‘The Polish School’: how European cinema changed in the 1950s
Compared to the Hollywood filmmaking machine, European cinema is generally defined by its attention to narrative storytelling through artistic and inventive means. While the likes of Italian neo-realism and the French New Wave often take the limelight regarding European filmmaking, one cannot ignore the Polish Film School’s profound impact in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Undoubtedly inspired by the Italian neo-realism that came before, the Polish Film School was a loosely formed group of visionary filmmakers comprised of Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej Munk and Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Not only did the Polish School help to bring Polish cinema to new artistic heights, but it also changed the future of European cinema forever.
At its core, the Polish School was defined by its fearless commitment to exploring human life under the socio-political context of Europe after the Second World War and to examine the intricacies of Polish history following the country’s occupation by Nazi Germany. The newfound social freedom in Poland allowed filmmakers to openly discuss the most problematic topics without fear of reprimand, despite an air of censorship circulating during the period.
Wadja’s 1958 drama film Ashes and Diamonds focused on the disillusionment in post-war Poland. Though it was based on a 1948 novel that directly inspired the post-war Polish communist system, The Polish School largely negated Socialist realism’s guidelines, and the film saw Wadja focus on the internal conflict between personal liberty and political duty.
Such a mode of artistic address transcended the geographical boundaries of Poland and seeped into wider European societies, which were also faced with existential questions following the end of World War II. The Polish School would congregate in the rectorate building of the Lodz Film School to watch American and European films, which had finally become available for viewing after the death of Joseph Stalin, and the themes and motifs of wider cinema were soon captured through a Polish lens.
Rather than focus on political ideals, the works of the Polish School would rather centre their narratives on the quest of the hero, which mainly had been detailed in the great western movies of the United States. Experimentation with form and technique was also encouraged and would be later perfected by another Polish filmmaker, Krzysztof Kieślowski.
Shooting on location was favoured in line with the Italian neo-realists, as was an air of naturalist cinematography that captured the gritty realist of Polish urban life. The very essence of human life was laid out in all its glory and tragedy in the likes of Munk’s Man on the Tracks and Heroism and Kawalerowicz’s The Real End of the Great War and Night Train, following the end of the propagandist era of European cinema.
At its core, though, the Polish School championed what it meant to be Polish in the mid-century after years of political and social upheaval. By detailing the internal struggles of the Polish, filmmakers in neighbouring countries of Eastern Europe began to explore a more personal kind of narrative, which was equally adopted in Western and Southern areas of the continent.
A revitalised medium of Polish cinema left a deep impression on European cinema and showed that a fearless commitment to truthful storytelling would result in films of the highest quality. The human condition itself was suddenly the playground for artistic exploration, and the eras of European cinema that followed undoubtedly owed a great deal to the filmmakers of the Polish School.