Any good Polish films to watch?

Here are some older threads, from this forum, with recommendations:

https://polishforums.com/archives/2005-2009/life/see-movies-18357/

https://polishforums.com/life/movies-english-subtitles-21467/

If you browse the Polish Culture section, maybe you'll find more threads.

Anyone seen "Crows " ?

movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9B04E5DF1E39F932A35750C0A960958260

Its on locally, well, if you live in the Highlands.
Tilda Swinton ( she was in Narnia ) has done up a disused hall and is running a mini festival of film.
Entrance is £3 or free if you bring some home baking.

The Dekalog series is astounding! That's the only Polish cinema I've experienced so far but I strongly recommend it.

Hm... maybe I should have read the entire thread first.

They had "lejdis" on in the IFI in Dublin, it was alright but wouldnt have bothered with it if it was in english. Just like satc but po polsku.

As for the classics, I would recommend films by Wojciech Jerzy Has:

-The Saragossa Manuscript (Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie); his most famous one, based on the novel by count Potocki. Recently it has been remastered and released on DVD by Martin Scorsese's company. As far as I know the DVD is not available in Poland though (!)

-The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (Sanatorium pod klepsydrą); a surrealist one, my personal favourite

-The Noose (Pętla) and One Room Tenants (Wspolny pokoj); released on DVD, English subtitles

Andrzej Munk. He is most famous for his black comedies: Bad Luck (Zezowate szczescie) or Heroism (Eroica).

When it comes to newer films, check out Wesele (The Wedding) by Wojciech Smarzowski. If you are into art cinema you might like Lech Majewski's Angelus or The Garden of Earthly Delights (Ogrod rozkoszy ziemskich).

Also, Krystof Kieslowski (who directed Dekolog), has a ton of fantastic movies. Many of them are in French but you can't help feeling Poland flow through them. The best are;

The Three Colours Trilogy (Blue, White, and Red)

The Double Life of Veronique.

They are all just terrific.

Hi,

If you like Action | Crime movies I recomended "Psy" and "Psy: Otatnia Krew" directed by Wladyslaw Pasikowski (they are on IMDB). Classical polish movies. You can watch also "Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie" (The Saragossa Manuscript) the greatest and very freeq movies of Wojciech Has - find it on IMDB.

--
Best regards
Ernest

Eroica, CK Dezerterzy, In desert and wilderness, Janosik, On the banks of the Nieman,...

I recently saw a good movie directed by Poles: the Wachowski brothers 'V For Vendetta'...it concerned criminal elements in the UK, but had a universal message.

"Dzien Swira" is the best film ever, but unfortunately to understand and get it completely you have to be a Pole.

For girls I recommend "Teraz albo nigdy!". Nice film with good actors.

"Sami Swoi" that's classic!

youtube.com/watch?v=CTJhyOLMNQI
a good collection of clips here. The last one is funny, to jest kurwa jasny? LOL It's the way he says it.

Katyn is quite good as is General Nil, a relatively recent release...stay away from the recent Polish romantic comedies, even with what Poles consider to be a good cast they are pathetic and stick to the same pretentious and silly formula (Tylko Mnie Kochaj, etc)

I think I'll watch that film over the weekend, Chłopaki nie Płaczą. Wróć, LOL!

Yes, there is a nice film about the stealing of a Leonardo da Vinci painting from a Krakow museum.

I'm not sure about the exact title, i googled but i only found "The Da Vinci Code" which is another film, the correct title could be "vinci vinci" or something. Anyone?

vinci.filmweb.pl
imdb.com/title/tt0425622/
imdb.com/name/nm0532702/

peter_olsztyn

Thanks Peter!
I like this movie because it is fast (sometimes a bit unrealistic but who cares), it's got a sens of humour and you see nice shots of Krakow. :)

My gf's friend has made a film so he can get into Lodz film school. It looks quite good, i have a part as a Gangster's Bodyguard. I get killed after about 5 mins of the film :)

I don't know if this is a good film as I haven't watched it yet but I like the topic so I imagine so.

Demony Wojny Wg Goi (The Demons of War according to Goi).

Crow might like it as it concerns the Polish regiment in IFOR, a large peacekeeping force in Bosnia in 1996. The film itself came out in 1998.

I'm off to watch it :)

..according to Goya :-)

Nice, heartwarming low-budget film, that I recommend, is "Sztuczki" (Tricks) -
imdb.com/title/tt1094278

It was most awarded Polish film of recent years, also on foreign festivals.

According to Goya, oops! It was alright, nothing special. I liked the fact that it showed the linguistic side of high-level soldiers.

I can also recommend a 1971 comedy "Nie lubię poniedziałku" (I don't like Monday) imdb.com/title/tt0067484
It's a light and dynamic bunch of intersecting stories of several people during one day in Warsaw. It captures a live in Poland in the 60s, but is less hermetic (and less sarcastic), than "Miś" or "Co mi zrobisz, jak mnie złapiesz" (which are classic lampoons of a life in communist times, but probably lose half of humour for a viewer, who doesn't know, what communism looked like).

i recommend films from "generation 2000" project.

My favourite is "inferno" based on true story

tvp.pl/filmoteka/film-fabularny/inferno/wideo/inferno/625137

(whole film on tvp.pl website)

and "Dług" (Debt) one of the best films of tha last years.

Dzień wielkiej ryby

It's about a fisherman who returns to the scene of his first love affair on the Bug river (I think) after a life-long obsesssion with catching the big fish.

Not to give anything away, it's all metaphorical (not surprising, as that's Polish cinema in a nutshell, and I'm a big fan)

If you live in New York, you can go to the New York Polish Film Festival. It runs from Fri. 30 April to Wed. 05 May.

Here's the link: nypff.com/download/nypff_program_2010_en.pdf

i can recomend few ^^

Comedies ^^
Jak rozpętałem 2 Wojne Światową
jak.rozpetalem.druga.wojne.swiatowa.filmweb.pl

Killer
kiler.filmweb.pl

Chłopaki nie płaczą
chlopaki.nie.placza.filmweb.pl

other films ^^

psy - one of my favs ^^
psy.filmweb.pl

Ogniem i Mieczem - this one propably could draw Crow atention too ^^
ogniem.i.mieczem.filmweb.pl

Pianista - based on true story ( i think)
pianista.filmweb.pl

Komornik - this is "must watch"
komornik.filmweb.pl

and thats it for now :D

Funny comedies like 'testosteron", 'chłopaki nie płaczą' , 'lejdis', 'poranek kojota' :)

I recommend these, they are in Polish :

Alternatywy Cztery: youtube.com/watch?v=D7fYDMmLJ-Q&feature=related,

Kingsajz,

Rozmowy kontrolowane: youtube.com/watch?v=gZDW3qClBhc

Mis,

Seksmisja.

Podoba mi się takie filmy Krzysztofa Kieślowskiego jak:
Trzy kolory. Niebieski
Trzy kolory. Biały
Trzy kolory. Czerwony
To jest trylogia, ale one (filmy) są bardzo dramatycznymi. :(

I film i recently watched based on a novel.

Przedwiośnie 2001. (The spring to come) i found it reasonably OK, although the ending could have been better i guess.

Polish cinema annoys me; I find the films or being too intellectual/depressing, or too stupid to enjoy

I found one film I enjoyed. Actually two (over the last two years).
The first one was very real and very true without being exaggerated - just the essence of what's really going on in families under the stress - called Plac Zbawiciela (Savour's Square). Because of the subject i think it's a universal film, and not something typically Polish. I'd rather say that these emotions and behaviour were introduced to Poles post 89'.

The version I watched had really good English subtitles
I was amazed! Being usually very critical of the Polish cinema ( after 95'), I'd really recommend to watch it.
stopklatka.pl/film/film.asp?fi=21312

The other one is very different. It is by a Polish director unknown to me, but reminding me of Kazimierz Kutz and his films about Silesia.

The film's called #Sztuczki' (Tricks) and has a really great soundtrack by Tomasz Gąssowski. Again, extremely limited number of actors, slow pace but the story sucks you in.

sztuczki-film.pl