Śmierć prezydenta
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Śmierć prezydenta |
| Country of production | Poland |
| original language | Polish |
| Publishing year | 1977 |
| length | 144 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Jerzy Kawalerowicz |
| script | Jerzy Kawalerowicz Bolesław Michałek |
| music | Adam Walaciński |
| camera |
Jerzy Lukaszewicz Witold Sobociński |
| cut | Wiesława Otocka |
| occupation | |
| |
Śmierć prezydenta (German: The Death of the President ) is a Polish historical film from 1977. Directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz , who also wrote the script together with Bolesław Michałek . The film isaboutthe assassination of the first Polish President, Gabriel Narutowicz , in 1922. Śmierć prezydenta was screened at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 1978.
action
The plot of the film takes place after the First World War , when Poland became an independent nation again. The returning from exile in Switzerland Professor Gabriel Narutowicz is of a world characterized by conflict between the Polish nationalists and various minority National Assembly for the first president appointed. A few days after his election , a fanatical nationalist murdered him while opening an art exhibition. The film is based on the story of the assassin Eligiusz Niewiadomski during his trial, into which scenes from the development towards the assassination have been cut.
background
Śmierć prezydenta was produced by the companies Zespół Filmowy “Kadr” and Film Polski . The film premiered in Poland on October 10, 1977. On July 21, 1979 it was broadcast on Spanish television. The film ran in the competition of the Berlinale in February 1978, but could not win the Golden Bear. Jerzy Kawalerowicz received the Silver Bear for an outstanding artistic achievement for his complete works. He also received the Special Jury Prize at the Polish Film Festival Gdynia in 1977, where Jerzy Błaszyński was also awarded for the best sound.
criticism
In relation to the film, AR Teschner was primarily concerned with the distance to the real historical events. He summarizes: "Jerzy Kawalerowicz is known for his attention to detail, and in Death of a President (1977) the textures are so clear that a casual viewer ignorant of cinema history might be forgiven for assuming it was a contemporary biography, despite its release more than half a century after these events, of Gabriel Narutowicz, the first president-elect of the Second Polish Republic, who served only a few days before his assassination in 1922. "He described the technical and equipment decisions of the director as follows:" At no time do we see shots that feel ungrounded; the hand-held camera adds immediacy and weight. The attention to incidental details like the winter clothing, the withered stone streets, and the period furniture cement us at the moment. Even the choice of film is significant– when talking about his lauded Mother Joan of the Angels Kawalerowicz said that he couldn't “… imagine this film in color. Color lends a certain banality. " This supposed banality of color, used here, allows the film to document the resonance of the period better than reconstructive wide shots or special effects could have done. "
Web links
- Śmierć prezydenta in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- AR Teschner: Death of a President (Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1977) , on sensesofcinema.com.