Królikiewicz, Grzegorz

(1939-)

   One of the most original Polish directors, known for his bold cinematic and theatrical experiments. A 1967 graduate of the Łódź Film School, where he has been teaching since 1981, Królikiewicz is also well known for his important theatrical productions for the Polish Television Theater and for a series of books—detailed analyses of film masterpieces. He established himself at the beginning of the 1970s with a series of documentary films such as Brothers (Bracia, 1971) and Don't Cry (Nie płacz, 1972), which belong to a brand of Polish cinema that was labeled by Polish critics "creative documentary" (dokument kreacyjny). Since his debut in 1969, he has produced approximately forty documentary films.

   In 1973 Królikiewicz made a highly original and provocative film, Through and Through (Na wylot, 1973), which was praised by Polish critics. His 1978 film Dancing Hawk (Tańczący jastrząb, 1978), based on Julian Kawalec's novel and photographed by Zbigniew Rybczyński, was also very well received. The film told the story of the rise of an ambitious villager (Franciszek Trzeciak) who graduates from a university, breaks links with his roots, and sacrifices everything for his career, with tragic repercussions. The search for a new cinematic language, experiments with an offscreen space, and the avoidance of psychologizing later resulted in the mixed reception of Krolikiewicz's films such as Fort 13 (1983) and The Killing of Aunt (Zabicie ciotki, 1984). In 1993 Królikiewicz won the Festival of Polish Films with his new film, The Case of Pekosiński (Przypadek Pekosińskiego, 1993), which tells the story of an older, ill, and alcoholic man who is without a family and without any knowledge of who he is. Królikiewicz was not afraid to employ Pekosiński to reconstruct episodes and scenes from his own life and, consequently, to block the viewer's identification with the protagonist.

   Other films: Everlasting Resentments (Wieczne pretensje, 1974), The Jewel of Clear Conscience (Klejnot wolnego sumienia, 1981), Trees (Drzewa, 1995).

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof