Slavic Review
In a single, clearly written monograph, Janina Falkowska manages both to illuminate many critical aspects of the construction and reception of Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajdas later political cinema and to provide an impressive model of the application of Mikhail Bakhjtins(and Valentin Voloshinovs) concepts of dialogism to film criticism. The book is accessible to and ought to be appreciated by a broad spectrum of readers-from those interested in Polish film and the interaction between politics and culture in formerly communist eastern Europe to those attracted by questions involving film structure and reception theory.
Book Description
Andrzej Wajda is considered one of Polands - many would say of the worlds - greatest film directors. During the thirty-five years of his activities in film, theater or television, his work, whether strong or weak, always arouses strong emotions and provokes intense debates in the media. His films deal with historical and political issues concerning Polish society, the fate of Poland, its glorification and its restoration; the essence of the Polish character and the nature of political power. Controversial, painful, stimulating and cinematically beautiful, they never fail to fully engage the spectator. This is particularly true for his major political films, which form the basis of this study. Applying Bakhtins concept of dialogism, the author shows how a creative interaction between the image on the screen and the viewer is established through Wajdas films. At the same time, she offers a detailed analysis of the historical events leading up to the collapse of the Socialist system in Poland.
