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Latest items? Unedited? Fringe Report Uncut
The Naked - A Psychological Film
(Original Polish title - Golasy)
Film (2002) - 72 mins
Verdict: Soviet legacy satire
Availability - DVD - Oracle ORA922
The Naked (Golasy) takes a deft swipe at office and national politics, the legacy of the Soviet Union in 70s Poland, and the routine madnesses of everyday life. The style is light drama/documentary with flashes of farce.
The film takes place in a single office room, with occasional views beyond. It's the workplace of the central characters: bossy and bored Mrs Krysia (Anna Pudlowska), her assistant Boźenka (Barbara Gasior) and office junior Marta (Agnieszka Paśko).
Their manager Mr Kierownik (Jerzy Grobel) is bitten by a rabid dog and quickly goes mad, destroying furniture and eventually being hospitalised.
Mrs Zosia (Irena Kolodziej), freshly back from a health farm, is having a passionate affair with the office delivery driver. Switchboard operator Olga (Malgorzata Kaca) copes with frequent power cuts and keeps her ear to crucial gossip.
Office lecher Grzesiu (Waldemar Plotek) chats up Marta while his appalling twin sons Oskar (Maks Turowski) and Kondrat (Milosz Turowski) create mayhem.
There's a glorious spoof of daytime soaps, shown on a Soviet-era TV, with Danuta Sokalska as Doctor Lekarka. He's a character idolised by the office staff. But he's devoid of any possible sex-appeal, with a flat reedy voice - and atrocious dialogue. It's the highlight of the film.
There's a running thread of mild threat from a hoax caller. The leisurely pace of the film accelerates fast at the end, as the plot strands - quietly, almost unnoticeably laid out in the story - converge in an emphatic climax.
The film's strength is in the way it evokes, effortlessly, the tedium of the Soviet legacy. There are power-cuts, rationing; a constant need to negotiate price, take what's available of goods and meagre opportunities. Each aspect of life is grey. But the characters are far from despondent. Through manipulation, they thrive.
Confining the action to one room - like Rear Window and Twelve Angry Men - creates a challenge for writers Krzysztof Jaworski and (director) Witold Swiętnicki.
The script is very word-dense, making it tricky for non-Polish-speakers to keep up with the sub-titles. And there are slow-moving parts that could be cut without loss. Cutting from 75 minutes to 55 would sharpen the satire.
The film caused some shock in Poland, because all the characters, including those shown on TV, are naked. It's a nudist version of The Office (with rationing and power cuts). There's no sex - the nakedness is never referred to, and people behave normally.
Most of the bodies aren't pretty, and visually it could be seen as a powerful argument for wearing clothes. But the characters' lack (mostly) of six-packs and toned bodies gives it a relaxed and quirky charm.
Cast Credits: (Source - www.imdb.com, film credits, DVD sleeve notes; at 3 September 04): (actors pictured at film final credits): Anna Pudlowska – Mrs Krysia / Pani Krysia. Barbara Gasior - Boźenka. Agnieszka Paśko - Marta. Irena Kolodziej - Mrs Zosia / Pani Zosia. Waldemar Plotek - Grzesiu. Jerzy Grobel – Chief / Pan Kierownik. Malgorzata Kaca - Olga. (other actors in alpha order): Beata Bodniak - Ewa. Jerzy Kapeluszny - Retired Man. Tomasz Kolodziejczyk - Jurek. Karol Lamka - Mr. Staszek. Marek Laski - Travelling-Agent. Renata Michalska - Malgośka. Danuta Sokalska - Doctor Lekarka. Ryszard Strzalkowski - Suppliant. Maks Turowski - Oskar. Milosz Turowski - Kondrat.
Company Credits: (Source - www.imdb.com, film credits, DVD sleeve notes; at 3 September 04): Director - Witold Swiętnicki. Writers (alpha order) - Krzysztof Jaworski, Witold Swiętnicki. Executive Producers (alpha order) - Monika Dobra-Kazimierczuk, Beata Swietnicka. Producer - Witold Swiętnicki. Editor - Robert Piechnik. Production Designer - Justyna Wojcicka. Make-Up Designer - Karolina Swiatek. Sound Editor - Marius Szulc.. Sound - Henryk Szurkowski. Music Score - 8:2. Cinematographer - Wojciech Rawecki. Production Company - Wytwórnia Filmów Amerykańskich. Distributors - Kino Swiat International. Fajgel (www.fajgel.com.pl). Atm Grupa Poland (www.atmgrupa.pl). Also Known As - The Naked (2002). The Naked - A Psychological Film (2002). Run time - 75 minutes; 89 minutes; DVD - 72 min. Country - Poland. Language - Polish (English subtitles). Colour - Colour. Certification - Poland - 15. UK - 15. UK DVD Oracle Home Entertainment ref ORA922.
END
John Park
reviewed Thursday 2 September 04 / London
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2012
www.fringereport.com
