THE BIRCH WOOD [1970]
year:
- 1970
release date:
- 10 XI 1970
runtime:
- 99 min
directed by:
- Andrzej Wajda
written by:
- Andrzej Wajda based on a short story by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz
director of photography:
- Zygmunt Samosiuk
cast:
- Daniel Olbrychski [Bolesław], Olgierd Łukaszewicz [Stanisław], Emilia Krakowska [Malina], Danuta Wodyńska [Katarzyna], Elżbieta Żołek [Ola], Marek Perepeczko [Michał], Mieczysław Stoor [the brother of the piano owner], Alina Szpak [the piano owner], Jan Domański [Janek], Andrzej Kotkowski [a man accompanying the brother of the piano owner], Jerzy Obłamski [a Jew], Jerzy Próchnicki [a Jew], Irena Skwierczyńska [Malina’s mother]
edited by:
- Halina Prugar
music by:
- Andrzej Korzyński
production design:
- Maciej Maria Putowski
produced by:
- Studio Filmowe „Tor”
executive producer:
- Barbara Pec-Ślesicka
awards:
-
- International Documentary and Television Film Festival Milan (Italy) 1970: FIPRESCI Award
- Lubuskie Lato Filmowe Łagów 1971: the Golden Prize for Direction for Andrzej Wajda, award for the best male actor in a leading role for Daniel Olbrychski
- Moscow IFF (Soviet Union) 1971: the Golden Prize for Best Actor for Daniel Olbrychski
- The Finnish Film Association Award Filmaur 1973: honorary diploma
- IFF Milan (Italy) 1975: Golden Seal
About the film
A reflective film about the transience and ephemerality of life. The beauty of nature heightens the tragedy of a man who knows that he must die. The fate of the ill Staś is a great metaphor for human destiny. The film is full of symbolic images, taken directly from the paintings of Jacek Malczewski.
The 1920s. Suffering from tuberculosis, Staś returns from Davos to visit his brother Bolesław. His brother is a forester, widowed a year previously. Lost in his sadness, he acts indifferently towards his seven-year-old daughter and spends most of his time at the grave of his wife Barbara, who is buried in a birch grove not far from home. The noisy cheerfulness of his brother annoys Bolesław. He cannot understand that his ostentatious joyfulness hides his fear of death.
Staś meets a peasant girl, Malina. Although she has a fiancé, Michał, she is happy to meet with Staś. Soon, she becomes his mistress. Since the death of his wife, Boleslaw has been unable to get close to any woman. He tries to seduce Malina, but he is afraid of sexual fulfilment. Staś is getting worse. Shortly before his death, he recovers and asks his brother to bury his body in the birch grove beside Barbara’s grave. He goes for a last walk. Seeing his serene mistress, he feels great sorrow for the life he is losing. After Stanisław’s death, Bolesław suddenly regains his composure and serenity. After a fleeting affair with Malina, he decides to change his job and leave the village.
Joanna Piątek, Leksykon polskich filmów fabularnych, Warszawa 1996
