SPECIAL FEATURE: DVD Review: Man Of Marble

Film: Man Of Marble
Running time: 160 mins
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Starring: Krystyna Janda, Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Jacek Lomnicki, Michal Tarkowski
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland

Region 1 release.

The political censors blocked the concept for Man Of Marble for fifteen years under the communist regime. The socialist Stalinist era of 1950s Poland only allowed heavily censored, socialist realist films to be made and shown, but this film slipped through the net.

The film itself begins in 1970s Poland, where you meet Agnieszka. She is a final year University student studying film. Agnieszka is set upon filming a controversial documentary about a bricklayer, Mateusz Birkut, who was very famous in the 1950s, and enjoyed a short career as a champion of socialist work. Agnieszka wants to find out why he was chosen by the state to represent the working class, why he was forever immortalised as a marble statue, and how he fell from such a height of popularity to nothing. Agnieszka wants to understand how Birkut disappeared.

The aim, through Agnieszka’s search, is for the film to expose the hidden truth, the people behind Birkut’s rise to fame, and the people who he was close to…


The beauty of the film is seen through the eyes of Agnieszka and her film crew. Time after time after time, they are put down and told that they cannot embark upon a project like this. It is too risky, she is told, and could put the reputation of the film school at risk.

As a viewer, it feels like Wajda is tempting you into joining the film crew and Agnieszka, on their almost Scooby-doo like approach to searching for the Socialist case of the Man Of Marble, although this is primarily due to the awfully cheesy music aimed at the 1970s film goers.

What is visible in this film, which is present in so many of Wajda’s films, is how the plot of the film is intensely reflective of the historical aspects of filmmaking. From the Russian standard of propaganda cinematography, to having to lie and sneak around a fine art museum in Warsaw, simply to finding small remains of the Man Of Marble, the film covers all aspects of the stranglehold of propaganda cinematography during the Communist era, and Poland’s desire to cover up, and to hide all aspects of red history. Birkut was a product of Wadja. The idea of the character was a creation of communism, an invention, cut and edited to taste.

To re-live the socialist underpinnings of the newsreel footage, Wajda incorporates socialist imagery into them. Wajda not only re-creates the 1950s by referring to that period’s propaganda newsreels, but also by alluding to classic socialist realist paintings. Imagery of Stalin, red and white roses to connote the colours of communism, rallies with hundreds of worker attendees all add to the skilfully made fabricated footage, which are represented as recently found footage.

To put politics aside, Wajda fulfils a mammoth task of creating, then building on the depth of characters in the film. Agnieszka, throughout the whole film, sticks to her original plan to stick to the truth. Her biggest characteristic is her authority over men. Her whole film crew are men, she controls them and she makes the decisions. This is in disparity with Birkut, who is owned by the people. A normal working class man, loved by his fellow man, but he hates himself inside.


An incredible stare into the world of communist propaganda, mirrored through Wajda’s insatiable appetite for reflexivity. A thought provoking film classic that will make you think again about Poland’s never-ending fight for freedom. RT

REVIEW: DVD Release: Knife In The Water

Film: Knife In The Water
Release date: 21st June 2010
Certificate: PG
Running time: 90 mins
Director: Roman Polanski
Starring: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Studio: Odeon
Format: DVD
Country: Poland

This wasn’t Polanski’s first outing as director (that took place some seven years earlier) but this film had a lot riding on it, not only his potential career but also the current re-establishment of the Polish national identity. This film spurred the move away from Poland’s output of ‘boy meets tractor’ heritage films, as film historians have dubbed them. In 1962, a young director persuaded the National Film Council of Poland to deviate from this type of cinematic output and instead fund his small narrative driven film. Though reluctant - as Poland was still in a status of influx post World War II - the producer Stanislaw Zylewicz held sway with the powers that be, and the resulting film was Roman Polanski’s Knife In The Water.

Andrezj (Niemczyk) is a vain, controlling journalist who counts boat and wife (in that order) as two of his most treasured assets.

While driving towards a relaxing weekend away, cruising in the partially rebuilt Polish countryside, the couple picks up a dirty downbeat hitchhiker (Malanowich). Krystyna (Unecka) instantly takes a shine to the free living vagabond, which does not go unnoticed by her older, wealthier husband.

Once upon the boat, the two men begin a childish day of competitive one-upmanship not for the affections of Krystyna, but rather for their own male ego. Inevitably, this rivalry goes too far…


The direction is almost faultless. The restraint Polanski shows to concentrate on the story he wishes to tell and not get drawn into a bigger picture narrative is admirable. The countryside of Poland is seen through the farm land outside of the city, with only glimpses of the background seen as the boat travels down the river into a psychological heart of darkness.

Some would say that the film’s use of camerawork, or more noticeably the lack of, hints at a director either lacking in flair or uncertain about the vision they have for the film. Those criticisms simply don’t apply here. The minimal motion in the camera adds to the claustrophobia that Polanski establishes in the vehicle, and continues in the close quarters of the small pleasure vessel. Even the Mazurian Lake District, where the film was shot almost entirely, looks more like a single lane canal. The cinematography places the audience in a position where cabin fever is the most likely reaction from audience and character alike.

The dialogue, particularly between Niemczyk and Malanowich is excellent and the regression from supposedly mature adult men to children warring over Alpha male supremacy is so wonderfully subtle that it’s only apparent once things have gone too far.

All the actors are excellent in performance. The constant childish interplays between the two male leads could, in less delicate hands, come off as forced, perhaps even slapstick. The actors present such honesty and belief in the narrative that there is never any doubt of the male characters’ descent into immaturity.

Jolanta Umecka creates a beautiful and restrained performance. It is nothing short of a work of art as she carefully manoeuvres her husband out of the driving seat of their relationship and into her well worn passenger seat. Like a modern day Lady Macbeth, she plays an emotionally manipulative game of chess with her husband who believes they’re still playing drafts. To her credit, it is all done without coming across as a mischievous Puck-like caricature.

The choice to lead with a heavily diegetic score seems like an obvious choice now, but the decision to make a film with an almost non-existent thematic score was brave and extremely fitting. Shunning non-diegetic sound takes away another layer of filmic convention the audience is familiar with. This in turn reduces the audience’s ability to distance themselves from the events Polanski has set in motion, causing them to have to deal intimately with the tension portrayed on screen. The film abounds with everyday familiar noises - rather than allowing the viewer to take refuge in a flowing musical score, the tension is immediate, and brings itself into the intimate world of the viewer.


Cinematic cornerstones seem to appear after great times of national conflict. The Soviet Union had The Battleship Potemkin after the 1905 revolution, Nosferatu came post World War 1 and the fall of Germany’s economy. Knife In The Water taps into the fear of emasculation that many of Poland’s men were coming to terms with, and delivers a masterpiece born out of pain and beauty that speaks to a nation, whilst legitimising cinema as art for all to enjoy. DL

REVIEW: DVD Release: Tricks

Film: Tricks
Release date: 22nd February 2010

Certificate: 12

Running time: 96 mins

Director: Andrzej Jakimowski

Starring: Ewelina Walendziak, Tomasz Sapryk

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Studio: Drakes Avenue

Format: DVD

Country: Poland

Long days and early nights – summer can be boring if you’re a 10-year-old child. Growing up in a sleepy Polish town doesn’t help either, but director Andrzej Jakimowski obviously felt he could inject some excitement into this premise.

Stefek is a bright and observant, intelligent child with oodles of imagination - which is a good thing. He also has no friends. This is a bad thing. It means his summers are spent engrossed in trains, eating watermelons, monitoring pigeons and distracting his sister’s potential boyfriend, Jerzy, with whom he spends more time than her.

When he isn’t doing all of the above, Stefek is attempting to bribe fate; manipulating it in order to make things happen the way he wants. His sister Elka, being the master, insists that all you have to do is declare your purpose, sit back, and wait for life to catch up. Stefek, being the apprentice, has other, more impatient ideas. He believes you have to force it to happen, hurrying it along with military precision in order to reap its rewards.

Convinced that a stranger he spots on a train platform is his estranged father, Stefek decides this is the test that will ultimately prove his theory correct; his sister’s stubborn refusal to accept his claim only adds fuel to the fire. Elka, however, has other things on her mind than a destructive parent. She has an upcoming interview for a job that could change her life for the better – only her mother’s dependency on her to look after Stefek is hampering her progress.

Whereas she juggles babysitting her brother and boyfriend whilst washing-up at a local restaurant, and trying to learn Italian to help land her that dream job, Stefek marshals toy soldiers and pigeons whilst urinating on her future employers car, trying to bribe fate with savings and sluts to bring his father back home. It’s no surprise when Elka misses the interview (twice); settling on God’s will to truly decide whether or not her family will be reunited once and for all…


It’s very hard to praise something in which not much happens, although you’re happy to go along with it. Rooted in tedious realism, how it sustains any level of interest for ninety minutes is at times baffling. It does have charm, though. The two lead characters, Stefek and Elka, played by Damian Ul and Ewelina Walendziak respectively, cover up the cracks in the erratic plot with fine performances; their onscreen relationship believable and, at times, bewitching.

However, the story is too straightforward, lacking any kind of conflict whatsoever - even when Stefek manages to ruin his sister’s chances of landing her dream job. The reason for their father’s estrangement is also glossed over as Elka tells Stefek that he was “trapped by a lady” - and that’s it. With no friends his own age (in fact, he appears to be the only 10-year-old child residing in this post-communist town) Stefek relies on the most ordinary of objects to take on some kind of spellbinding significance. The trouble is he relies on them time and time again. Director Andrzej Jakimowski may as well just copy and paste the scenes involving pigeons, toy soldiers and throwing coins onto the railway track because they’re identical, adding nothing new each and every time.

Elka’s relationship with Jerzy, the man in her life, is confusing, as is his relationship with Stefek; seemingly preferring the company of the boy to hers. Other characters have no real significance to the wafer-thin plot at all – the sluttish neighbour and the used-car man shift the focus away from the story but add little, not even characterization. The film is only interesting when Ul and Walendziak are buzzing around the screen – Stefek competing against his sister as they attempt to bribe fate offering scenes of interest. In fact, the opening scene involving a burger, a hungry dog and a homeless man is as good as it gets.

The photography and observational direction manages to make this dreary town almost dream-like at times, but it can’t mask the humdrum premise that fails to captivate.


A subtle look into the world of a 10-year-old boy, Tricks offers little in the way of plot and often struggles to hold interest. The two lead performances are commendable but Director Jakimowski’s train-wreck of a movie is more likely to carry you into a coma rather than its intended destination. DW

NEWS: Eroica Film Release Delayed

Chris Barwick at Second Run DVD has been in touch to let us know that the May 2010 release date for 1958’s Eroica has been pulled.

“The materials as they stand are very poor,” he said. “However, we've discovered that the Polish National Archive are undertaking a series of restorations on a number of 'classic' Polish films - Eroica among them - so we will have a new master (hopefully) by the end of the year.”

Keep checking this site for the latest.