Is streaming euthanizing the Polish motion picture theater industry? | PIOTR GZOWSKI
In 1997, Netflix revolutionized the accessibility to motion pictures by providing DVDs through the mail for home viewing. What made the concept particularly novel was that there was no late fee for holding onto a disc for any period of time. The service was based on a membership fee which determined how many DVDs a person could receive at any given time. Thus, a new offering was made available upon the return of one that was viewed. The returns were simple. The postage was included. The turn around time was quick. The process retired the Blockbuster rental store. In 2009, television and internet telephony technologies married when broadcasting switched from the analog to the digital signal. Suddenly, the TV tube was redundant. It was replaced by the flat screen whose dimensions imitated the motion picture screen, and because digital broadcasting had the capability of providing massive amounts of data through the internet, DVDs themselves were suddenly outdated by a new video broadcasting method christened “streaming.” Subsequently, Netflix converted its operations to streaming films. You Tube, Amazon and Hulu eventually boarded the “stream” liners, and when COVID-19 nailed the doors of the motion picture theaters shut, the streaming services became the primary providers of public entertainment, even creating their own production companies on an international level. This has had a very noticeable effect on the Polish film industry.
Cinematically, Polish films seem to have travelled two parallel routes – the films made for the silver screen of the motion picture theater and those made specifically for the TV set. For example, films by Andrzej Wajda (Ashes and Diamonds), Krzysztof Kieślowski (Decalogue) Michał Rosa (Joy in the World [Szczęście Świata]), Paweł Pawłowski (Ida, Cold War), Jan Komasa (Corpus Christi, Warsaw 44), Zigmunt Pasikowski (Psy [Pigs]) to name a few, created films that required the magnitude of a motion picture theater screen. The themes were normally greater than life and as a result required an environment large enough to contain them. Films like Andrzej Kondratiuk’s 1986 comedy Big Bang about a small Polish village that try to prepare a proper reception to an UFO that has landed nearby (starring a young Janusz Gajos), or Jan Batory’s 1964 spy drama Rendezvous with a Spy (Spotkanie ze Szpiegiem) - both available on YouTube - were perfect for the intimacy of the home screen. However, despite their venues, both film genres still maintained the unique flavor that can labelled as Polish cinema.
The transition from public to private funding within the Polish film industry, especially with the arrival of Netflix production money, has subtly altered the Polish flavor. The Netflix offerings have conversely trended in favor of the home viewing market. The comedies tend to follow the sit-com format (Filip Zylber’s Heart Parade [Parada Serc], Anna Prochmiak’s Taming of the Shrewd [Poskrominie Złośnicy). The majority of the dramas are crime serials that on closer scrutiny resemble each other (examples: Jan Holoubek’s The Mire, Leszek Dadi, and Bartosz Konopka’s The Woods). Even, Tadeusz Sliwa’s Green Glove Gang which is a crime-drama-comedy is geared more for the home market than the motion picture theater. Are any of the pieces mentioned bad? Certainly not. Each of them is cast with superb talent, the productions are expertly executed and each of them have entertainment value. However, the one thing that is very clear about all of them is that they all trend towards the tastes of the western (if not the American) market.
Western marketing is firmly rooted in commercialism. What is trendy sells, and if it sells make as much of it as the market can handle. In that kind of environment, the question then arises are the Polish Netflix produced films being made or manufactured? It seems to be the latter. And there is no objection to this if it is limited to the home viewing market.
The motion picture theater is akin to the museum of art. Viewing works hung in a museum is quite different than looking a picture on the wall of a living room. Both experiences are valid, however, each requires it own unique mode of perception. It is safe to say that anyone who watches a film in a motion picture theater will attest that it is not the same experience as watching that very same piece of work from a sofa in a living room.
The fear that I have for the cinematic form, dear reader, is that it is becoming harder to distinguish between the works created for the motion picture theatre and those created for the living room. Polish film has always had its own unique niche in cinema. However, the Netflix manufacture of Polish works seem to be changing that distinct characteristic so that it has a broader appeal in the commercial market. The works are by no means horrid. The production quality is admirable. But like the films of Patryk Vega, the results are a Polish attempt to ape a style rather than develop a new one that can be distinguished uniquely as “Polish cinema”. The fear is that Netflix may inadvertently be euthanizing the Polish film industry.
The 45th Denver Film Festival is featuring two Polish films - EO by Jerzy Skolimowski which won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and which has been entered for Best International film at the 95th Academy Awards, and Tomasz Wasilewski’s film Fools (Głupcy) a heartfelt drama about a relationship on the verge of collapse. Both films are intended for the motion picture theater. Both look like they are worth the visit.
But, as always, dear reader, all the opinions expressed are simply my own. Watch the works on your own and judge for yourself.