55TH KFF - REVIEWS OF FOUR ANIMATED FILMS FROM THE POLISH COMPETITION
Anna Taszycka reviews four animated films included in the Polish Competition of th 55th Krakow Film Festival: "A documentary film" by Marcin Podolec, "Signum" by Witold Gierszm "A Blue Room" by Tomasz Siwiński and "Domestication" by Sylwia Gaweł.
Domestication, dir. Sylwia Gaweł
In Domestication, an animation by Sylwia Gaweł, we find ourselves in a flat filled with terrariums and exotic plants, whose owner keeps expanding his carefully kept collection. A new acquisition arrives: a tiny caiman eagerly lands on the hand of his new owner. A slow process of domestication begins. This time, however, it will be particularly difficult…
It would be hard to talk about Domestication only from the point of view of its narrative, since the film’s greatest value lies in its visual beauty. The author transports us to a world known from the paintings of Henri Rousseau, filling tight frames with exquisite plants and exotic animals. Among the carefully arranged compositions there is also a man, the owner, who created this exotic kingdom. Like in Rousseau’s paintings, beautifully composed images are also saturated with latent anxiety and fear. When the lights go out, the blackness further increases the sense of danger. There are eyes shining in the darkness, no one know what is lurking in the dark. Mysterious noises and animal sounds contribute to the building tension. Domestication is a beautifully told story with a hidden message about human nature.
Signum, dir. Witold Giersz
Witold Giersz is a prominent figure in Polish animated film. Since his debut The Mystery of the Old Castle in 1956, he directed dozens of films that remain popular among generations of viewers. In his latest film, Giersz takes us to prehistoric times. We find ourselves in one of the caves that used to be inhabited by men: Lascaux, Altamira, Teruel, or Valtorta. We slowly descend into the world of stalactites and stalagmites to admire cave paintings made by our ancestors. A shape of a human hand preserved in the stone is one of the first autographs in history, a unique signature on the artist’s masterpiece. We go deeper into the case, seeing scenes of hunting, fleeing, battles, and dancing: the day-to-day life of prehistoric people. The expressive music by Krzesimir Dębski complements the images on the screen. Watching Signum one could ask what urged people throughout history to create art. Why do we crave not only our daily bread, but also symbolic roses?
The author also decided to include a self-referential gesture: not only does he reveal his presence on the screen, but he also gives us a peek of the behind the scenes, with an animated figure jumping from page to page. The ending of the film brings us back to wall paintings. The history makes a full circle. Watching graffiti on the streets of Warsaw another question comes to mind: did things really change so much since the Lascaux paintings were created?
A Blue Room, dir. Tomasz Siwiński
The reality of the protagonist, a solitary man, is limited to the four walls of the blue room referenced in the film’s title. The man is trapped in the room; he is incapable of getting out, even though he would very much want to do so. Sometimes he hears the voices of his family – his wife and son. Other times, we hear his own. His only connection with reality is a small window, through which he can observe the images changing outside. It seems, however, that the window does not in fact lead to the outside world, but rather shows what is happening inside of the character’s mind. Sometimes, the view outside the window brings pleasant memories (his family); at times, it confronts the man with the past (the look-alike); other times, it brings humiliation (public nudity) or even fear (cannibalism). The images outside the window appear in different configurations, with varying speeds, sizes, and colours. The blue of the room, instead of being soothing, increases the man’s feelings of confusion and isolation. Wojciech Jerzy Has, a film director, when asked once about the connection between his films and reality answered briefly: “There are flashes”. The experience of the protagonist in Niebieski pokój is similar: the reality is merely a flash, a glimmer, an interruption in his lonely, isolated everyday life. The room becomes a metaphor for illness or loneliness. Fortunately, Siwiński avoids giving a straightforward answer about what is really happening to the man; each viewer must find his or her own answer. This individual search is the most powerful feature of this ambiguous, philosophical film.
A documentary film, dir. Marcin Podolec
Dokument is a 7-minute short film directed by Marcin Podolec. This story of Antoni, an elderly man from Jarosław, has everything that one would expect from a documentary: a memorable protagonist and a story of his life brought to screen. However, we are taken by surprise when it turns out that Dokument is not a standard documentary, but… an animation. An animation that, to certain extent, imitates a documentary: it presents the life of the protagonist, whose photographs complement the simplified, animated strokes. Another interesting feature is the comic book-like narrative used in the film, in the form of captions and speech balloons. They allow the protagonist to talk about his life, while depriving him of his voice – we never hear him speak, and the only contact that he can make with the viewer is through the captions. This brings to mind the eternal question of whether art in general, and film in particular, are capable of reproducing reality. The tension existing between the real protagonist (there is also the question of autobiographical motifs) and the manner, at times somewhat surreal, in which the story is told, is present throughout the duration of the film. The animation also includes references to other films (American Beauty) and directors (Brian De Palma). Dokument is a compelling attempt at depicting reality through unusual means.
Anna Taszycka