POLISH FILM CLUB 'OKO'

Something to keep you busy while OKO is on hiatus till January - sorry, couldn't find any of them with English subtitles; if you know about a copy with subtitles, let me know.. Delightful young film on YouTube, cut and pasted in 9 pieces. How is it Polish?  Well, it isn't, except for the Polish text read over the film.  But it's quite Slavic, and it could happen in Poland or anywhere - quite a gem.  Enjoy it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFi5HtNKB5Q The Polish Book Club in Seattle this coming Saturday is doing a book by K. Kutz 'Piata Strona Swiata' ('The Fifth Corner of the World). While at it, watch this Silesian wonder, named 'Angelus' by Lech Majewski, a metaphysical comedy from Slask. I grew up there: in Myslowice, at the very triangle of three emperors.  My sister had a 'dzialke'-garden right at the triangle... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zymTi-foeEs&feature=related

It's a mystery to me who were the people who voted for Krauze's 'Debt', a close runner up for October OKO film, which consequently got scheduled for November meeting.  In private conversations I was told by several people who regularly come to OKO screenings that they are going to skip it, as it's too scary to watch on November evening, they do not wish to squirm before driving home at night.  Frankly, for the very same reason I was planning to bring a book and not to watch it myself (and view this acclaimed movie on some sunny day later). I'm still going to bring 'Debt' on November 17th OKO Film Club, in case the mystery voters show up, but  I'm also going to bring a second film, ironic comedy titled 'Wedding" (Dir. Wojciech Smarzowski, 2004), and let whoever comes decide which film to watch. Wojnar is a wealthy man who is marrying off his beautiful daughter Kasia, in a small town in present day Poland. Wojnar had to bribe the groom wit...

OCTOBER FILM: 10/20  Wed. 7:30 PM THE PROMISED LAND Dir. Andrzej Wajda, 1975 The film won October poll narrowly by one vote, whiff!  My own personal preference, so I'm quite happy about it. The total vote was 18: • Maids of Wilko - 4 votes • The promised Land - 7 votes • The Debt - 6 votes • The White Soup - 0 votes • (Unspecified) Other - 1 vote Based on a novel by Wladyslaw Reymont (1924 Nobel Prize for Literature for Chlopi ), the film is set in the industrial city of Lodz and tells the story of a Pole, a German, and a Jew struggling to build a factory in the raw world of 19th century capitalism.  Wajda presents a shocking image of the city, with its dirty and dangerous factories and ostentatiously opulent residences devoid of taste and culture.  The film follows in the footsteps of Charles Dickens, Emile Zola and Maxim Gorky, who gave testimony of social protest. Starring:  Daniel Olbrychski, Wojciech Pszoniak, Andrzej Seweryn, Anna Nehre...