Academy of Polish Film BRZEZINA

Polish Film Academy — Wajda. Director of the painting PAINTING AND VISUAL TRADITION — PAINTING IN MOTION Brzezina (1970) lecture: dr Marta Hauschild

Twenties. Stas, sick with tuberculosis, comes from Davos to his brother Bolesław. My brother is a forester and was widowed a year ago. Deeply saddened, he shows indifference to his seven-year-old daughter and still walks to the grave of his wife Barbara, buried in a birch grove not far from home. The noisy cheerfulness of his brother annoys Bolesław. He cannot understand that under this ostentatious weather lies the fear of death.

Stas meets the peasant Malina. The girl, despite the fact that she has a fiance Michael, willingly meets with Stasi. She soon becomes his mistress. Since the death of his wife, Bolesław has not been able to approach any woman. He tries to get Malina, but is afraid of sexual fulfillment. Stas is feeling worse and worse. Shortly before his death, he recovers and asks his brother to bury his body in birch next to Barbara's grave. He goes for the last walk. The sight of a cheerful mistress evokes in him a great regret for the departed life. After Stanisław's death, Bolesław suddenly regains his peace and serenity. After a fleeting romance with Malina, he decides to change jobs and leave the village.

A reflective film about the transience and transience of life. The beauty of nature is compounded by the tragedy of a man who knows he must die. The fate of the sick Stasi is a great metaphor for human destiny. A film full of symbolic images, taken directly from Jacek Malczewski's painting.

Joanna Piątek, Lexicon of Polish Feature Films, Warsaw 1996