 |
Siberian Lady Macbeth
|
Love Film
Unrated
1970, Kino
Siberian Lady Macbeth
Unrated
1962, Kino
For Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda and Hungarian filmmaker István Szabó, present-day concerns in Eastern Europe always reflect the past. The legacy of two world wars and postwar Soviet domination weigh heavily in their storytelling. The horrors of the adjacent Bosnian war and the ongoing struggles of post-Communist governments strengthen Eastern Europe's ties to its history.
In Love Film, Szabó uses the lifelong romance between Kata (Judit Halász) and Jansci (András Bálint) as the context for a story about Hungary before and after World War II and its failed 1956 rebellion against the Soviet Union. Told through a series of flashbacks and matter-of-fact narration, Love Film is the most intimate of Szabó's films.
Twenty-two years after its initial release, Love Film has the look of a history lesson. Still, the sense of regret between the adult Kata and Jansci feels believable. Its urban setting of narrow Budapest streets and rundown apartment buildings gives the film a sense of despair.
Sunshine, Szabó's last film to be released in the United States, a tale that spans 100 years and four generations of a Hungarian family, reveals the commercial constraints of Eastern European filmmakers. Basically, Szabó has to make a film with recognized actors and plenty of spectacles if he wants it to be seen by Western audiences. Sunshine is an epic, like many of Szabo's films (Mephisto, Colonel Redl and Hanussen), but Love Film wisely focuses on one chapter in Hungarian history. By concentrating on its two lifelong sweethearts, Love Film allows its human emotions to take priority.
During a career spanning 40 features and 30 stage productions, serving as a mentor to Polish filmmakers Roman Polanski, Krzystof Kieslowski and Agnieszka Holland, director Andrzej Wajda continued to question long-standing customs, reopen old wounds and address uncomfortable topics.
Wajda is the undisputed father of modern Polish cinema. In the mid-1950s, Wajda's films brought postwar Polish cinema international acclaim and he single-handedly created what became known as the Polish School of filmmaking.
Recently, when Wajda received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement, it was said: "Wajda belongs to Poland, but his films are part of the cultural treasure of all mankind."
Siberian Lady Macbeth, an adaptation of Nikolay Leskov's Russian reworking of Shakespeare's tragedy, is the least romantic of Wajda's films. In fact, in the hands of Katerina (Olivera Markovic), the film's central character, love becomes a destructive force.
Katerina is the childless and unhappy wife of a merchant, in a rural Russian village. Everything changes after she seduces Sergei Ljuba Tadic), a vagabond peasant who takes a job working for her coarse father-in-law. Before long, their affair leads to murderous consequences.
Wajda's precise photography takes full advantage of the film's solemn historical setting. Still, Markovic's tense performance is the highlight of the psychological drama. When she begins to lick the imagined blood off her hands, her anguish grows to an unsettling intensity. In fact, Markovic's believability prevents Siberian Lady Macbeth's moralistic conclusion from becoming overly melodramatic.
Wajda's films are a chronicle of Polish society and history. Szabo's work does the same for Hungary, unveiling the truths of his country's totalitarian past with stories of guilt and betrayal. Political censorship was a constant battle for Szabo and Wajda. The primary obstacle today is the commercial restraints brought on by the Hollywood's ever-growing influence. It's been said that the days of the Eastern European art cinema are over, or at the very least numbered. I believe Wajda and Szabo will prove these pessimists wrong.
Love Film grade: B.
Siberian Lady Macbeth grade: A.
And the rest
New cast and crew interviews, a feature explaining its special effects and additional film footage are the highlights Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan -- The Director's Edition (Paramount). Die-hard Trekkers will take pleasure in the special features. For the rest of us, this dazzling DVD version is a reminder that director Nicholas Meyer's simply told adventure is the best of the nine Star Trek movies.
Printer-friendly version
