già il
grande Wojciech Has, con Petla, aveva messo al
centro un uomo alcolista come pochi, Wojciech Smarzowski fa lo stesso, in
un film che fa soffrire come pochi altri film, senza scorciatoie e sorrisi.
Robert Wieckiewicz, attore bravissimo (come tutti,
d'altronde), già Walesa nel
film di Andrzej Wajda, è il protagonista del film, intellettuale di
successo col vizio del bere.
sta in un
ospedale per alcolizzati, e di ciascuno dei colleghi d'ospedale conosceremo la
storia.
di
Wojciech Smarzowski non si sa praticamente niente in Italia, come del cinema
polacco, uno dei più vivi d'Europa.
meno male
che c'è internet (e i sottotitoli, sempre siano lodati quei pazzi che li fanno).
cercate
questo film, soffrirete, ma ne vale la pena.
Wojciech
Smarzowski fa Cinema, segnatevi il nome, se vi volete bene.
buone
visioni - Ismaele
The films from Polish filmmaker Wojciech Smarzowski are
always interesting to follow, no matter what theme he chooses – whether the
dark crime thriller of “The Dark House”, the humorous drama of “The Wedding”,
the coldness of war in “Rose”, or the severe accusations of corruption and
power abuse made by Polish police in “Traffic Department” – each of them had
something valuable to say in its harshness and objective rawness. “Pod Mocnym
Aniolem” (translated “The Mighty Angel”) is another powerful drama focused on
alcoholism and based on Jerzy Pilch’s successful fourth novel with the same
title. The film follows Jerzy (Robert Wieckiewicz), an intelligent and talented
writer who can’t keep off from the bottles of vodka, even doing frequent
treatments in a rehabilitation house and attending group sessions. Evincing a
corrosive sense of humor, his denial takes him to a cynicism and to a spiral of
degradation that not even the woman of his life is capable to bear. He wanders
and writes in a sort of limbo state where reality and imagination interweave.
We are taken through the stories told by other alcoholics, but also to Jerzy’s
memories of his drunken father. Horrible images haunt us, depicting
embarrassing situations, deliriums, vomiting, and crazy hangovers. It’s a sad
film, about suffering, about loss, about fate… Its finale is simply
devastating, even cruel. I was touched in two ways – one given the last hope
sought by Jerzy, and the other through the creepy loneliness that can ruin
everything again. Although with a slow-burning start, “Pod Mocnym Aniolem” won
me over.
…The Mighty Angel is not
an extended sermon, it’s far more subtle and human than that. Director Wojtek
Smarzowski has a keen eye for detail, for the subtle shifts in tone that mark
human conversations when the subjects are trying to resist cynicism and cling
to hope and compassion. This is alcoholism set within the much broader and more
complex issue of heavy social drinking, which is a problem many are unwilling
to discuss, not just in Europe, but in countries around the world.
The Mighty Angel is also a visually impressive film.
Hand-held GoPro (point of view) shots and closed circuit video feeds are mixed
with more conventional cinematic techniques to create a shifting range of
perspectives. The timeline of the film often shifts, so we are often not sure
at what point in the story we are, or whether the conversation is real, imagined,
or reconstrucated from the drunk’s fragmented memories.
The Mighty Angel is a stark, harrowing and thoroughly
intelligent look at both alcoholism and the all-pervasive place of alcohol in
society. Brilliantly directed and anchored by a remarkable lead performance,
The Mighty Angel is essential viewing – highly recommended.
Polish cinephiles await Wojtek Smarzowski’s every film as
impatiently as cinephiles in the USA wait for, let’s say, Quentin Tarantino’s
pictures. Smarzowski is now a trademark of Polish quality cinema that can
proudly be exported. He is an auteur. Surprisingly enough, after his latest
success with Traffic Department (2013),
his newest film The Mighty Angel (2014), an
adaptation of a Jerzy Pilch novel, has been met with cold indifference and at
times strong revulsion. But while Smarzowski’s newest production is yet another
brilliant (yes, brilliant) piece of cinema, the reasons why it is criticised
shed some light both on society’s attitude towards alcoholism and on the way in
which we idealize the role of director in the collective art of filmmaking.
Between Wojciech Jerzy Has’ The Noose (1957) and The Mighty Angel, there was no remarkable film
produced in Poland that tackled alcoholism in a comprehensive way. Smarzowski
in his trademark sensory way reveals the worst about the disease: numerous
alcoholics flood each scene with rivers of cheap spirits, vomit, urine and
desperation. Rare glimpses of “normal life” – where love triumphs and people
are pretty and kind – are continuously overpowered by the dark ugliness of poor
living conditions and the even poorer shape of human morale. Despite being a
famous writer who supposedly finds the love of his life, protagonist Jerzy is
repeatedly hospitalised due to excessive drinking. Each of Jerzy’s detoxifying
visits is yet another visit that should – one day – cure him completely.
Certainly, refined aesthetes will shy away from almost every scene exposing the
interiors of alcoholics’ stomachs. And that seems to be the problem…
I just watched this move today. Like all movies directed by
Smarzowski this is not Hollywood-like story. A story about real problem in our
life - alcohol. If you ever get wasted, if you ever had hangover and if you
ever had black out or hunger for drinking another shot - you would not be
satisfied after watching it. It is not a romantic story about drinking problems
like "When a Man Loves a Woman". It is funny at first but then you
realize that you might behave the same when you drunk - then it's not funny any
more. No-one laughed at the end of this movie. My wife even wanted to leave cinema
without watching it till the end. But don't get me wrong- it's a great movie.
It's comparable to "Requiem For A Dream" but without such great
music. That's why I gave it a nine.
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento