Polish writer/director Jerzy Skolimowski was seen as one of the most distinctly qualified film-maker of the Polish New Wave (during the sixties). He was also a gifted painter, poet and art designer. Skolimowski channeled his gifts into making visually poetic as well as incendiary movies that tries to depict the ungratified situation felt by post-war Polish citizens. However, he chose to leave Poland by late 1960’s due to the harsh censorship laws. Skolimowski made his first British film in 1978, “The Shout”, an unsettling psychological drama, which won the Cannes Grand Jury Prize. By the early 1980’s, a Martial Law was suddenly imposed in Poland (by the communist regime) in order to root out the Polish ‘Solidarity Movement’ (the movement was against the tyrannical ideals of the Communist regime and almost 10 million workers joined Solidarity within the first year of its launch). The self-exiled Polish director immediately conceived a script (the script is said to be written within 2 weeks) to make a subtle & intriguing political statement on the clampdown.
Jerzy Skolimowski filmed “Moonlighting” was made steadfastly
in the winter of 1981, in West London and was released in 1982, winning the
Best Screenplay Award in Cannes Festival. Although, the film was made with
urgency, the director’s simple ideas are fully realized and it can be
appreciated on many levels. “Moonlighting” opens with a flight announcer
calling for the flight from Warsaw to London. The customs officer finds some
masonry tools in the suitcase of four Polish men as a look of anxiety is cast
over their faces. The men eventually fly to London and the leader of the four
named Nowak (Jeremy Irons), practices few words in English (“The purpose of our
visit to London is to buy a second-hand car with joint-savings") to say it to the
London Customs Officer. Of the four, only Nowak could speak English and he
shows 1,200 pounds that is to be spent on their ‘purpose’. But, the distressing
looks of Nowak hint us that he is concealing something.
Under the cover of their one month visitor visas, the four
Poles arrive at a bedraggled flat. Nowak and his mens job are to perfectly
remodel the flat within a month (the flat belongs to their boss) and get paid
in Zlotys. For the men, the wages they are going to be paid is equivalent to
the amount they earn after 10 months hard labor in Poland. The boss also gets a
better deal because he just has to pay quarter (including the men’s air
tickets) of what the British builders would seek for such a job. The trademark
Eastern European dead pan comedy is laced with the narrative, especially when
the men look at lavish elements of capitalist society (they laugh like a child
after seeing coca-cola and color TV). Nowak does everything to make ends meet
and keeps the men on a tight leash. Trouble starts when Nowak hears about the
imposition of Martial Law in Poland and hides the news from his compatriots. He
also has maddening thoughts about his beautiful wife Anna and also encounters
immense difficulty with the shoe-string budget.
Spoilers Ahead
“Moonlighting” is often purported to be an allegorical
representation of the simmering conflict between Soviet/Polish government and
the Polish workers. Nowak’s characterization is viewed as a metaphor for the
increasingly oppressive nature of the government. Director Skolimowski’s dialogues
bring strength to this theory. Nowak’s tactics to keep the men under the dark
and the way he quells the dissidence somehow reflects the manner the communist
regime behaved in 1980’s Poland. At
first, Nowak treats Banaszak, Kudaj and Wolski like children, who aren’t aware
about the pitfalls in the surroundings. He appoints himself as a guardian
looking over what they need and don’t. Gradually, Nowak himself becomes like
his oppressive Polish boss by telling lies, driving them hard to work and
paying them by food. The English speaking ability imbues a little arrogance in
Nowak, making him to think that his fellow Poles are only chosen for their
stupidity (for not being able to see this situation from the boss’s side).
However, as time progresses, the men learn that they don’t need Nowak to thrive
in this environment. The trust they have placed in Nowak also starts to erode,
which reaches a culmination point as the hidden truth reaches their ears.
Although the character of Nowak crosses the line of general
ethics, he is depicted in an empathetic manner. Even if you aren’t aware of the
Solidarity Movement or Polish political background, the deadpan and humanistic
characters makes up for a wonderful treatise on the temptations and isolation
of materialist environment. It could be contemplated as a simple survival
movie, where a man learns to live off the land which sometimes contradicts from
the rules set by the society. It could be interpreted as one man’s inner
struggle for attaining personal success and loyalty. One of the recurring
visual motif or symbol in the film is the ‘windows’. London may not be the
watchdog city like Warsaw, but still Nowak has the same anxious feeling of
being watched or judged. He is still watched from the windows of supermarket or
the neighbors (at one point, Skolimowski places a close-up shot of supermarket
camera to insist on how Nowak is always on the watch). The only difference is
that Nowak also gets to watch and judge on others, which might be absent on a
totalitarian state.
Nowak grows wary about his wife’s fidelity as he looks into
the window of opposite flat, where a man who looks like his boss has a weekend
affair with a housewife. It is through the window he sees the worsening
situation in his nation and when he steals a bicycle and brings it inside his
home, Nowak immediately covers up with the window. Nowak’s soul which was
enclosed within a slender space in his country seeks for new ideas, hopes and
dreams in London. Sadly, the eye which serves as the soul’s window only brings
him misfortune in various forms. The impassive humor works wonderfully in such
situations (especially when he tries to pick up the sales girl in wrangler
showroom) when his silly ideas are shattered. The misfortunes were made
possible mainly because of Nowak’s thought that London is the haven he sought
after. But, gradually he learns that people in London could also be cruel; that
they might also push you to something erratic; that one’s desire could outpace
the money he possesses.
One of the well designed ironical humor by director
Skolimowski is the way the house gradually gets brightened up as darkness
hovers around the men’s heart due to dis-trustfulness & lies. In reality,
the West London House belongs to Skolimowski and it was undergoing a
renovation. The director himself plays the blink-and-miss cameo as the Polish
boss. Jeremy Irons as Nowak gives a measured performance, striking the right
chords as he transcends from being a benevolent overseer to a slightly authoritative guy. We could also recognize the agony of his past victimized
nature.
“Moonlighting” (97 minutes) is a darkly humorous humanistic
tale that is handled with a deft touch and imbued with subtle political
allusions.
Trailer
1 comment:
nice read!
Post a Comment