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Attempts at writing a screenplay to Wyspiański's The Wedding

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Historical background to Wyspiański's The Wedding
Andrzej Wajda Film-maker
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I think that the choice of The Wedding went through several stages before it became the film that we see today on the screen. Initially, I imagined that to anyone who'd read The Wedding it was obvious that this was an amazing work which was actually a report. If Wyspiański had been alive today, he would have written a report for TV. We can say: here's the wedding feast, all the friends have come together, everyone who knows these people who go to the theatre. Everyone recognizes the host, the groom, the bride, her parents and the groom's friends. Stanisław Wyspiański was prepared to go so far in his attempt at bringing the prototypes he presents in The Wedding close to us that he wanted two young girls who were at the wedding to appear under their own names. And if it hadn't been for their aunt, the well know writer Deotyma who simply went to him and said this was totally unacceptable because these were young girls ripe for marriage, then the whole of Kraków would have seen them gossiping on stage. They would never have found husbands then. So Wyspiański softened a bit and crossed off their surnames so only their first names remained. But everyone knew what was going on anyway. And is that not then the reality show of today? Is it not an attempt at interviewing strangers? It's exactly that. Of course, The Wedding was differently acted because it was acted with great respect and attention to the ritual. The Wedding is written in verse which is fast and witty and runs on like real, everyday dialogue. However, the actors tried to make it weightier.

Ja myślę, że sięgnięcie po Wesele miało jakby kilka swoich etapów nim doszło do realizacji takiego filmu, jaki dziś widzimy na ekranie. Początkowo wydawało mi się, dla każdego, kto przeczyta Wesele, jest oczywiste, że to jest zdumiewający utwór, który jest właściwie reportażem. Wyspiański, gdyby żył za naszych czasów, napisałby reportaż dla telewizji. No bo można tak powiedzieć: jest wesele, wszyscy znajomi się schodzą, znajomi tego kręgu, który przychodzi do teatru. Wszyscy rozpoznają, kto jest gospodarz wesela, kto jest pan młody, a kto jest panna młoda, jej rodzice, a przyjaciele pana młodego. Stanisław Wyspiański tak dalece chciał się posunąć w swoim, że tak powiem, przybliżeniu tych pierwowzorów... tych pierwowzorów, których postacie przedstawił w Weselu, że chciał, żeby dwie panny, które występują na tym weselu, młode dziewczyny, żeby one występowały pod swoim nazwiskiem. I gdyby nie ich ciotka, znana pisarka Deotyma, która po prostu przyszła do niego i powiedziała, że to jest absolutnie niedopuszczalne – to są dziewczyny na wydaniu, nagle cały Kraków zobaczy je na scenie, co one wygadują, to jest po prostu dla nich... One nie znajdą już męża. No i Wyspiański trochę się zmitygował i skreślił nazwisko dziewczynek i zostały pod imionami. Ale wszyscy wiedzieli, o co chodzi. No czy to nie jest to, co dzisiaj jest reality-show? Czy jakaś próba wywiadu ze znanymi osobami? Dokładnie to. Oczywiście, że Wesele było inaczej grane, bo było grane właśnie z całym takim szacunkiem, że było z całą celebrą. Wesele jest napisane wierszem, ten wiersz jest błyskotliwy, biegnie szybko tak jak prawdziwy dialog codzienny. No ale aktorzy starali się mu nadać większy ciężar i tak dalej.

Polish film director Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016) was a towering presence in Polish cinema for six decades. His films, showing the horror of the German occupation of Poland, won awards at Cannes and established his reputation as both story-teller and commentator on Poland's turbulent history. As well as his impressive career in TV and film, he also served on the national Senate from 1989-91.

Listeners: Jacek Petrycki

Cinematographer Jacek Petrycki was born in Poznań, Poland in 1948. He has worked extensively in Poland and throughout the world. His credits include, for Agniezka Holland, Provincial Actors (1979), Europe, Europe (1990), Shot in the Heart (2001) and Julie Walking Home (2002), for Krysztof Kieslowski numerous short films including Camera Buff (1980) and No End (1985). Other credits include Journey to the Sun (1998), directed by Jesim Ustaoglu, which won the Golden Camera 300 award at the International Film Camera Festival, Shooters (2000) and The Valley (1999), both directed by Dan Reed, Unforgiving (1993) and Betrayed (1995) by Clive Gordon both of which won the BAFTA for best factual photography. Jacek Petrycki is also a teacher and a filmmaker.

Tags: Kraków, Wedding, Stanisław Wyspiański, Deotyma-Jadwiga Łuszczewska

Duration: 2 minutes, 33 seconds

Date story recorded: August 2003

Date story went live: 24 January 2008