selected articles
DADYVES I TAJSA
Writing about the Gypsies is not easy. The name itself is a problem. It has been superseded in public life by politically correct word “Roma” – the proper noun. The question is whether justly. In my view it is not justified. Indeed, the word “Gypsy” is synonymous with swindler and thief in Polish and other languages. However, it is also associated with bright, unconventional personality, with someone who goes against all convention and loves freedom, music, wandering, etc. In common belief Gypsies, especially women, can penetrate into the world that is inaccessible to ordinary people, into supernatural world. These are healers, witches and fortune-tellers whose services are still highly popular in Polish cities. Every such image is a stereotype and as such generalizes, becoming trivial and treating thieves in the same way as honest people.
press review
BLACK VS. BRIGHT: GDYNIA’S FILM COLOURS
Feliks Falk, the jury president of the festival, said in an interview for “Kino” that a few really interesting films had been made, but the titles of all the rest would soon fade away. Which ones did he mean – those awarded or the big losers, those made by experienced directors like Krauze or Kolski, or by young filmmakers represented by Fabicki, Guziński, Żuławski? As always, it all depends on distributors’ risk-taking bents, but I guess time will tell best: if in 70 years or so, after watching any of those films, someone is going to say he likes it, or that it surpasses what he has seen recently, it will mean big success. Pity though that anyone interested in what is going to happen, has rather little chance to see it.
A BODY IN THE LANDSCAPE – THE LANDSCAPE OF A BODY
Self-portraits are most difficult to shoot, as Marek Grygiel – the author of an article on the latest Wanda Michalak’s exhibition – comments on the art of photography in “FotoTAPETA”. But it has been years now since Michalak first undertook that field of photography and she eagerly continues her explorations. And – they end in undeniable success. Using such technique in self-portraits allows of both intimacy and uninhibited honesty which excuses us from watching. The poses adopted by a naked woman are neither erotic, casual, provocative, nor appearing nonchalant. But they are “very something”. The author’s camera is as if stuck in the centre of a cyclone eye. “FotoTAPETA” features a photograph picturing a group of women – all with their clothes on and one naked. The naked woman is aware of her nudity; she is standing in the very middle of this companion composition and looking boldly at the camera. She is standing bolt upright, taut as a line. It may be Wanda Michalak herself.
THE OLD NEW BOND OR HOW A SUPERMAN HITS THE GROUND
Everything indicates that, in the context of Bond series, Casino Royale will be a turning point. A lot is going to change, most of all Bond himself, writes Tom Roston in the November issue of Film (11/2006). Up till now, the main role was given to, as follows, Sean Connery, George Lazenby (the biggest mistake in this company), Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan. The new Bond with Daniel Craig is going to be more violent and real, which means the end of fighting scenes where not even a button from Bond’s jacket gets loose. There is going to be blood, sweat and dirt (Craig himself brought numerous bruises form the set, at length described by the press). Possibly, an even greater revolution is to come, since the producers signed a contract with a large brewery, which may result in 007 holding, instead of a glass of martini or champagne, a pint of beer.