Dzien swira (2002)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Marek Koterski

Writer:

Marek Koterski (writer)

Release Date:

7 June 2002 (Poland)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama

Plot:

It is a bitter story about a middle-aged man, who hates his life and other people, including himself...

Plot Keywords:

Poetry | Obsession | Swearing | Teacher | Ex Husband Ex Wife Relationship

Awards:

5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Marek Kondrat	...	Adam Miauczynski
Janina Traczykówna	...	Adam's mother
Andrzej Grabowski	...	Neighbour
Michal Koterski	...	Sylwus, Adam's son
Joanna Sienkiewicz	...	Ex-wife
Monika Donner-Trelinska	...	Ela
Aleksander Bednarz	...	Adam's Neighbour
Zbigniew Buczkowski	...	Workman
Dorota Chotecka	...	Woman with Dog
Maria Ciunelis	...	Crazy Woman in Train
Krystyna Czubówna	...	Herself
Bozena Dykiel	...	Woman with Dog
Piotr Fronczewski	...	Doctor in TV
Anna Gornostaj	...	Woman with Newspaper
Joanna Jedrejek	...	Woman in TV

Also Known As:

Day of the Wacko (International: English title)
The Day of the Freak (International: English title) (informal literal title)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Debki, Poland

Company:

Agencja Produkcji Filmowej

Movie Connections:

References Psy (1992)

An great movie, must see

Dzien Swira ( Day of the freak) is Koterski's latest addition to an already impressive portfolio. Like his other semi-autobiographical move titled Nic Smiesznego ( nothing funny), Dzien Swira records the inner dialogue & the prose of a single day in the life of Adam Miauczynski, a character based on M. Koterski. Miauczynski, like Koterski, is an compulsive-obsessive, excentric, bitter & disillusioned individual caught in Poland's post communist reality, a reality as Ill suited to him as the communist one was. One of the reasons why Koterski's work is either loved or intensly disliked by Poles, is the painfully acurate description of polish hell, made all the more vivid by his insistance on showing the trivial & at the same time essential moments of daily life in excruciating detail. life is all the more hell when the damned are aware that life could be different, and this is what makes Miauczynski's suffering all the more real. A number of the scenes are classics, unequalled by any of Koterski's contemporaries, especially the scenes depicting Miauczynski's relationship with his son, the senate, train toilet and street demonstration scenes.

It is unfortuante for the western viewer that the context & language of the film make it very difficult to translate adequatly, refering as it does to polish classical literature, contemporary culture and nigh-untranslatable street slang, the contrast being all the more vivid, since Miauczynski is a Polish literature lecturer obsessed with what he percieves to be the decay of the language he loves.

If I were to compare Koterski to any western director, it would be to Britain's Mike Leigh. An insane Mike leigh with an infectious sense of humour & a penchant for social commentary.

All in all, This is Koterski's finest work to date, perhaps the finest Polish film in the last 5 years. My rating is a solid 8/10