Andrzej Wajda and his brilliant films. Biography and photo of the director

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

He is one of the most famous and outstanding directors not only in Eastern Europe, but in the whole world. He is a theater director, screenwriter and director. For his greatest contribution to world cinema, he was honored to be the winner of an honorary Oscar and many international awards and prizes. Back in the 50s of the twentieth century, he managed to gain prestige in the cinema in a short time, when he became one of the leaders of the new Polish school, and remains so to this day, despite his rather respectable age. He is the great Andrzej Wajda, the man who changed the way we look at cinema.

Childhood of the Master

The future king of cinematography was born on March 6, 1926. This event took place in the north-east of Poland, in the town of Suwalki. It was in these places that the military units were located at that time, where his father, Yakub, served. He was a horse artillery officer, commander of the 41st regiment. Mom, Anelya, worked as a schoolteacher.

In the twenties - early thirties, the eastern border of Poland passed in these places, and military units were quartered. The Vaida family lived in the barracks until his father was assigned to another provincial town of Radom, which was south and closer to Warsaw.

One of the boy's childhood impressions was a military ritual: exercises, verifications, various reviews and even a solemn funeral. Later, in 1939, the path from the barracks led straight to the front, under enemy tanks. It was no longer a ritual, but a border separating life and death.

First loss

In September 1939, Soviet troops marched through Eastern Poland. Andrzej's father ended up in Soviet captivity. With other captured Polish officers, he was imprisoned in a camp, and then shot at Katyn. Subsequently, this pain, like memories of the war, ran like a red theme through all the director's work. In her films, Wajda will not talk about her past, although in her youth the director was a liaison 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 Daisy, about the heroes of the film "Channel" - about people who, both in films and in real life, had only a few hours to see the sun …

From school to work

In 1939, Andrzej Wajda celebrated his 13th birthday. It was the last birthday that his dad attended. Six months later he was gone. Andrzej goes to the 8th grade, but with the outbreak of World War II, he had to drop out of school. In order not to get into a group of guys,who were forcibly sent to the German Reich, the boy gets a job. He changed many professions: he was a loader, a cooper's apprentice, a draftsman, a painter, a 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 hostilities, but was a member of the underground Home Army and even took the oath.

How to choose the right path in life?

Helping itinerant street painters restore frescoes in churches, the guy became seriously interested in painting. This is how the dream of becoming an artist was born. 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 Łódź Film School at the directing department. True, he did not part with painting and continued to participate in many exhibitions.

Andrzej Wajda was sure that at this period of time, 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 could change people's minds.

New Polish School

Waida's thoughts were shared by other talented young people who studied with him at the film school - directors Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Andrzej Munk, Wojciech Has. It is with them inWith one team, Wajda created a new direction in cinema, which was called the "new Polish school". A little later, it was he who led the new direction and became one of the leading directors in Poland.

Creative path

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 Alexander Ford's second director when he staged the film Five from Barskaya Street. In the film "Three stories" Wajda was a co-author of the script.

During his studies, the young director managed to shoot the first short films “When You Sleep” and “Angry Boy” based on Chekhov and the documentary “Ilzhetskaya Ceramics”. Then he sincerely believed that cinema could change the world and people's minds. Wajda began to closely study the theory of film directing. His articles helped open up new paths in the development of Polish cinematography.

International recognition of the director

Among the works of Andrzej Wajda there are films of a wide range of stylistic solutions: these are chamber psychological dramas and sophisticated allegories, harsh social parables and staged historical films.

His first feature film "Confession", filmed in 1954, was 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 of his victories was the film "Channel", filmed two years later. This film won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Wajda's talent has now become known in Europe as well.

Another film, the last in the war trilogy, directed by Andrzej Wajda, Ashes and Diamond. The tape, which received the Venice Prize, is considered one of the best, “come out of the pen” of the 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, the great director was finally able to slightly open the curtain over the white spot in the history of his native country - the Katyn tragedy. In addition, this pain touched directly on himself. For Andrzej Wajda, Katyn was his great grief, which he carried through his whole life.

In this film, the director told about the fate of men through the feelings of women - their loy alty, despair, suffering, longing.

Vaida Phenomenon

Andrzej Wajda's films have never included a direct author's speech. There is no first person in them, there is no “I” either in the soundtrack or in the frame. He told the audience about everything secret through different life stories of other people. In each of his paintings, everything experienced by a person appeared as an objective narrative. Vaida shared with journalists that he never composes anything in his works, because each of his films is a part of his life. Everything he shoots is his biography, his path. This is precisely the phenomenon of geniusdirector: his author's cinema is a very personal work, closely connected with life.

When Vajda was going to shoot the film "Samson" in 1961, two hundred girls auditioned for the female lead. As a result, it was decided that Tyshkevich would be filmed. So the director met his future third wife. Until that day, he had married twice, though he had no children. And Beata Tyszkiewicz gave birth to his daughter Karolina. The couple officially registered their relationship after the birth of their daughter.

They were in London when the news came of the tragic death of their mutual friend Zbigniew Cybulski. Beata suggested that her husband film a tape dedicated to Zbigniew. Andrzej Wajda directed the film "Women's Day" in 1968. Unfortunately, soon at the University of Warsaw, just on March 8, there were unrest, female students suffered. The title of the film had to be changed. At this very time, Beata Tyszkiewicz wrote the book Everything for Sale. She offered her husband for work. The film was a resounding success, and the family fell apart.

Creativity of the Master

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 has acquired political overtones.

In the film "The Man of Marble" he frankly criticized the party-state system, and after some time announced that he supported the opposition movement in Poland. Vaida was very activecivic position, so it can be equated with public figures of the country. It was the unforgettable work of Andrzej that helped the Poles to look at reality from a different perspective. His works have become a true symbol of national unity.

The director also had a lot of work abroad: he filmed Leskov's "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" and staged the television play "Crime and Punishment" based on Dostoevsky. Based on the work of Bulgakov, Andrzej Wajda filmed The Master and Margarita on German television. The theatrical performances that he staged were on the stages of America and Europe.

During his long career, director Andrzej Wajda made over 60 films and staged many theatrical performances. His films have been awarded. In 2002, he was awarded one of the most famous awards in cinematography - an honorary Oscar.