The birth-to-death of a Polish bureaucrat is followed in 1977’s strange and compelling The Dancing Hawk, written and directed by Grzegorz Krolikiewicz, on Blu-Ray via Radiance Films.
The Film
The Dancing Hawk is a patently absurd and strange film. I loved the way the cradle-to-grave story of Michal Toporny was presented. It’s less of big moments and huge pushes than it is feelings and visual presence. As the kids say: vibes. Not like Boyhood, but more of a kaleidoscope of random moments, shot oddly, that give an overall impression of a discordant, yet ultimately bland life. Toporny’s life might be pretty nothing in the end, a cog who thinks he’s more important than he is, but really a lonely, disconnected man, as represented by the method of telling. Grzegorz Krolikiewicz’s 1977 film, adapted from the novel by Julian Kawalec, is a truly fascinating watch.
The Dancing Hawk is said to be inspired by Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane. I can see the connection. Not in the “no one knows him, so it’s all second hand” of that film, but no one knows him or cares because he loses himself as he gains rank, never quite on the same footing as everyone else. Franciszek Trzeciak is fantastic as Michal Toporny (since he plays him from teen to old man, that weird feeling of “hello fellow kids” when he’s a university student sets a tone). The performance is purposely pushy, off-kilter, and always sticking out like a sore thumb. Perfectly realized. It’s all helped by the amazing filming methods. There’s this one sequence, looking at himself in a mirror, that gives a visual to the overall disconnect in a great method. But in many ways, he’s also a victim, just becoming a cog as well. An interesting character study of a different breed.
Krolikiewicz’s method of crafting the story is an incredible draw. Less full scenes, but slices of oddity. Disconcertingly, slivers of moments, randomly dropping into life gives a wonderfully absurd tone. Wholly original and compelling, The Dancing Hawk is a collection of connected bits, but only in the nature of all moments in someone’s specific life. There’s a sort of chaos in the methods, never allowing the audience to settle before throwing them into the next odd moment.
This is brought home by the striking camera work by Zbigniew Rybczynski. Rybcynski never takes the shot in an expected manner. Placing it on animals, moving farm equipment, on random desks in a room, or even odder, such as a hand’s point of view as its arm is cut off. Often the subject is out of center, or off frame, leaving the viewer to listen to them without seeing a context, filling in; never comfortable, always cryptic. And it’s just gorgeous too in production design, or in choice of location, since I’d venture it was filmed on location over set construction. But wow, does it shine and spark. Since the story is kept at arm’s length, these odd choices of shots drive it visually. Auditorily, the film’s sound is just as purposefully, foley with a specific sound and echo, also slightly removed from reality. It’s all, visually and audibly, successfully in design, deftly constructed.
It’s been said that the film is a metaphor of post-WWII Poland. Of urbanization in favor of the rural, and the complications of a Kafkaesque Iron Curtain, Russian-backed communism. I can see this, with starting as a farm boy, born in a rural village during the First World War, and leading an industrialization against the same as the film progresses; flattening a personality for the sake of work and the party. My only real knowledge of Polish cinema is this film and various works of Krzysztof Kieslowski, mainly the Three Colors Trilogy, Double Life of Veronique, and the utterly depressing Dekalog. Between the length of these, one gains a feeling of life in Poland behind the curtain. I can see a through line for them, people working through the mundanities; living muted lives.
Grzegorz Krolikiewicz’s The Dancing Hawk is a wonderfully strange and infinitely compelling film, speaking to its time and place with an earned confidence of oddity.
The Package
Radiance Films offers The Dancing Hawk on a single-disc Blu-ray. The reversible sleeve features art by Jerzy Czerniawski and Andrzej Klimowski. Nestled within is a booklet. The release, limited to 3000 copies, has the Radiance removable OBI strip with all relevant information, leaving the packaging clear for the artwork.
The Presentation
The visuals are a new 4k restoration by Filmotka Narodowa. As noted in the review, the presentation is utterly gorgeous. Crisp and colorful, with a lush palette really standing out. It’s a real visual treat. The audio is uncompressed mono. Again, as noted above, The Dancing Hawk has a specifically designed sound style, and I loved the way it was used. Audio is Polish with new English subtitles.
The Features
Carmen Gray Video Essay
The film critic gives context to the film, making what I felt more concrete. Gray talks about the unique methods of creation and the importance of its place in Polish cinema. Quite fascinating. In English. (16m)
Short Films
Two films from the cinematographer Zbigniew Rybczynski, who won an 1982 Animated Short Oscar for Tango. Two other shots are featured here.
Soup
This 1974 film features Gilliamesque animations in incredibly clever and creative methods to show the life of a marriage in 70s Poland. Quite a joy; 9m
Oh! I Can’t Stop!
I wonder if Sam Raimi saw this 1976 short before making Evil Dead? It’s a 1st person perpective of a monster roaming through a city and countryside, increasing in speed as it goes. Delirious, with a fun take where it’s obviously sped up but coming from Rybcynski walking around, so the speeds don’t match (this is a good thing). Some really innovative ways to move. It seems to be one shot, but I have no idea how it’s done. 10m
Booklet
A 25-page booklet contains the standard cast/crew listing and photos along with the essay, The Dancing Hawk: Gregorz Krolikiewicz’s Plebeian and Multidimensional Citizen Kane by Piotr Kletowski. Kletowski’s writing gives more context to the film and deepens the Kane reference. A solid march into the wider view of the film.
Final Thoughts
The Dancing Hawk is yet another Radiance Films release that inserts me into a world I’m not too familiar with and lets me come out with new knowledge and appreciation of great cinema. It’s unconventional and engrossing, with a fantastic visual and sound design. For the disc itself, the transfer is wonderful, and the extras are fun in the short films.