Ida

                       Ida (Pawlikowski, 2013)

- Influence of European tradition in terms of styles, takes inspiration from film movements such as Italian neo-realism, French New Wave, Polish New Wave
- Also taking inspiration from film noir - with the use of monochromatic lighting and colour scheme
- Narrative comes from European history and specifically from Poland and the Jewish community
- Relevant to the failed initiatives for an integrated Europe

Pawlikowski's first film made in Polish, funded by Polish film institute, uses their personnel, filmed on location in Poland
- Set in Poland 1962
- After WWII - communist rule (under Stalin and the Soviets)
- Many Polish-Jews died from the Holocaust
- After 1945, Poland mostly a homogenous nation
- Ruled by Polish People's Republic
- After Stalin's death in 1953 - some relaxation of political pressure from Soviet Union
- Early 1960s economic problem

Monochrome - historical setting, mood and themes
Compactness - 80 minute duration, layers of history, restrained
Cinematography - establishes place, themes of alone-ness/loneliness, struggle, secrecy, guilt, violence, identity and origins

Ida in 5
- Nuns slurping soup, but one nun is none-the-wiser of her Jewish faith
- Mother Superior sends her to her contra-nun Aunt
- Ida discovers the truth, she's Jewish, and Ida and the Aunt begin to search for them
- They find her parents' house and their stained glass barn
- Saxophonist hitchhiker leads them to jazz gig, Ida won't dance 

Themes:
Post-war chaos and change
Womanhood
Religion
Holocaust - from perspective of those left behind
Lingering presence of genocide

Aunt Wanda's Exit Sequence:
- Shot lingers after jump, disappearance, lingering smoke
- Sugar: luxury used by her in excess , sick of the world as it is
- Depression, culmination of the her arc in the film
- Majestic jump, no doubts about suicide
- Music, famous classical piece, contrapuntal, grand exit, ironic
- Isolation: man leaves - pleasures of sex and alcohol emptily replaced her family

Seminar:

1. Did the film turn out as you expected it? If not, how?
2. How much inspiration did you take from your actors?
3. What film aesthetic from British cinema did you take into the world of Polish cinema?

Film Aesthetics:
- Mood, tone, atmosphere 
- Distinctive and sustained through colour, cinematography, mise-en-scene, and performance
- Genre and narrative and production context
- Sound, when connected to visuals
- May come from world cultures

How far does the film's aesthetic qualities contribute to the film’s themes and messages?

Intro: Key themes - lingering presence of the Holocaust, guilt, isolation, emptiness
'aesthetics' - visual tonal qualities of the film and mood
Bones sequence, Exit sequence
Visual elements reflect the depression and guilt of the film - b&w, tonally consistent, lingering shots
Integral to tone of movie

However... dependent on content of film
Holocaust elements come through in the dialogue, and the sparseness of the film
Music, also important, but more add to the tone than create it, rarely used
Overall, visuals aesthetics for themes through tone, post-war Poland non-verbally represented, but dialogue brings nuance and characterisation

Comments

  1. Lisa SocratesNovember 8, 2021 at 1:07 PM

    Ah, this made me laugh- yes a bit like reduced Shakespeare: Prince Hamlet thought mater a traitor, for having it off with his pater, Revenge mum or not, that's the gist of the plot and he did, Five soliloquies later.

    ReplyDelete

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