Top 10 of Our Favorite Things: Polish Animations
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Do you happen to like Monty Python‘s title sequences, or Terry Gilliam’s eye-popping/brain-mangling Brasil? Well who would have thought that these trailblazing ideas were initiated by experimental Polish animators since way back in the day? And here’s a list of 10 of the best – a full and juicy range, from pioneering techniques like cutout collage in the 1960s to the digital animations of the epoch we like to call “now”. Prepare for intellectual brain massage!
1. Labirynt (The Labrynth)
Dir. Jan Lenica, 1963 Jan Lenica’s most acclaimed film evokes bizarre, Kafka-esque mood, telling a story of a winged man who lands in a totalitarian world. Lenica’s eclectic penetrated the cultural sphere, and you can still see it today in music, architecture, poster design, and illustration. He is best known for his animated cutout collage, inspired by the art of Max Ernst and John Heartfield. His films later influenced the work of Jan Švankmajer and Terry Gilliam among others.
2. Czerwone I Czarne (Red & Black)
Dir. Witold Giersz, 1963 A Spanish corrida featuring “el matador” with the bull depicted as a fight between two colors: red and black. Painted on celluloid, it is a dynamic, humorous tale composed of multiple fiction-reality transitions. Exquisitely synchronized with music it’s a splendid combo of “action film” and high-brow artistry. Like they say in Spain, “tiene una buena tinta”!
3. Samobojstwo (Suicide)
Dir. Ryszard Mascianica, 1973 A black-humored short story of a suicide attempt that ends abruptly (ain’t that always the way!). The author is most internet-elusive, and this may well be his only animated work. He deserves praise nonetheless, for this witty, monochromatic film, placed here among animation masters.
4. Nowa Ksiazka
Dir. Zbigniew Rybczynski, 1975 Rybczynski – an expert on digital cinematography (you might know him from the many video clips he directed for mega-legends like Lou Reed and John Lennon), created this ground-breaking multi-layer narrative that can be followed simultaneously on one screen (if you’ve got enough peepers!). The stories, which evolve around one man and his new book, reach an unexpected climax – so watch closely and be quick deciding which frame to follow!
5. Lagodna
Dir. Piotr Dumala, 1985 A loose adaptation of Fyodor Dostoyevsky’s short story by the same title, Lagodna is a study of jealousy, love, hatred and alienation between a young woman and an older man. Dumala’s first psychological film, in which his plasterboard technique proved highly effective. The film is made of dark sepia images with a single source of light, creating a Rembrandt-like etched aesthetic. Zygmunt Konieczny’s moving music accompanies the characters’ retrospection.
6. Wyscig (The Race)
Dir. Marek Serafinski, 1989 This bicycle contest is between people from different rungs on the social ladder, prepared to use any means necessary to eliminate their competitors. That’s right, it’s a metaphor! An appropriate visual poem created at the moment Poland experienced the radical political transition which paved the way for people to “ruthlessly” pursue careers and wealth.
7. Sztuka Spadania (Fallen Art)
Dir. Tomasz Baginski, 2004 Baginski’s smart allegory on the role of military, Fallen Art depicts commanders’ peculiar way of entertaining themselves, using soldiers as cannon-fodder for cinematic purposes. The film’s anti-draft message meets “film-within-a-film” animation, finishing in a perfect loop which invites us to watch it again. This was Baginski’s follow-up to The Cathedral which earned an Oscar nomination. He described his work as “pop auteur film” – i.e. reaches more than five people at a student film club!
8. Film, Ze Mucha Nie Siada (Far Out Fly Film)
Dir. Michal Poniedzielski, 2004 The first short animation by Poniedzielski is clearly influenced by Giersz’s Red and Black with dynamic animation accompanied by the fervent music of Rimsky-Korsakov. Here, a fly shows off in front of his colleagues, impressing them with his acrobatic and dangerous stunts. But when the fly makes a mistake, everyone minds his own business. The fly gets upset and is left cursing all alone. Moral of the film (in case it passed you by): stick with what you’re good at for maximum kudos!
9. 1000 Wiader Wody (1000 Buckets of Water)
Dir. Tomek “Caith Sith” Popakul, 2008 The story of a boy who, during the Warsaw Uprising, carries water to one of the cellars. The music of Erik Satie solemnly accompanies the images. As well as the general war-like theme, the animation also alludes to another symbol of Warsaw – the mermaid. 1000 Buckets won the competition organized by Warsaw Rising Museum.
10. Wyspa Gibonow (Gibbon’s Island)
Dir. Malgorzata Bosek, 2010 A short visit to the zoo transforms into a reflection on a couple’s life together. The animation is fervent and dynamic, with vivid colors that at first, seem chaotic. This is apparently done to give us a feeling of how it is to be in a relationship and to perceive things differently. So join them and form a love triangle!
