MATTHEW’S DAYS [1967]
year:
- 1967
runtime:
- 76 min
directed by:
- Witold Leszczyński
written by:
- Witold Leszczyński, Wojciech Solarz
director of photography:
- Andrzej Kostenko
cast:
- Franciszek Pieczka [Matis], Anna Milewska [Olga], Wirgiliusz Gryń [Jan], Aleksander Fogiel [the host], Hanna Skarżanka [the hostess], Małgorzata Braunek [Anna], Maria Janiec [Ewa], Elżbieta Nowacka [a girl], Kazimierz Borowiec [a boy], Aleksander Iwaniec [a hunter]
edited by:
- Zenon Piórecki
music by:
- Arcangelo Corelli
produced by:
- Państwowa Wyższa Szkoła Teatralna i Filmowa, Zespół Filmowy „Start”
producer:
- 16 II 1968
executive producer:
- Tadeusz Baljon
awards:
-
- Wild Flowers 1969
- Wild Flowers for Franciszek Pieczka 1969
- International Youth Film Festiwal Cannes 1969: Grand Prix
- Andrzej Munk Award for Witold Leszczyński 1968
- IFF Chicago (USA) 1969: Silver Hugo for Franciszek Pieczka
- IFF Valladolid (Spain) 1969: First Prize
- IFF Colombo (Sri Lanka) 1969: First Prize, award of the Ceylon Journalist Association
- IFF Adelaide-Auckland (Australia, New Zealand) 1970: First Prize
- Gold Duck 1968
About the film
Witold Leszczyński’s debut is very consistent in its construction of the film world, providing a visual representation of the soul and sensibility of the protagonist. The outstanding performance by Franciszek Pieczka is accompanied by contemplative photography and music.
Matthew and his sister Olga live on their own on the shores of a lake. He is a forty-year-old man with the soul of a child, regarded by his neighbours as abnormal and unable to adapt to life or work. He needs his sister’s care. However, his "abnormality" is a sign of his pure, romantic nature, and a source of naive, touching rebellion. He can only communicate with nature, to which he has a spiritual connection. Matthew’s life is shattered by "strangers" - Jan, a young woodcutter, takes his sister away, a hunter kills the "big bird", and a lightning strike destroys his favourite tree. Loneliness and the realisation of his own helplessness drive Matthew to suicide, which he commits by going on a leaking boat to the middle of the lake.
Jan Słodowski, Leksykon polskich filmów fabularnych, Warszawa 1996
