like. Neither I personally nor any of my friends have ever been asked to take part in such a survey, so I don't think I may be regarded as representative. The responses of the 500 surveyed did make me feel as belonging to a minority. Many claiming that after the fall of Communism in '89 Polish cinema is in a state of deep crisis would be greatly surprised with the fact that the half of the respondents (I wonder what age they are) believe the movies made after the 1989 to be much more interesting than those made before. Looking through the top five Polish movies they chose one would in vain expect such masterpieces as Ziemia Obiecana (The Promise Land), Rejs or Miś. Instead there are, starting with the most popular, Chłopaki nie płaczą (Men Don't Cry), Ogniem i Mieczem (With Fire and Sword), Kiler, Nigdy w Życiu!, Quo Vadis. The title of the worst movie went – I think justly – to Gulczas, jak myślisz (Gulczas, what do you think?), and following it Dzień Świra ( Day of the Wacko) and Cześć, Tereska (Hi, Tereska)... The chosen five of best directors: Wajda, Polański, Hoffman, Kieślowski and Machulski show that their names are mentioned automatically as the high popularity they enjoy is not accompanied by the popularity of their works. A probable explanation for it is that most respondents simply do not know the movies made before 1989, hence they chose Kiler, by no means able to compete with Vabank. The choice of the most popular actors supports Kurpiewski's thesis that if you' re not on TV, you're out. It is no surprise that the highest on the list of best actresses is Małgorzata Kożuchowska with her serial friend Ania Mucha right behind. As low as the third position was given to Krystyna Janda, once honoured by a special prize Złota Kaczka (Golden Duck). For comparison, Katarzyna Figura (who supposedly ceased to be regarded only from the perspective of her sexual attractiveness) seems to be the worst Polish actress. She is followed by Maja Komorowska unfortunately. The competition between actors looked a bit schisophrenic, resembling a plebiscite for the best 100 writers of the 20th carried out by Polityka, where Adam Mickiewicz (a compulsory patriotic reading) was given quite a prominent place. The title of the best actor went to Cezary Pazura, who won the title the worst actor as well. Similarly close to the two extremes were Paweł Deląg and Bogusław Linda. According to Kurpiewski, this confirms that on the one hand the audience aptly rate actors' talents, on the other they know that it has little to do with popularity. Obviously, the names of great actors from 10 years ago are almost impossible to find on the lists drawn on the basis of the survey. There is an exception of Janusz Gajos, who bravely and successfully represents the older generation.
Taking into account the results of the above mentioned survey, the huge popularity of Tylko mnie kochaj is after all not that surprising. As Kurpiewski remarks, the combination of horror and romantic comedy is in the highest demand. Undoubtedly, a very accurate example of such a combination is Ja wam pokażę, an unusual sequel to Nigdy w życiu! On the one hand, it is an effusive confirmation that love exists, on the other it may give you a rush of adrenaline enhanced by the popcorn terror in the theater. Having read a commentary of one critic, harrowing over this extremely amoral movie promoting relativist attitudes and extramarital sex, I was truly afraid that my excursion to watch it would end up in my being pelted with the eggs thrown fervently by some guards of morality. And such adrenaline shocks I do not really need, especially if I can watch the same thing on TV, without even leaving my flat. And then I may eat my dinner – without bothering anybody.
Katarzyna Wajda
Translated by Anna Skrajna
Discussed journals: Film