POLE TO POLE : ‘Solidarity, Solidarity’ by A.Wajda, K.Zanussi, R.Glinski, et al [7/10]

Published on: December 3rd, 2005

Introduction (from Cottbus Film Festival catalogue)
   The birth of [free Polish trade-union] Solidarnosc (Solidarity) in August 1980 and the further development of that great social movement have enduringly changed the face of Europe. This story and its protagonists are what amount to the legend of Solidarnosc – stuff enough for any number of films.
   And so it is hardly surprising that the 25th anniversary of Solidarnosc inspired the project of a cinematic tour de force … referring to the historical events and at the same time reflecting upon them from a contemporary perspective.
   It was the famous director Andrzej Wajda who suggested that the film should amount to a joint statement by Polish filmmakers. His idea fired the imagination of 13 outstanding directors of all generations. … Save for a maximum runtime of ten minutes, no stipulations were made in regard to content or form.

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The films

1. Sushi [8/10] : Juliusz MACHULSKI
Clever scheduling by the project's producers: the opener is easily one of the best of the bunch. Gets the project off to a bang on jauntily satirical and unexpectedly self-referential (even Charlie Kaufmanish) note. A successful TV company hears about the Solidarity, Solidarity project and the cocksure middle-aged boss (Marek Kondrat, from The Third) reckons they should get involved – for prestige if not money ("they pay peanuts… It won't be a masterpiece.") His underlings aren't sure – did Solidarity really make any difference? The boss shows them – and us – the answer. Laugh-out-loud funny, as befits Poland's prime source of spoofy thrillers etc. You don't have to be Polish to get the gag here – one-joke stuff, perhaps, but it's a very good joke.

2. A Sack [6/10] : Torba : Andrzej JAKIMOWSKI
Three-handed drama on a train adheres more to what you expect from such portmanteau projects, especially those on political theme. More oblique treatment of the Solidarity issue, taking a historical approach – we're heading towards Gdansk, it's summer 1980, the secret police are in hot pursuit of dissidents. Nicely atmospheric and artily shot, pleasingly ironic "kick" at the end, captures the feel of the times, but is perhaps a little undercooked as a drama.

3. Boards [8/10] : Tablice : Jerzy DOMARADZKI
If the first episode went for the funny-bone, Domaradzki successfully targets the tearducts. Blends archive footage and recreations in skilful fashion to tell the story of the two plywood boards which were painted and hung on the Gdansk shipyard gates, broadcasting the strikers' 21 demands. Shades of Martin Luther nailing his famed "95 theses" to the Wittenberg church door. Rousing, inspirational stuff – history-in-the-making, vibrant and exciting. First appearance of the Pope (he's among the religious icons hanging on the gates, which were to become iconic themselves) and of Lech Walesa in Solidarity, Solidarity – but by no means the last for either.

4. Big Dipper [6/10] : Wielki woz : Jan Jakub KOLSKI
Another so-so piece of 'straight' fiction, albeit here with a heavily allegorial subtext. In summer 1980, three Polish cave-explorers are trapped while holidaying in Italy. As the rescuers attempt to dig them out, the three start discussing current events back in their home country. One has broadly pro-Solidarity motives; another is a proto-capitalist; a third is the son of a Communist official. They soon come to blows. Wears its intentions rather baldly on its sleeve ("We're like our entire Poland!") but redeems itself with nice, low-key climactic shot of a certain constellation – followed by wordless coda showing the real-life cavers as they now are.

5. Ballpen [7/10] : Dlugopis : Piotr TRZASKALSKI
As wry, delightful and compact as Trzaskalski's feature-film Edi, a proper little 'tale of the unexpected' which will, unlike the other episodes, actually play better for foreign audiences: alert Polish viewers will probably spot the final twist/gag a long way off. In a backwater town, a henpecked middle-aged man spends his time making outsize ball-point pens; his wife disapproves, reaching the end of her patience as she struggles to make ends meet. But fate brings a deliciously unexpected windfall… Five episodes down, and the standard is clearly pretty high – Ballpen being perhaps the best 'straight' short of the lot.

6. Petrol : [5/10] : Benzin : Filip BAJON
One of the more disposable episodes – and we're back on a 1980 train yet again. Two youngish men fall to talking as their train approaches Gdansk, where events are rapidly reaching fever pitch. But why is one of them carrying a jerry-can of petrol. Another 'twist in the tale' affair, but rather fuzzier and more ambitious than Trzaskalski's version. Period detail of hair and clothes is a delight; metaphysical discussion between the two chaps soon becomes a touch verbose. Muzak-ish score doesn't help.

7. Tanks : [6/10] : Czolgi : Krzysztof ZANUSSI
From the director widely regarded as the most intellectual in Poland – and perhaps the whole of Europe – this pair of droll anecdotes, while amusing, is perhaps a minor letdown. Zanussi himself is charm personified as he recalls difficulties he had while filming papal biopic From a Far Country during those febrile days of 1980. Captures the spirit of the time quite well, as what's described (in a news report) as "Poland's perilous balancing act" becomes impossible to maintain.

8. Landscape : [8/10] : Krajobraz : Robert GLINSKI
On reflection, the most notable of the 13 episodes: if you were a grant-awarding body and had to give just one director funds to make a feature, Glinski (whose Hi, Teresa attracted favourable reaction on the festival circuit a couple of years back) would probably be the one. Near-wordless, it's an impressionistic meander/wander round the Gdansk shipyards as they now are: a home for flora and fauna, and more a focus of tourism than of heavy industry. Japanese visitors are guided through various historic sites, and the camera glides along with them. Enigmatic and elegaic, but makes its points with impressive force and economy. A "lingerer."

9. What Happened to Solidarity? : [7/10] : Co sie stalo z nasza Solidarnoscia? : Ryszard BUGAJSKI
In another nifty scheduling decision, a jarringly effective change of pace as Bugajski delivers a raucous pop/rock video. Star of the show is 1970s folkie-guitarist Markowski, who we glimpse in archive footage. Older, hairier and greyer of beard, he marches towards us flanked by a pair of twentyish rappers, delivering a breakneck history-lesson-cum-savage-indictment of Solidarity's failings and the problems of modern Poland. "Switon, Gwiazda, Borusewicz," he sings, "a strong opposition. Anna Walentynowicz – a truth coalition!" Not exactly Eurovision fare – and all the more bracing for that. Despite the constraints of the format, Bugajski imparts more solid information about Solidarity than any of the other directors on this project. Goes on a bit, but hits the target in energising style.

10. Do You Know What? : [5/10] : I wie pan co? : Jacek BROMSKI
Another dispensible, conventional, two-handed talkfest: pro-Solidarity bloke, now adapting to EU-member Poland's embrace of capitalism, seeks a loan for some business project. He has a crucial interview with some financial bigwig who'll make the decision – and the latter turns out to be a former government official who put the applicant in jail decades before. They discuss the pros and cons of Solidarity and its aftermath. Not unrevealing, and with a nice line in acidic irony – but ultimately feels like the first act of a feature rather than a coherent, stand-on-its-own short.

11. A Short History of a Board : [6/10] : Krotka historia pewnej tablicy : Feliks FALK
Fanciful story of one of the original plywood boards onto which the famed Solidarity logo was painted; the board's progress mirrors that of Poland as a whole – culminating in the brave new era of anything-goes capitalism. Like chapter ten, does end rather abruptly – but the conclusion does tie in with Falk's thesis, on reflection. Perhaps the most innovative episode in visual terms – heavy-contrast black and white is the colour-palette, with splashes of red; Falk largely relies on manipulated stills: inventive and eyecatching, if ultimately a touch inconsequential.

12. The Man of Hope : [6/10] : Czlowiek z nadziei : Andrzej WAJDA
Still the biggest name in Polish cinema and apparently the brains behind this project. Wajda himself appears in his own segment alongside Jerzy Radziwilowicz and Krystyna Janda, stars of his 1981 classic Man of Iron which lightly fictionalised the Solidarity summer. They debate those days and watch clips from the film – interesting enough on its own, but Lech Walesa himself is also in the theatre and the four engage in good-natured debate. Nothing remarkable in terms of film-making, but fascinating to see and hear. Should have been the last episode. But…

13. Father : [5/10] : Ojciec : Malgorzata SZUMOWSKA
Perhaps the least memorable or effective of the 13 episodes: doubly unfortunate and disappointing, as it's the only one by a female director and is for some reason placed right at the very end. A young woman remembers her childhood, and how her father's support for Solidarity resulted in all manner of trouble. Has an engagingly low-key autobiographical feel, but really tries to cover too much ground – structure feels wrong for a short film. Uninspired score and tint-heavy cinematography are also negatives.

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Conclusion
It's an unwritten rule of film criticism that any movie made up of different episodes – a compilation or "portmanteau" project – must be referred to at some point in the review as a "curate's egg", i.e. some bits good, others less so. Solidarity Solidarity is no exception, but the general level of achievement is impressive, with at least five episodes (Machulski, Glinski, Trzaskalski, Bugajski and Domaradzki) more than good enough to stand on their own merits and be shown at film-festivals etc. Added together, we get a real feel for Solidarity's birth, struggles and consequences – the project is more than the sum of its impressive parts, and there's thankfully little whiff of government-sponsored worthiness is.

The historic nature of the material demands a big canvas, but even so the producers might profitably have trimmed several sections (Bajon, Bromski, Szumowska) to bring the running-time down to a more manageable 90 minutes or so – although it would have been nice to have seen Wojciech Smarowski (whose The Wedding is one of the most impressive Polish features for several years) taking part. As it is, Solidarity Solidarity deserves wide exposure – non-Poles will find an awful lot to like and learn about here, although you probably have to be Polish yourself to appreciate all the jokes, nuances and references. Given the title and the theme, meanwhile, there's perhaps an irony in the fact that the thirteen directors worked separately on their projects rather than together: though by appearing under the same 'flag', as it were, perhaps indicates solidarity of only a slightly different kind…

Neil Young
3rd December, 2005

SOLIDARITY, SOLIDARITY : [7/10] : Poland 2005
producers : Michal KWIECINSKI, Dariusz JABLONSKI
directors : Juliusz MACHULSKI, Andrzej JAKIMOWSKI, Jan Jakub KOLSKI, Piotr TRZASKALSKI, Filip BAJON, Krzysztof ZANUSSI, Robert GLINSKI, Ryszard BUGAJSKI, Feliks FALK, Andrzej WAJDA, Malgorzata SZUMOWSKA
113 mins (timed)
seen on DVD at home in Sunderland (UK), 3rd December 2005 – with thanks to Aleksandra Biernacka. (Seen as a direct result of the film's screening at the Cottbus Film Festival)