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I tu Mickiewicz, że tak powiem, dotknął najboleśniejszego... najboleśniejszej naszej blizny z przeszłości, to znaczy tego, że ten kraj nie potrafił się rządzić i dlatego się rozpadł na trzy zabory pod koniec osiemnastego wieku, dlatego przez sto lat został skreślony z mapy Europy i cudem, jakby fantastycznym zbiegiem okoliczności, potrafił się odbudować po pierwszej wojnie światowej w 1918 roku. To wydawało mi się dobrym tematem, żeby pokazać jeszcze raz tę dziką szlachtę, tą zawziętość, to zakłamanie, ten prywatny interes, który jest ponad wszystkim. Myślę, że od tego momentu już miałem w ręku film, a nie tylko mgławicowe spojrzenie na przeszłość naszą, która jest piękna i... i, że tak powiem. jak każda, jak każde dzieciństwo taka... takim schronieniem w trudnych momentach naszego życia. Film nam zrobił wielką radość. Pracując nad tym filmem, wielu aktorów spotkało się z trudnymi rolami, ale grali już wcześniej w teatrze, bo tu się głównie na takich oparłem, którzy mieli wielkie doświadczenie, no i ten wiersz nie stanowił dla nich przeszkody, a odwrotnie – właśnie stał się czymś takim, co dało temu filmowi skrzydła. Film zyskał olbrzymią widownię, sześciomilionową w Polsce i przeszedł gdzieś po świecie oglądany przez naszą emigrację, no i znowu przede mną stanęło pytanie: no dobrze, ale czy to jest to, o co mnie chodzi? No co z tego, że zrobiłem film, z którego ja jestem dumny, który jest filmem na pewno silnym, wyrazistym, ma swoją urodę, kiedy ten film nigdzie nie może być pokazany poza krajem?

And here Mickiewicz has touched on the most painful scar of our past, namely that this country is incapable of governing itself, which is why it fell apart under three partitions towards the end of the 18th century, and why it was obliterated from the map of Europe for 100 years, yet miraculously, by some fantastic coincidence, it managed to rebuild itself after the First World War in 1918. It seemed to me to be a good topic for showing once again that crazy aristocracy, their determination, their mendacity, their concern with their private affairs above everything else. I think from that moment I had this film in my grasp, and not just a misty-eyed vision of our past, which like every past is beautiful, like every childhood it's a refuge from the difficult moments in our life. Working on the film gave us great joy. Many of the actors encountered difficult roles, but they had already worked in the theatre as these were the sort of actors I was using this time, ones who had a lot of experience and for whom the verse wasn't an obstacle but on the contrary, was the thing that gave this film wings. The film had a huge audience, 6 million viewers in Poland, plus it went out into the world and was seen by our émigrés. Once again I was confronted with the question: fine, but is this what I really want? So what if I've made a film I'm proud of, a film that's undeniably powerful, vivid, has appeal, if this film can't be shown outside of Poland.

Polish film director Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016) was a towering presence in Polish cinema for six decades. His films, showing the horror of the German occupation of Poland, won awards at Cannes and established his reputation as both story-teller and commentator on Poland's turbulent history. As well as his impressive career in TV and film, he also served on the national Senate from 1989-91.

Listeners: Jacek Petrycki

Cinematographer Jacek Petrycki was born in Poznań, Poland in 1948. He has worked extensively in Poland and throughout the world. His credits include, for Agniezka Holland, Provincial Actors (1979), Europe, Europe (1990), Shot in the Heart (2001) and Julie Walking Home (2002), for Krysztof Kieslowski numerous short films including Camera Buff (1980) and No End (1985). Other credits include Journey to the Sun (1998), directed by Jesim Ustaoglu, which won the Golden Camera 300 award at the International Film Camera Festival, Shooters (2000) and The Valley (1999), both directed by Dan Reed, Unforgiving (1993) and Betrayed (1995) by Clive Gordon both of which won the BAFTA for best factual photography. Jacek Petrycki is also a teacher and a filmmaker.

Tags: Pan Tadeusz, First World War, Poland, Adam Mickiewicz

Duration: 2 minutes, 22 seconds

Date story recorded: August 2003

Date story went live: 24 January 2008