ONE DAY IN PEOPLE’S POLAND
*** out of *****
Reviewed by Juan Incognito

Screening in the 2006 New Zealand International Film Festival
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Genres
Commies
Documentary

2006
Written and directed by
Maciej J. Drygas

One Day in People’s Poland is a montage combining sound and imagery compiled from 1960s Poland with written extracts from a variety of sources, the intention being to show a day in the life of communist Poland. The tone created by the merging of the two media is a deliberate dichotomy: the video conveys an industrious, co-operative Poland; the other full of human endeavour, misery, pettiness - the life of a person in a reluctantly Communist state. The placing of the two together illustrates the human struggle against state propaganda.

Mash ups of this kind interest me; they seek to reinterpret existing media and imagery in a way that would never have been conceived by the original author(s). With the power of computers and the easy access to digital sound, images and video this type of mash-up has become an increasingly common form of artwork, at least on the Internet. It is perhaps one way of fighting back against the absolutist view of copyright that is increasingly pushed upon us by the man

But whether the film works as a stand-alone film is not so certain.  While it is well done (except for a slightly overloud soundtrack) and in its own way quite captivating, its very nature precludes it from being something that should be viewed on its own.  It is a snapshot of 1960s communist Poland, there is no story, just a series of images and conversations that generate an impression of what life was like.  It would be better viewed as part of a wider exhibition, perhaps as display running in the background.  However, that being said the film is brief, and running under an hour it doesn’t labour the point, and does examine the lost world of communist Poland.  Go see this film if you are interested in revisiting the past, in hearing the struggle that was life in a communist state, or if you want to see something different.  Do not go see this film if you want a strong narrative.

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