Kondratiuk, Andrzej

(1936-)

   Director, screenwiter, cinema-tographer, frequent collaborator (as writer-actor) with his brother, director Janusz Kondratiuk. Kondratiuk started his career in 1965 with the television film The Trumpeter's Monologue (Monolog trębacza) and made several popular films in the 1970s, including Hydro-Riddle (Hydrozagadka, 1970), A Hole in the Ground (Dziura w ziemi, 1970), Scorpio, Virgo, and Sagitarius (Skorpion, panna i łucznik, 1971), How It Is Done (Jak to się robi, 1973), and The Ascended (Wniebowzięci, 1973). The latter two, featuring Jan Himilsbach and Zdzisław Mak-lakiewicz, enjoy cult status in Poland. Later films, such as Full Moon (Pełnia, 1979), Stardust (Gwiezdny pyt, 1982), and, in particular, The Four Seasons (Cztery pory roku, 1984), The Spinning Wheel of Time (Wrzeciono czasu, 1995), and The Sundial (Słoneczny zegar, 1997), helped to establish Kondratiuk as the master of "private/separate cinema" (as it is often labeled by Polish critics), films mostly produced by the director's family and friends. Beginning with Four Seasons, he made semiautobiographical films with his wife (well-known actress-singer Iga Cembrzyńska who acts as producer-star) on aging, family bonds, and art. His works are characterized by slow-paced scenes, unmistakable self-mockery, sarcastic humor, clever dialogues about existential problems, and visual beauty.

   Select other films: The Filmic Memoir of Iga C. (Pamiętnik filmowy Igi C., 2000), Prodigal Daughter (Córa marnotrawna, 2001), The Windmill Bar (Bar pod młynkiem, 2005).

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof