He is one of the most famous and outstanding directors of not only Eastern Europe, but the whole world. He is a theater director, screenwriter and director. For the greatest contribution to world cinema, he was honored to be an honorary Oscar winner and many international awards and prizes. Back in the 50s of the twentieth century, he managed to gain credibility in the cinema in a short time, when he became one of the leaders of the new Polish school, and remains to this day, despite his venerable age. He is the great Andrzej Wajda, the man who changed his view of the movie.
Children's years Masters
The future king of cinematography was born on March 6, 1926. This event occurred in the north-east of Poland, in the town of Suwalki. It was in these places at that time that military units were located where his father, Yakub, served. He was an officer in equestrian artillery, commander of the 41st regiment. Mom, Anel, worked as a school teacher.
In the twenties and early thirties, the eastern border of Poland passed through these places, and military units were stationed. The Wajda family lived in the barracks until his father received an appointment to another provincial town of Radom, which was south and closer to Warsaw.
One of the boy’s childhood experiences was a military ritual: teachings, verification, various shows and even a solemn funeral. Later, in 1939, from the barracks the path led straight to the front, under the enemy tanks. This was no longer a ritual, but a border separating life and death.
First loss
In September 1939, Soviet troops marched across eastern Poland. Andrzej’s father was in Soviet captivity. With other captured Polish officers he was imprisoned in a camp, and then shot in Katyn. Subsequently, this pain, as well as the memories of the war, went through the whole work of the director as a red topic. In his paintings Wajda will not talk about his past, although in his youth the director was connected during the days of the uprising in Warsaw. He will talk about completely different people - about the commander of the detachment, Lieutenant Zadra, about the signalman Margaritka, about the heroes of the film "Channel" - about people who could see the sun for only a few hours in films and in real life ...
From study to work
In 1939, Andrzej Wajda celebrated its 13th anniversary. It was the last birthday his dad attended. Six months later, he was gone. Andrzej goes to 8th grade, but with the outbreak of World War II he had to drop out of school. In order not to fall into the group of guys who were forcibly sent to the German Reich, the boy gets a job. He changed many professions: he was a loader, cooper's apprentice, draftsman, painter, storekeeper in German workshops. He even helped a wandering painter restore frescoes in churches. During the years of the occupation of his country, young Andrzej Wajda did not participate in the hostilities, but was a member of the detachment of the underground Army of the Craiova and even took the oath.
How to choose a life path?
Helping wandering street painters in the restoration of frescoes in churches, the guy was seriously interested in painting. So the birth of the dream of becoming an artist. It was this dream that contributed to the fact that after the end of the war, in 1946, Andrzej Wajda entered the Krakow Academy of Fine Arts. But he studied there for only three years. The future director moves to the Lodz School of Motion Picture Arts at the directing department. True, he did not part with the painting and continued to participate in many exhibitions.
Andrzej Wajda was sure that in this period of time just cinema is the kind of art that perfectly reflects the post-war era, when all life was on the border of war and peace. All people then believed that it was cinema that could be something more important than ordinary entertainment; that it can change human consciousness.
"New Polish school"
Wajda’s thoughts were shared by other talented young people who studied with him at the film school - directors Jerzy Kavalerovich, Andrzej Munk, Wojciech Khas. It was with them in the same team that Wajda created a new direction in the cinema, which was called the “new Polish school”. A little later, it was he who headed the new direction and became one of the leading directors of Poland.
Creative way
While still a student, Andrzej Wajda, whose best films are known to most admirers of his talent, worked as an assistant and assistant director. It was Wajda who was the second director of Alexander Ford, when he directed the film “Five from Barskaya Street”. In the film "Three Tales" Wajda was the co-author of the script.
During his studies, the young director managed to shoot the first short films “When You Sleep” and “An Angry Boy” according to Chekhov and the documentary film “Ilzhetskaya Ceramics”. Then he sincerely believed that cinema could change the world and the consciousness of people. Wajda began to closely study the theory of directing cinema. His articles helped open up new paths in the development of cinematography in Poland.
Director's international recognition
Among the works of Andrzej Wajda there are films of a wide range of stylistic decisions: these are chamber psychological dramas and sophisticated allegories, harsh social parables and staged historical paintings.
His first full-length film, Recognition, shot in 1954, turned out to be a pleasant surprise for both viewers and critics. She was both human and professional. So in an instant, the young director, who was barely 26 years old, became the idol of a generation scorched by an evil war. Another victory was the film "Channel", shot two years later. This tape received the "Silver Palm Branch" in Cannes. Wajda's talent has now become known in Europe.
Another film, the last in the war trilogy that Wajda Andrzej made, is Ashes and Diamond. The tape, which received the Venice Prize, is considered one of the best, "out of the pen" director. It has long been an integral part of the golden fund of world cinema, firmly entering the top ten films.
And only in 2007, after so many decades, did the great director finally be able to slightly open the curtain over the white spot in the history of his native country - the Katyn tragedy. Moreover, this pain directly concerned himself. For Andrzej Wajda Katyn was his great grief, which he carried through his whole life.
In this picture, the director spoke about the fate of men through the feelings of women - their loyalty, despair, suffering, longing.
Wajda phenomenon
The films of Andrzej Wajda never included direct authorial speech. There is no first person in them, there is no “I” neither in the phonogram, nor in the frame. He told the audience about everything intimate through different life stories of other people. In each of his paintings, everything experienced by man was presented as an objective narrative. Wajda shared with reporters that in his works he never composes anything, because each of his films is part of his life. All that he shoots is his biography, his path. This is precisely the phenomenon of the brilliant director: his author’s cinema is a very personal work, closely connected with life.
When Wajda was going to shoot the film "Samson" in 1961, two hundred girls auditioned for the main female role. As a result, it was decided that Tyszkiewicz will be removed. So the director met his future third wife. Until this day, he married twice, though he did not have children. And Beata Tyszkiewicz gave birth to his daughter Carolina. Officially, the couple registered their relationship after the birth of a daughter.
They were in London when the news came of the tragic death of their mutual friend Zbigniew Tsybulsky. Beata invited her husband to remove the tape dedicated to Zbigniew. Andrzej Wajda made the film "Women's Day" in 1968. Unfortunately, soon at the University of Warsaw, just on March 8, there were unrest, and female students were injured. The name of the film had to be changed. At this very time, Beata Tyszkiewicz wrote the book “Everything for Sale”. She offered her husband her job. The film was a resounding success, and the family broke up.
Creativity Masters
The director tried to use his powers in a variety of styles. The filmography of Andrzej Wajda is very extensive. He shot comedies and military dramas, even paintings based on the works of famous writers. Over time, his work acquired political notes.
In the painting “A Man from Marble,” he openly criticized the party-state system, and after some time announced that he supported the opposition movement in Poland. Wajda had a very active citizenship, so he can be equated with public figures of the country. It was Andrzej’s unforgettable work that helped the Poles to look at reality from a different perspective. His work has become a real symbol of national unity.
The director also had a lot of work abroad: he filmed Leskov's "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensok Uyezd" and directed the television play Crime and Punishment according to Dostoevsky. Based on Bulgakov’s work, Andrzej Wajda “The Master and Margarita” shot German television. The theatrical productions that he staged went on the stages of America and Europe.
During his long career in the work of director Andrzej Wajda directed more than 60 films and staged many theatrical performances. His films have awards. In 2002, he was awarded one of the most famous film awards - an honorary Oscar.