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Siberian Lady Macbeth
Andrzej Wajda Film-maker
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Pomyślałem o tym, że może szukałbym w takim razie dla siebie miejsca w jakiejs innej kinematografii. Tym bardziej, że już byłem znanym reżyserem i miałem możliwość pracować za granicą. No ale tu też źle wybrałem. Zamiast szukać silnej kinematografii, która by mi dała, że tak powiem, no jakiegoś... postawiła przede mną jakieś trudne zadanie, pojechałem do Jugosławii i zrobiłem film Sybirska Lady Makbet. Dlaczego akurat Sybirska Lady Makbet? To jest film, który chciałem robić w Polsce, ale w Polsce można było robić wszystko poza rosyjską literaturą, ta była całkowicie zarezerwowana dla radzieckich reżyserów. W związku z tym Leskov Sybirska Lady Makbet – nie, w żadnym wypadku. Polska kinematografia nie chciała się na to zgodzić. No a z kolei w ówczesnej Jugosławii rosyjska tradycja była bardzo silna, była duża grupa Rosjan, która wyemigrowała, 'białych Rosjan', która przyjechała do Belgradu. Moim scenografem był właśnie jeden z takich, Miomir Denic, który był bardzo wspaniałym scenografem teatralnym i filmowym. Spotkałem tam też ludzi, którzy dobrze rozumieli rosyjską literaturę. Wydawało mi się, że to jest... że to jest dobry pomysł i że to jest film, który mi przyniesie prawdziwą, że tak powiem, satysfakcję. Okazało się, że film też tak gdzieś w połowie się zatrzymał. Nikt nie jest winien, ja jestem winien, dlatego że źle wybrałem, źle. Można było zrobić z tego ciekawy film pod warunkiem, że cała ta historia napisana przez Leskowa byłaby refleksem tylko, opowieścią w czasie drogi katorżników. Trzeba było zrobić drogę katorżników. To mogłem zrobić, bo miałem dobrych statystów, dobry krajobraz, dobre miejsce. I gdybym zrobił, że idą na Sybir katorżnicy i polityczni więźniowie i właśnie ta kobieta, która zamordowała, że tak powiem męża, Sybirska Lady Makbet, może to wymieszanie dałoby zupełnie inny efekt i dałoby jakąś wyrazistość temu filmowi. A tak ni to film rosyjski, ni to film polski, ni to film jugosłowiański, coś się zatrzymało w pół drogi.

So I thought about finding a place for myself in a different cinematographic environment. I was already a known film director, and I was able to work abroad. But I made the wrong choice. Instead of looking for a strong cinematography which would have given me, presented me with difficult projects, I went to Yugoslavia and made Siberian Lady Macbeth. Why this? It was a film that I had wanted to make in Poland but in Poland we could make everything into a film apart from Russian literature because it was totally reserved for Soviet directors. Therefore, Leskov, Siberian Lady Macbeth - no, under no circumstances. Polish cinematography didn't want to agree to this, whereas in Yugoslavia at that time the Russian tradition was very strong, there was a large group of 'white' Russians who had emigrated and come to Belgrade. My set designer was one of these, Miomir Denic, he was a wonderful set designer for both theatre and film. I also met there people who understood Russian literature very well. I thought that this was a good idea and that the film would give me a lot of genuine satisfaction. As it turned out, this film also stopped somewhere in the middle. No one was to blame, it was my fault because I made a bad choice. It could have been an interesting film if the whole story written by Leskow had only been a recollection, a story told along the way travelled by the prisoners. I should have shown this journey. I could have done it because I had good extras, a good landscape, a good place. And perhaps if I'd shown that these people together with the political prisoners and this woman who had murdered her husband, the Siberian Lady Macbeth, were all walking to Siberia then this mixture would have created a completely different effect, and defined the film. As it was, the film was neither Russian nor Polish nor Yugolsav, but something that had stopped in between.

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: Yugoslavia, Poland, Siberian Lady Macbeth, Siberia, Miomir Denic, Nikolai Semyonovich Leskov

Duration: 2 minutes, 48 seconds

Date story recorded: August 2003

Date story went live: 24 January 2008