Contemporary Polish Cinema Polish 0873 Dr. Lisa Di Bartolomeo Mondays 6-9:50pm Office: 1420 A CL 209 DL Phone: 624-5711 Email: ldibart+@pitt.edu Office hours: Mondays 4:30-5:20 PM, Wednesdays 1:30-2:20PM, or by appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION This course studies contemporary Polish cinema from World War II to the present. In this survey, we will examine films in both their aesthetic and socio-historical contexts as part of European and Polish national cinematic traditions, concentrating on the main trends in Polish cinema from 1945 to the present day, such as the Polish Film School, Socialist Realism, the Cinema of Moral Concern, and the reemergence of democracy and capitalism. We will be discussing the works of many of the most influential and best-known Polish directors (such as Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polański, Agnieszka Holland, and Krzysztof Kieślowski), as well as some less well known outside Poland. The course will consist of lectures, film screenings, and class discussions. Please note that the course presumes neither knowledge of Polish nor a background in Film Studies, although the latter will be helpful. Course evaluation will be based on student participation in discussions as well as the grades obtained on three brief written essays. (For more on these essays, see below.) Although the time allotted this class may seem overly long, it is intended to enable us to screen the films together and then discuss them. There will be brief reading assignments each week, intended to provide preliminary backgrounds or critical examinations of particular films. COURSE REQUIREMENTS Students are required to: 1. Complete the reading assignments scheduled for each meeting and be prepared to summarize and discuss the material on the appropriate day. 2. Participate actively and intelligently in class discussions. 1
3. Submit three essays over the course of the semester. Attendance. Since attendance is critical to course performance, and we will only be meeting once a week, more than four (4) unexcused absences will result in an automatic F for the course. If serious illness prevents class attendance, documentation of that fact is required in the form of a letter from a doctor, stating that, on the day and time of the class, you were too ill to attend. This letter must be presented upon your return to class. It is your responsibility to find out from classmates what information was discussed or materials were handed out during a missed session. If you are experiencing special problems, please come see me. Class discussion. Some students receive low marks for daily participation. In order to avoid this be prepared to comment at least once a session, even if you feel unsure of the material. In fact, if you are confused, you should absolutely speak up. Intelligent questions also count towards participation. Remember, this is a major component of the grade. Essays. Throughout the semester, you will be required to submit a total of three essays discussing films we have screened in class. These essays will have particular due dates (see schedule below), but you are encouraged to submit them as early as is convenient for you. The choice of film is up to you; the first two essays should be 3 4 pages in length, the third essay should be 4 5 pages. Essays should analyze technique, focus on themes or imagery, comment on characterization, or examine political or cultural motifs in the film under review. These papers will not only your grasp of the basic concepts of each unit of study, but also encourage analytical film viewing and exercise writing skills. While the content of the essays is flexible, it should NOT consist primarily of plot summary. Rather, each paper should consist of your own, original analysis of a given film, and should appear in standard, scholarly English, doublespaced and typed. The essays need not be researched, but any research should be cited, and the papers should conform to the guidelines set out in the MLA Handbook. Plagiarism will not be tolerated. Extra Credit. Should extra credit be needed, the option of writing an extra analytical paper exists. Please see me if you are interested. 2
Grades. Final grades will consist of the following: 1. Participation in class discussion 35% 2. Essay 1 (3 4 pages) due 27 September 20% 3. Essay 2 (3 4 pages) due 25 October 20% 4. Essay 3 (4 5 pages) due 19 November 25% Required texts. The following books are required, and are on reserve in Hillman library: Haltof, Marek. Polish National Cinema. New York: Berghahn Books, 2002. Coursepack for Polish 000. Films to be screened: Adventure on Mariensztat. (Leonard Buczkowski, 1953) Ashes and Diamonds. (Andrzej Wajda, 1958) Bad Luck. (Andrzej Munk, 1958) The Passenger. (Andrzej Munk, 1963) Łódź Ghetto (documentary). (Dariusz Jabłoński, 1998) Knife in the Water. (Roman Polański, 1962) Man of Marble. (Andrzej Wajda, 1977) Camera Buff. (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1979) Man of Iron. (Andrzej Wajda, 1981) Lonely Woman/A Woman Alone. Agnieszka Holland, 1981) Sexmission. (Juliusz Machulski, 1984) A Short Film about Killing. (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) A Short Film about Love. (Krzysztof Kieślowski, 1988) The Turned Back. (Kazimierz Kutz, 1994) Pigs. (Władysław Pasikowski, 1992) Déjà Vu. (Juliusz Machulski, 1988) COURSE SCHEDULE Assignments are listed as homework for the preceding class. Readings from Haltof are listed as H, while readings from the coursepack are listed as CP. 30 August. Socialist Realism in Polish Cinema (1949-1955). What political and artistic constraints are placed on directors? What is socialist realism? How did Poland recover its national film industry in the wake 3
of the total destruction of WWII? How was film used as a tool of the socialist state? Screening: Adventure at Mariensztat. HW (Due for the following class meeting): Read Haltof pp. 56-72, 87-104; from CP: Michalek and Turaj ix-xvi and 129-138; Kalinowska 64-75; Coates 15-29. (Relax, you have two weeks to read it.) 6 September. LABOR DAY NO CLASS. EAT MANY HOTDOGS. 13 September. Film Polski (The Polish Film School) (1956-63). Stalin s death and the Thaw. The Polish Romantic tradition and cinema. How is World War II portrayed in Polish cinema? How do these heroes compare with traditional Polish models? What is the image of the Polish soldier, the Polish resistance fighter? What is the role of ideology, of nationalism, of religion? What archetype does Cybulski create? Screening: Ashes and Diamonds. HW: Read H 74-76, and (CP) Michalek and Turaj 123-125. 20 September. Irony and History. Realism in the cinema of Andrzej Munk. What is Romantic irony? Screening: Bad Luck. HW: Write Essay 1 (due next week)! Read H 222-242, and (CP) Michalek and Turaj 125-128. 27 September. PAPER 1 DUE! Poland and the Holocaust. The representation of Jews in Polish culture. Issues of portraying genocide. Screening: The Passenger, and the documentary Łódź Ghetto. HW: Read H 100-102, (CP) Michalek and Turaj 14-16, 41-45. 4 October. Łódź Film School and the Second Wave. Polish reality in the 1960s: crisis of moral values and the little stabilization. The emergence of the next generation of filmmakers, Polański and Skolimowski. Screening: Knife in the Water HW: Read H 207-221, (CP) Michalek and Turaj 156-160, (CP) Bren 133-144, (CP) Turim 93-102, and (CP) Sørenssen 103-115. 4
11 October. Stalinism and Revisionism. Oppression of the individual; reflexivity in the Polish context; the worker as extension of Romantic hero. Screening: Man of Marble. HW: Read H 146-175, and (CP) Coates 32-53. 18 October. The Cinema of Moral Anxiety. The importance of documentaries; the rise of a new generation of filmmakers (e.g. Krzysztof Kieślowski, Feliks Falk, Agnieszka Holland, Grzegorz Królikiewicz); engaging in political and social reality. Screening: Camera Buff. HW: Write Paper 2 (due next week)! Read H 156-158, and (CP) Michalek and Turaj 163-167. 25 October. PAPER 2 DUE! Rebellion, revolution, repression. The Solidarity movement; the artist as politician (political strength and artistic weakness). Screening: Man of Iron. HW: Read H 158-159, and (CP) Michalek and Turaj 59-79. 1 November. Women of Iron. What are the dominant representations of women in Polish culture and cinema? What is the role of feminism in Polish society? Screening: A Lonely Woman/A Woman Alone. HW: Read H 164-166. 8 November. Martial Law and Political Crisis. From the imposition of Martial Law in 1981 to the collapse of communism: what about popular cinema in Poland? What about political allegory? What was the popular debate on gender issues? Screening: Sexmission. HW: Read (CP) Coates 20-33, and (CP) Eidsvik 77-93. 15 November. Universalism: Themes and Concerns. Poland goes abroad. European co-productions; ethical questioning in the wake of the recent past. Screening: A Short Film about Killing, A Short Film about Love. 5
HW: H 176-196. 22 November. After the Fall: What remains in the wake of communism? History (with a capital H ) as seen by Everyman; the legacy of Munk in Kutz s film. Screening: The Turned Back. HW: Write Paper 3 (due next week)! Read H 243-258, and (CP) Stevenson, I don t feel like talking to you anymore: Gender Uncertainties in Polish Film since 1989. 29 November. PAPER 3 DUE! Macho, Macho Man: Blood, Guns and Vodka. Polish Masculinity: Idealism versus Skepticism. Screening: Pigs. HW: Do any elective extra credit. 6 December. Today: New Forms, New Faces. Where have all the politics gone? Any extra credit is due today. Screening: Déjà Vu. 6