Mocny czlowiek (1929) Poster

User Reviews

Review this title
2 Reviews
Sort by:
Filter by Rating:
6/10
Success Without Effort
FerdinandVonGalitzien22 April 2007
After a long period of troubles and disagreements between Germany and Poland, this German Count thought necessary to forget all those dissensions. The best way to do that was to show a Polish silent film programme at the Schloss theater. Obviously this German aristocrat doesn't lack polish but it is time to give polish to those unknown Polish nitrates.

"Mocny Czlowiek" ( A Strong Man ) was the first of that film programme, a film directed by Herr Henryk Szaro. Both film and director are considered as the most important and representative of the achievements of the Polish industry in the silent film era.

Henryk Szaro was a theater director and screenwriter and also fond of adapting important oeuvres of Polish literature; due to his Jew heritage (he also directed films in Yiddish), he died at the Warsaw ghetto.

"Mocny Czlowiek" was one of those adaptations that Herr Szaro liked so much; this time the film was based in a controversial novel by the Polish author Herr Stanislaw Przybyszewsky, known as "the discoverer of the human naked soul", a literary reflection that it is not exclusive of that time or country. This can be seen in the plot of the film that depicts the story of Herr Henryk Bieleck ( performed by the Russian actor Herr Gregori Chmara ) who is a mediocre journalist that, dreaming of fame and glory, doesn't hesitate to lead his ill friend Jerzy Gorski, a writer, to death in order to appropriate his unknown manuscript. It's the perfect way to achieve success without effort for Bielecki.

The film is very interesting for many reasons. The first one it is the present importance of the story, that is to say, the pursuit of fame and glory without, if possible, by the sweat of the brow (about this, the aristocracy are experts in the subject). It is a common subject in those silent times and even more in this longhaired times. Hypocrisy and immorality is present to such an extent that the main character doesn't care if he finally achieves what he wants. That's not to mention that his wife, Lucja, shares more or less the same opinion, in spite of the fact that she discovers the fraud. She only wants that her lover will love her until the end of times. Problems appear precisely when Bielecki falls in love with Nina, a beautiful and idle woman, and that will ignite the wrath of Lucja. It is an interesting reflection, certainly, on the humanity and the sense of justice that only appears when one's is cuckolded… In its technical aspects, "Mocny Czlowiek" its a remarkable film, using a vigorous film narrative (camera movements or dissolves and over impression shots) for the developing of the story. What struck this German Count is the editing of the film by Herr Szaro, thrilling images and dramatic intensity that ends Bielecki's farce in the farce of a theater, in what it is a curious and bizarre première.

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must order polish on the coat of arms of his Teutonic family.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien http://ferdinandvongalitzien.blogspot.com/
6 out of 14 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink
Grim Polish Classic.
Mozjoukine30 August 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Surviving only as a dreadful high contrast print, this Polish silent is quite polished technically but the characters are uninvolving and the story grim.

Writer Chmara (Robetrt Wiene's Jesus) has dreams of glory ("Fama" superimposed on the newspaper pages) leading him to tell his dying author friend Artur Socha that his MSS, which he reads him, is mediocre.

The piece is published under Chmara's name (montage of whirring presses) leading to great success and an affair with an old associate's wife.

When the book is staged with a cubist mask protagnist and a chorus of girls with faces on the back of their heads, Chmara confesses at his curtain call. No one seems all that interested.

Clearly intended as a work of high art, this antique isn't equal to its pretensions.
0 out of 0 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

See also

Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews


Recently Viewed