Cinema Without Secrets

Andrzej Pitrus

Abstract

The author reviews the book Cinema without secrets edited by Ewelina Nurczyńska-Fidelska, Konrad Klejsa, Tomasz Kłys and Piotr Sitarski (Warsaw 2009). This volume is a supplement to the multimedia project run by the Polish Film Institute under the title “School film library”, and therefore is a guide aimed primarily at middle and high school students. The structure of the book is clear and simple. The book consists of two parts, made up of six segments in total. Two of the segments deal with the history of the cinema. The remainder are more general in character and deal with a variety of forms that film may take, both in terms of production and in terms of technique. The final part that deals with screen adaptations is a little set aside from the rest. However its presence is fully justified. We must after all remember that in the context of a school, film accompanies and is subservient to literature. Young readers can learn from how adaptations are made and also “why?” Reflections on the elements of film language are closely linked with aesthetic issues. All this is done smoothly, clearly and in a manner that allows the book to be read in two ways. One can read Cinema without secrets from cover to cover, or read selected chapters and treat the book as a sort of lexicon.