In memory of Andrzej Zulawski (Cosmos)

The last novel of Witold Gombrowicz, the last film of Andrzej Zulawski

On the day of Andrzej Zulawski’s death I got an idea to write the series of reviews «In memory of Andrzej Zulawski». Before his death, I have written reviews on some of his films, but after some time I found their quality as not-so-satisfactory. Especially it concerns the reviews of L’important c’est d’aimer and La femme publique. I have analyzed them from only one point of view and I have not used the best language. That is why, I have taken the writing of those reviews more seriously; for example I have read the books. Before watching Cosmos I have read the original novel of Witold Gombrowicz.

In one interview, Andrzej Zulawski said that there are two traditional themes in the Polish literature – Romanticism and Surrealism. After saying that, the Director especially pointed out that Polish Surrealism, compared with Czechoslovakia, didn’t have the common concept. Andrzej Zulawski said that his Surrealism was the result of pushing the Polish Romantic tendency to excess, as with Witold Gombrowicz.

One of the main element of Surrealism is expression of the actual functioning of thought, without the thought dictate and other societal constraints. In this meaning, the turning point of the film and the novel is the invitation to «the omnipotence of dream, in the disinterested play of thought» (quoting Manifesto of Surrealism).

The original text of Cosmos is almost impossible to film because of the author’s neglect to the traditional rules of literature. For example, there are many cases when storyline is broken, there are scenes where characters disappear and the novel uses unusual language. Andrzej Zulawski perfectly understood all of this and radically changed the original test. Despite that, the Director preserved the atmosphere of the original novel.

Andrzej Zulawski was fond of saying the he made the films about what was torturing him, and a woman serves him as a medium. In his last film, the Director broke his traditional rule and a male character his «medium». The speeches of the main characters – failed lawyer and writer Witold, - includes the thoughts of Andrzej Zulawski.

Though Witold, the Director mocks the modern Internet society. He gave to one the characters (Fuchs) a useless profession – manager at a Parisian fashion company, - and made him a completely ignorant man, who doesn’t know the single name in French and international literature. Along with that, Andrzej Zulawski mocks an internet writing by making Witold a writer, who writes and speaks stereotypically. Also, I think that by giving to Witold the traits of La Femme Zulawskienne, the Director was showing the mixing of gender roles of the modern society.

As I said, Andrzej Zulawski broke the traditional rule and made the female character (Lena) the archetypical bad actress, about whom the Director said so much words in his interviews, Lena is a linguistic teacher, who doesn’t know the languages, and who desperately tries to become a good actress.

After watching Cosmos, I realized that Andrzej Zulawski had some self-irony. In one of the dialogues, the characters described the not-so-personally favored by the director film (L’important c’est d’aimer) as boring. Also the scene, where Witold enters the rocking sea, resembles the final scene of Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos jours. Despite the self-irony, the Director was still an opponent of the boring cinema. The heroes called the films of Ingmar Bergman «the factory of boredom». Nevertheless, Andrzej Zulawski paid an homage to Theorema (Pasolini) and Nosferatu (Murnau).

In the last years of Andrzej Zulawski’s life he was called an old cruel senile, who could only write and speak badly about others. Nevertheless, the terminally ill director found some strength and made his last film. The film is a slap to a stereotypical arthouse, because the film is clever, subtle and energetic.

After discovering the fact of terminal illness of Andrzej Zulawski, his choice of book for the filming is rather symbolical. If you forgive me the banality, you could say that Cosmos is a swan song of Andrzej Zulawski. 

In memory of Andrzej Zulawski (Szamanka)

A film without masks

The American DVD edition of Szamanka includes an interview with late Andrzej Zulawski. In this interview, the Director said that a lot of films wear some so called «masks». The theme of «masks» is also present in the films of Andrzej Zulawski. As example, the Director said that Diabel was a result of his reflections on the idealistic Polish youth, who were tricked by the hardliners in the Polish Communistic party. Their protests were the reason for a 1968 conservative backlash in Poland. If you remember, Diabel shows the late XVIII century Poland – the moment when Poland lost its independence. The «mask» of Diabel was worn for political purposes, because Andrzej Zulawski shot this film in the Socialistic Poland.

In the same interview, Andrzej Zulawski said that he shot Szamanka as a film without masks. The Director wanted to shoot film, which depicts the situation in the Post-Socialistic Poland. Andrzej Zulawski  especially emphasized that he did not want to add neither commentaries, neither allegories.

Very talented blogger galina_guzhvina wrote a review on Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos jours. In this review, she made a very precise point – in order to illustrate his ideas, Andrzej Zulawski added a very French chic style to the film. In case of Szamanka, Andrzej Zulawski chose the model of La Femme Publique. If in La Femme Publique Andrzej Zulawski depicted «Paris of pimps, murderers and scum» (plagiarizing one Russian summary), than in Szamanka the Director depicted a poor and hungry Poland of the 1990s.

In the words of anthropology professor Michal: «Shamanism is one of the first religions of the human kind». If you open any encyclopedia, you will read that this religion is connected with animism, magic, totems and fetish. As in «On the Silver Globe», Andrzej Zulawski used the civilization methology of Toynbee. The Director depicted the birth of a new primitive civilization – Polish capitalistic civilization.

While I was reviewing La note bleue I made the point that this film could be characterized as an anti-biography. While I was watching Szamanka, I have decided that this film could be described as anti-erotica. Returning to Mes nuits sont plus belles que vos jours, you see in this film a lot of erotic scenes, but they are full of pain, love and beauty. Szamanka is also full of explicit scenes, but you cannot find any traces of tenderness, they remind you of animalistic copulation.

Andrzej Zulawski once said: «I believe that, with few exceptions, acting is a female occupation». Szamanka is no exception to this rule. In this film, La Femme Zulawskienne is Italian the Shaman. Italian is the archetypical Shaman who «attracts flies and people and brings death». Italian is full of primitive and primeval sexual energy. I also think that Zulawski wanted to show in Italian the new Polish man, which is cruel, ignorant and consuming.

In my opinion (I could be wrong) Andrzej Zulawski did not held favorable view towards any religion. The Catholic church is depicted as an inert force, which is desperately trying to take the place, which was previously occupied by the Communistic ideology. The brother of Michal (priest) is shown as a weak and lost man. The Director’s attitude towards priests is shown by one phrase: «If you don’t know what to do with your life, than become a priest».

In all of the films of the «Polish trilogy» (Trzecia czesc nocy, Diabel, Szamanka) Andrzej Zulawski used the theme of Apocalypse. In Szamanka, as in Diabel, the apocalyptic theme is depicted in a rather Absurdist manner. The Director shows the modern Poland, ruled by bandits and scum, who destroy their opponents with theatrical violence. While watching the violent scenes, you catch yourself on the thought, that they closely resemble the surrealistic nightmares.

In one interview, Andrzej Zulawski expressed his negative opinion towards the Polish Films of Moral Anxiety. His negative attitude towards this sub-genre was motivated by the fact that in his opinion the viewer knew and understood much more than was shown in the cinema by directors, who were bound by the communistic censure. The Director always said he doesn't make a concession to viewers, these victims of life. He thought, that the viewer should be hit with a baseball bat.

A lot of critics said that the Polish cinema died after 1989. Andrzej Zulawski disagreed with it, gave the mirror to the Polish people and made them watch. Despite the fact, that the Director was again accuses of all sins, the Polish people voted for Zulawski by money. Szamanka was one of the most popular Polish films of the 1990s and in some rural areas the priests physically blocked the entrance to the cinema.

Watch Szamanka and watch it again. Frankly speaking. I have understood this film only on the second attempt.

In memory of Andrzej Zulawski (La note bleue)

And everyone shall be forgotten

Some critics have characterized the films of the Three Colours (Krzysztof Kieślowski) trilogy respectively as an anti-tragedy, an anti-comedy, and an anti-romance. Accordingly, the discussed film of Andrzej Zulawski could be characterized as an anti-biography.

Almost every film of Andrzej Zulawski was a scandalous one. In 1992, after the release of «La note bleue», the French critics attacked the Polish director on the ground of disrespect for the French culture. The critics thought that Amantine-Lucile-Aurore Dupin, better knows as George Sand, and other prominent French and European artists were portrayed as bratty children, which bears no resemblance to the common place idolized portraits.

The snobbish critics have not bothered to understand that Andrzej Zulawski was not going to film another idealized biography. «La note bleue» is a film about art, especially about music, not about artists. The main theme of «La note bleue» is a music of Frederic Chopin. During the film, the terminally ill composer, who lived in the Sand’s mansion, creates his music, The events of the film are built with accordance with Chopin’s music and the actions of the heroes resembles us the storylines in Chekov’s plays.

Andrzej Zulawski thinks that the filmed great artists of the past resemble the marionettes in a doll’s theatre. Every character in the film depicts his traits and follow his own stereotype. The Director filmed accurately the true portrait of every character. Andrzej Zulawski depicted George Sand as «cigar-smoking, unattractive person and unfeminine» (quoting the letters of Chopin), Solange Sand as a bratty and not-so-talented and Frederic Chopin as terminally ill hypochondriasis. But, I must say again, that the Director didn’t film this film as a biography.

In one of the interviews, Andrzej Zulawski said that he never surrendered to neither capitalism nor socialism. The Director again filmed his thoughts and ideas. Let’s forget the snobbish critics (me included), who are constantly writing about the «The Hysterical Excess of Andrzej Żuławski» or charging him with blasphemy or other things. Pay tribute to him by watching this film, if you would get some emotions, than he didn’t wasted his life badly.