Agnieszka Holland Movies
Best recognized for her highly politicized contributions to Polish New Wave cinema, Agnieszka Holland ranks as one of Poland's most prominent filmmakers. Following her graduation from the Prague Film School in 1971, Holland served as Krzysztof Zanussi's assistant director on his 1973 film Illuminacja. Director Andrzej Wajda served as her mentor during this time, and the two collaborated on a number of scripts. Holland then directed stage plays and TV movies, later drawing upon her theatrical experience to create her 1978 feature Aktorzy Prowincjonalni, which was outwardly a chronicle of the tense backstage relations within a small town theater company but was actually a metaphor for Poland's political situation. The film won the FIPRESCI prize at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. Just before the enactment of Polish martial law in December 1981, Holland moved her operations to Paris. Her 1985 feature film Bittere Ernte/Angry Harvest, an examination of the relationship between a gentile farmer and the Jewish woman he conceals during World War II, was nominated for an Academy award for Best Foreign Language Film. Six years later, Holland earned even greater international acclaim and a score of awards, including a Golden Globe, for Europa, Europa (1991). The powerful true story of a young Jewish man who assumes the identity of a Nazi in order to survive the Holocaust, it provided an unforgettable look at human atrocities and the nature of identity. Holland followed it up with another tract on the nature of assumed identity with Olivier, Olivier (1992), which was not as well received. Her beautifully photographed version of The Secret Garden (1993) -- one of the director's numerous Hollywood forays -- fared better, as did her 1997 adaptation of Washington Square. Two years later, Holland directed The Third Miracle, a drama about religious faith and the nature of miracles. In addition to directing, Holland also occasionally works on screenplays; some of her most notable work has been on Wajda's Danton (1982) and Krzysztof Kieslowski's initial entry in his "Trois Coleurs" series, Blue (1993). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 1981
Irena (Maria Chwalibog) bears one burden each day as she delivers the mail and several others when she goes home to continuing penury after her divorce from an alcoholic husband. She also has the chore of caring for a dying relative, accomplished partly out of compassion and partly on the hope that she will inherit a little cash when the woman dies. Her son is the only bright spot in her existence, an existence they spend together in an unfurnished, rundown apartment with no running water and the noise of the trains traveling along the nearby track. Then one day she meets Jacek (Boguslaw Linda), an equally lonely bachelor, as she is delivering him his disability pension -- he is lame from a mining accident. It was hardly a planned occurrence. Irena faints as she hands the surprised Jacek his envelope, and the two kindred spirits have a shared understanding that grows when they continue to see each other. Irena becomes frustrated at times with her son, who has a tendency to get into trouble, and that situation gets worse instead of better. Then her boss tells her that her mail route may be taken away from her, and when her dying relative finally succumbs, Irena is not only left without an inheritance, but faced with a funeral bill. In desperation she steals the pensioners' money that she is supposed to deliver, puts her son in a boarding home, buys an old car to make a dash for West Berlin and gets ready to escape her home, her life, and her poverty. At this point, the story has shifted gears as it heads into a narrative warp that signals a surprise ending. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maria Chwalibog, Boguslaw Linda, (more)
- 1980
Talented Polish director Agnieszka Holland who would be better known in later years because of her films like Europa, Europa (1991) or some of her American works like Washington Square (1997), hits the mark early and again with this ostensible story about provincial actors in Poland. In reality, the comedy-drama can be read as a commentary on the contemporary Polish scene in politics and society. The story begins as a savvy director arrives in a small town to put on a stage play. His leading man is filled with insecurities and goes beyond the confines of his lead role to expand his part, restore his cut lines, and generally outdo himself while taking on some of everyone else's job, including the director's. No one wants to lose him because of his drawing power, and the director is caught in a bind. At the same time, the lead actor's wife is slowly losing her chances at success, being relegated to a much lesser position in the troupe. This fine comedy won the Fipresci award at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halina Labonarska, Tadeusz Huk, (more)
- 1979
Jerzy Michalowski is a journalist who has been licensed by the Polish State to travel abroad. He researches stories and at the same time represents the country in journalistic circles. When, on a foreign broadcast, he displays a much too-thorough knowledge of the actual state of affairs inside Poland, the authorities decide to punish him by inexorably withdrawing his privileges one by one, without any explanation. Each reduction in privileges brings this once-proud man's estate lower, and the intervals between them are great enough for him to think that his punishment has reached it's culmination...until the next. This unusual and politically significant Polish film follows director Andrzej Wajda's Men of Marble in indicting abuses of power by the state, and was made shortly before the military took control of the government. Wajda says "I worked on this film in a blind rage..." ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Ewa Dalkowska, (more)
- 1977
In this comedy, a middle-aged couple, unable to have a child, desperately want to adopt one. Their solution is to find an unwed mother who wants a caring home for her child, and for the infertile wife to fake a pregnancy of her own, timed to match that of the unwed girl. The fat is in the fan when the girl gives birth but decides to keep her baby. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1977
These three films by young directors follow the adventures of two young aspiring film stars, Pawel and Anka. The first "Anka," (Daria Trafankowska) shows her as a slightly overweight girl, just graduating from school, making plans to attend her first screen tests. She has an exploitative affair with a boy during the summer holiday. The story of "Pawel" shows a stage-struck youth, just entering adulthood, who has a brief affair with a mature woman. He is outraged when she will not leave her husband and child for him. In "Anka and Pawel," the two meet at the film try-outs, and become finalists together. They also have a brief affair. However, when Anka uses her experiences with him as the basis for a requested improvisational scene, Pawel furiously flees and rides around the countryside sulking. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Andrzej Pieczynski
The postwar history of Poland is seen through the experiences of a succession of directors of a large industrial plant. The movie is based on a popular television mini-series, Managers. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Franciszek Pieczka, Mariusz Dmochowski, (more)
- 1973
Illuminacja follows the education of a young man from his entry into college to his final achievement of a doctorate. Paralleling his outer education, his inner education about life, family, sexuality and spiritual values is revealed. By the time he achieves his doctorate, he has been told that he has a life-shortening heart disease. However, because of his two-fold education, he is fulfilled in what he has done and is not much distressed. This Polish film, by the notable director Krzysztof Zanussi, won many awards at Italian film festivals. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
