“The Last Stage” by Wanda Jakubowska as the First Stage of Poland’s Ideological Cinema
Marta Wróbel
kwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.plInstitute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences (Poland)
Abstract
The Last Stage (1948), directed by Wanda Jakubowska, is the first Polish film after World War II which tried to settle accounts with the reality of concentration camps and the monstrosity of fascism in general. Labelled a national relic and a celluloid requiem it was to be not only a record of remembrance but also a forewarning for the future. Wróbel tries to look at the film from the point of view of today’s reception. Citing the then reactions to the film, mostly reviews and letters from readers, she proposes dialogue between the viewer of 1948 and the viewer of 2003. On the one hand we have delight at the veracity of the movie and on the other hand complaints to the film director for the oversimplification and softening of the vision of the camp. There are also critical objections to some defects in the construction of the film but at the same time it is praised for its ideological force. Wróbel defines the structure of The Last Stage as the transition from a semi-documentary reminiscence to biased pathos and propagandism. Her judgment on The Last Stage is objective and she rejects all the myths related with the film.
Keywords:
Wanda Jakubowska, ideology, World War IIReferences
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Authors
Marta Wróbelkwartalnik.filmowy@ispan.pl
Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences Poland
Doktorantka w Szkole Nauk Społecznych przy Instytucie Filozofii i Socjologii Polskiej Akademii Nauk.
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Copyright (c) 2003 Marta Wróbel
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