Andrzej Munk. Internet |
The Melbourne Cinémathèque presents a four-week season of films from two Polish auteurs. Although stylistically different, Wojciech Has (1925-2000) and Andrzej Munk (1920-61) are united in their status as highly important but relatively under-seen directors of the mid-20th century Polish Film School. While Has created a fascinating body of work spanning five decades, Munk’s career was tragically cut short by his death in a car accident at the age of 40 and only produced five features. With a background in documentary filmmaking in Stalinist Poland, Munk’s style was influenced by neorealist cinema and concentrates on the plight of the individual living in a world over which he has no control. On the other hand, Has’ work is less overtly political, instead creating complex, dreamlike worlds which have been associated with the surrealist movement.
This program will screen all of Munk’s features, which represent some of the major works of 20th century Polish cinema. Men of the Blue Cross (1955), was the final film produced by Warsaw’s Documentary Film Studio and is an epic re-enactment of a treacherous mission by the Voluntary Tatra Mountain Rescue Service to aid colleagues stranded behind enemy lines at the close of World War II. Man on Tracks (195756) unfolds through a series of speculative flashbacks as the circumstances surrounding a train conductor’s suspicious death are investigated, while exposing the psychological struggle of Polish workers with the paranoia fostered by Stalinism.
Set during World War II, Eroica (195857) is an engaging satire on duty, courage and heroism divided into two parts, each presenting different views of the Polish hero. Bad Luck (1960) is one of the director’s richest works which revisits two decades of Polish history as tragic farce through following the unlucky existence of the everyman son of a Warsaw tailor. Munk’s final film Passenger (1963) was left unfinished due to his death during filming and completed using a montage of stills with music and commentary. A coincidental meeting on an ocean liner between a former female guard at Auschwitz and one of the concentration camp inmates triggers a series of bitter and shocking memories.
The first feature from Has, The Noose (195857) portrays a day in the life of an alcoholic and initiated Has’ recurrent obsession with the detailed odyssey of a character over a distinct passage of time. This was closely followed by his second feature, Farewells (1958), an intimate psychological portrait of a couple split up by the Nazi invasion of Poland, illustrating how nothing remains unchanged by the relentless progression of time.
Has’ oeuvre includes two extraordinary surrealist masterpieces screening as part of this program.
Wojciech Has. Source: Internet |
A favourite of Luis Buñuel, The Saragossa Manuscript (196564) is an epic, trippy tale of a Spanish officer who discovers a manuscript detailing the exploits of his grandfather during the Spanish Inquisition. Laden with gothic, erotic, humorous and mysterious overtones, it wasn’t until the 1990s that an uncut version of the film was made available outside of Poland. The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973) blurs the boundaries between reality and fantasy as the protagonist finds himself in a dreamlike world on a visit to a sanatorium.
This season of imported 35mm prints provides a fascinating insight into the varied and frequently compelling output of Polish cinema in the 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.
Screening times:
October 24 7.00 pm Man on the Tracks (Munk, 19561957)
8.40 pm The Hourglass Sanatorium (Has, 1973)
October 31 7.00 pm Passenger (Munk, 1963)
8.15 pm The Saragossa Manuscript (Has, 19641965)
November 7 7.00 pm Eroica (Munk, 19571958)
8.40 pm Men of the Blue Cross (Munk, 1955)
9.45 pm Bad Luck (Munk, 1960)
November 14 7.00 pm Farewells (Has, 1958)
8.50 pm The Noose (Has, 19571958)
The Melbourne Cinémathèque is grateful to its sponsor Present Company Included.
For images, interviews, giveaways or sponsorship queries please email eloise.ross@gmail.com
FURTHER INFORMATION about Melbourne Cinémathèque & 2012 program details please visit www.melbournecinematheque.org. You can also find a link to our Facebook group on our web page, which we invite you to join for updates & notifications. To subscribe to our mailing list please send us an email with SUBSCRIBE as the subject to melbournecinematheque@westnet.com.au
Melbourne Cinémathèque screens every Wednesday from 7.00pm @ ACMI cinemas, Federation Square.
Admission to The Melbourne Cinematheque requires a membership. A Mini Membership provides admission to four consecutive screenings is $25 (full)/$20 (concession). An Annual Membership provides admission for 12 months from the date of purchase and is $115 (full)/ $99 (concession).
Memberships are available from the ACMI box office (Federation square)
and the ACMI website www.acmi.net.au/cinematheque.aspx
Beata Lukasiak
| 
