Authors:Adam Domalewski Pages: 5 - 25 Abstract: The article is a meta-study and provides an original typology of research on film and religion, based on Polish and English academic sources. The author proposes to divide this field of research into four main domains, which he names successively: substantial-theological, anthropological-mythological, socio-cultural and post-secular. The following descriptive criteria were used to introduce this division: the relationship between religion and culture adopted (usually implicitly) in a given direction of research, the concept of both human and religion emerging from them, and the established subject and scope of research, as well as the basic set of tools used within them. The proposed systematic is intended to help capture the significant differences between the main types of research on film and religion, both in terms of research assumptions, methods of analysis, and set goals. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.01 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Iwona Kolasińska-Pasterczyk Pages: 27 - 45 Abstract: The cinematic scenes of the Last Supper were treated as a challenge to visual theology. As the Last Supper, which in the films about Jesus of Nazareth (and, of course, the gospels) is the culmination (and also a turning point as an event ending Jesus` earthly activity), it is possible to see the essence of the theological message of films referring to the gospel in its presentation. The scenes of the Last Supper from three films were subjected to a comparative analysis, each of which is an individual director`s vision. These are The King of Kings (1961) by Nicholas Ray, The Passion of the Christ (2004) by Mel Gibson and The Thorn of God (2015) by Óscar Parra de Carrizosa. The selection criterion was the importance given in the films to the scenes of the Last Supper and their mutually diverse representations. It has been shown how the established new transmission of visual theology modifies the meanings determined by classical theology, basically not deviating from the framework set by it. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.02 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Anna Maria Piskorska Pages: 47 - 66 Abstract: This article undertakes the issue of defining film phenomena which put forward questions of a primary religious nature (about the meaning of life, source of evil, life after death, the existence of Absolute, etc.) in a way that is independent from major religious traditions. The author posits that describing this phenomenon in the case of European film culture is done best by employing the philosophical thought of postsecularism. Utilizing Mieke Bal’s method of cultural analysis, the author takes as an example the term “sacrifice” to point to the existence of different models by which religious topics are undertaken by the cinema. This leads to a preliminary typology of the phenomenon which differentiates between ‘apologetic’ and ‘critical’ films and, furthermore, between films that refer to particular religious traditions and those expressing a postsecular perspective. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.03 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Tomasz Kłys Pages: 67 - 94 Abstract: This text is inspired by monumental and editorially perfect BluRay/DVD box set J’accuse (Gaumont, Paris 2017). It includes BluRay and DVD editions of all three J’accuse films (1919, 1937, 1956), two other Gance’s films, specifying the context of „trilogy” (Les Gaz mortels, 1916 and La Fin du monde, 1931) and the large director’s monography by Laurent Véray. From this revelatory archive emerges the image of Abel Gance as an artist who for 40 years of his filmmaker’s career was incessantly reworking deep trauma caused by World War One. It resulted in three J’accuse films, two other finished films and some other never realized screenplays and projects which made up particular work-in-progress whose mission is a message of peace. The text analyzes all three versions of J’accuse, concentrating on their allegorical style, metaphysical concept of ressurrection of fallen soldiers and apocalyptic vision of resurrected dead men’s processions which by its horror should persuade the mankind to stop all wars. In the last J’accuse (1956) – in fact, strongly shortened and reedited film from 1937 – Gance used the technique of triptych in which the picture was projected by three parallelly set projectors on the large screen with proportions 4:1. This version, immersing perceptually and sensorically spectator in the wide-format picture full of war horrors, today seems to be much more effective medium for message of peace than undecided between pacifism and patriotism, impressionistic in its style film from 1919, or laden with full of pathos verbal rhetorics J’accuse 1937. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.04 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Janusz Bohdziewicz Pages: 95 - 118 Abstract: The essay is an interpretation of the film by Jacques Rivette La Belle Noiseuse (1991) within the context of post-secular studies. The sketch is inspired primarily by the writings of Martin Heidegger and Jean-Luc Nancy, and it also corresponds with the Bible and biblical studies. The author describes the creative process shown in the film as an act of salvation which occurs between the painter and his model. The hiding of the resulting image is understood here in relation to the passion, cross and burial of Jesus which brings the hope for a liberated life and “the new creation”. The film is made in a very consistent way, which opens up the perspective of crossing the world of images, paintings and classical films (the world of stage), towards the art of mutual respect (the world of interface). Rivette’s work contains a multitude of relevant observations and indications regarding psychology, religion and culture, but it also reveals the possibility of a new way of thinking about film and the media, close to Nancy’s post-metaphysical thought. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.05 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Michał Dondzik Pages: 119 - 137 Abstract: The subject of this article is an analysis of the film Killing Auntie (Zabicie ciotki, 1984) by Grzegorz Krolikiewicz. The author reconstructs the history of the film’s making, recalls the memories of actor Robert Herubin, cinematographer Krzysztof Ptak, and director Grzegorz Krolikiewicz. The author reads Killing Auntie through the prism of Andrzej Bursa’s prose, refers to the heritage of surrealism and the way the director refers to it. According to the author it is important to answer the question of whether Killing Auntie is a specific kind of performance. The article concludes with a reflection on the moral dimension of Killing Auntie and an attempt to answer the questions: did the murder in Killing Auntie really happen and could any of us commit it' PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.06 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Krzysztof Kopczyński Pages: 139 - 155 Abstract: The paper aims to present different ways of showing religious and quasi-religious attitudes in contemporary Polish documentaries. The discussion is based on four feature-length films: Kites by Beata Dzianowicz (2008), Communion by Anna Zamecka (2016), Who Will Write Our History by Roberta Grossman (2018), and Tell No One by Tomasz Sekielski (2019). The author evaluates the methodological usefulness of reflection in the documentary of the “religious film” category used in Polish research and the concept of “transcendent(al) style” taken from Paul Schrader’s book. Occasionally touching upon the question of the relationship with audiences, the author also mentions the paradigm of Polish Romanticism present in contemporary culture. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.07 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Krzysztof Kornacki Pages: 157 - 182 Abstract: In the second decade of the 20th century (especially in the years 2016-2020), a significant number of films by Polish female directors were released in which Catholicism and the Catholic Church were attacked. They were: W imię… [In the Name of…], Body/ciało [Body], Twarz (Mug) and Córka boga [The Other Lamb] – all directed by Małgorzata Szumowska; Dzikie róże [Wild Roses] by Anna Jadowska, Pokot [Spoor] by Agnieszka Holland and Kasia Adamik, Wieża. Jasny dzień [Tower. A Bright Day] by Jagoda Szelc, Powrót, [Back Home] by Magdalena Łazarkiewicz, Maryjki [Marygoround] by Daria Woszek, as well as a documentary Komunia [Communion] by Anna Zamecka. The polemic related to the above-mentioned movies commented on the religiosity of Catholics and the quality of the institutional church (priests, hierarchies, methods of ministering and teaching), religious control and repression of corporeality and sexuality (including female sexuality), and Catholicism as the foundation of the patriarchal system. These films also feature elements of the "positive program", a proposal for a new cultural paradigm (new spirituality), organized around Nature, with the suggestion of matriarchy. From the point of view of social communication, the content and poetics of above-mentioned the films were similar, according to the author, to the content of the protests of the Ogólnopolski Strajk Kobiet (Polish Women's Strike), which demonstrated in 2016 and 2020 against the tightening of abortion laws. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.08 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Beata Waligórska-Olejniczak Pages: 183 - 199 Abstract: The article aims to examine the relationship between two texts: Loveless (Нелюбовь, 2017), the latest of Andrey Zvyagintsev’s feature films, and The Heart of a Dog (Собачье сердце, 1925), one of Mikhail Bulgakov’s most popular short stories. The studies are focused on finding the parallels showing the work of cultural memory, which is understood – following Aleida Assmann’s and Astrid Erll’s findings – as the process of continuous remediation, retranscription and negotiation of essential ideas in the space of culture. Consequently, the author is not interested in treating Zvyagintsev’s text as the illustration of Bulgakov’s plot, but rather in discussing certain topics which are deposited in Russian literature and constantly reused and reinterpreted, creating the framework for communication across ‘the abyss of time’. The analogies between the selected texts are sought in the area of their structure, some thematic overlapping, the authors’ approach to the issue of the authoritarian ideology and the role of technology as well as in exploring the function of space as one of the narrative mechanisms, in particular in the context of the category of home and anti-home. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.09 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Justyna Czaja Pages: 201 - 216 Abstract: The subject of the article is Elizaveta Stishova's film Suleiman Mountain, the action of which focuses on the Kyrgyz mountain, surrounded by religious veneration. The title place is treated as a spatial hierophany, that is, according to Mircea Eliade's concept, a place where and through which the sacred is revealed. The text will analyze the film's space-time and its symbolic dimension, and the characters' relations with the title place, especially the relationship between women and the mountain and its mythical character. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.10 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Justyna Machaj Pages: 217 - 236 Abstract: Celem pracy jest analiza twórczości filmowej rosyjskiego reżysera i scenarzysty Kantemira Bałagowa. Na podstawie dwóch pełnometrażowych produkcji – Bliskości (2017) oraz Wysokiej dziewczyny (2019) zwrócono uwagę na formalny aspekt wymienionych filmów, rolę feminizacji narracji historycznej, a także złożoną sieć inspiracji (kinowe klasyki i rosyjska literatura). Istotnym dla twórczości Bałagowa jest kontekst społeczno-polityczny Rosji, który służy omawianemu twórcy jako narzędzie rewizji narodowych mitów. Uzupełnieniem rozległego portretu reżysera jest charakterystyka twórczości Aleksandra Sokurowa, wprowadzająca istotny dla badań aspekt prawosławnego ikonopisarstwa. Autorka wskazuje, że kluczy interpretacyjnych dla twórczości Sokurowa i Bałagowa należy poszukać właśnie w symbolice prawosławnych ikon. Ambicją niniejszej pracy jest poszerzenie aktualnego stanu badań nad filmografią Kantemira Bałagowa, który obecnie ogranicza się do premierowych recenzji oraz festiwalowych wywiadów. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.11 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Natasza Korczarowska Pages: 237 - 261 Abstract: The article deals with metaphysical aspects of dystopian vision of posthuman and racist socjety presented in Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel Never Let Me Go and its film adaptation. The controversial issue of cloning provokes fundamental questions of what constitutes our existence as human beings and what is the source of overpowering sense of solitude and orphanhood in the “fatherless” world. These questions are being answered in the context of biopolitics (Foucault, Habermas) and its ethical consequences. The paper is intended as a contribution to the ongoing discussion of the human condition and our relation to other beings: machines, animals and… clones. PubDate: 2021-12-02 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.12 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Jan Biedny Pages: 263 - 280 Abstract: The article focuses on the reading of Waldemar Frąc’s film theory in the context of the newest film examples. In the first part, the author presents the most important features of the “possible cinema” and expands it with a philosophical possible worlds theory, and also gives the context of mind-game films. In the second part, the author proposes an interpretation of two films: Annihilation and Arrival, and the Dark series in the face of the presented theoretical solutions. The main point of the analysis is to show how the worlds presented in the given films exist, how the concept of possibility/the possible world is manifested, and what changes occur at the level of the film narrative itself. Interpretation of the film examples leads the author to the conclusion that metaphysical possibilism in the film and series reveals not only ontological themes, but also has significant intercultural value and moves existential reflection. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.13 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Piotr Zawojski Pages: 281 - 295 Abstract: The reflections presented in this article are devoted to Junko Theresa Mikuriya’s book, A History of Light. The Idea of Photography. It is a unique view on the search for pre-photographic origins of photography in the field of philosophical writings ranging from Plato, through the neoplatonic philosopher Jamblich’s enquiry, to the texts by Philotheus of Batos and by an early Renaissance philosopher, Marsilio Ficino. When thinking about metaphysics present in (moving and still) images, one should not forget about the metaphysics of the image itself. The idea of photography – regardless of whether we are witnessing a fundamental change in an ontological transition from an analogue to a digital form of image recording – obliges us to discuss the “history of light”, as this is what Mikuriya does. While locating the discussed concepts in the context of the history and theory of photography, as well as the archaeology of media, the author of this essay engages in a dialogue with Mikuriya and polemically discusses many of her hypotheses. Key concepts such as chalepon, photagogia, triton genos, phôteinographeisthai are analysed in order to indicate inspiring moments in the Mikuriya’s reflections, but also a kind of interpretive abuse in the process of reading and analysing philosophical texts addressing the issues of light. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.14 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
Authors:Witold Stok Pages: 313 - 322 Abstract: The author of the article, one of the acclaimed Polish cinematographers, describes his practical eforts involved in making two short documentary films on Holocaust directed by him. The first one, Sonderzug (1978), was based on Stok’s idea to recreate his first emotional reaction to the landscape around Treblinka in the film that lasts 9 minutes, as long as the way of the Jews from the ramp to their end in the death camp. The other film, Prayer (1981), is the portrayal of a Japanese Buddhist monk praying at the site of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. The formal inspiration of the film came from Japanese visual art. PubDate: 2021-12-15 DOI: 10.14746/i.2021.39.15 Issue No:Vol. 30, No. 39 (2021)
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