Leszczyński, Witold

(1933-)

   Since his acclaimed debut, The Life of Matthew (Żywot Mateusza, 1968), now part of the Polish film canon, writer-director Witold Leszczyński has made six highly personal films. In 1972 he codirected with Andrzej Kostenko the psychological drama Personal Search (Rewizja osobista, 1972). This film was followed by Recollections (Rekolekcje, 1977), a semiau-tobiographical story about the filmmaker's dilemmas, and perhaps Leszczynski's most personal work. In 1981 Leszczyński produced a film that equals The Life of Matthew—the black-and-white Ko-nopielka (1981), based on a popular novel by Edward Redliński. It portrays a grotesquely backward rural community that is changed by the appearance of a beautiful young female teacher (Joanna Sienkiewicz). Under her influence, the film's central character (Krzysztof Majchrzak) begins to question old customs, taboos, and superstitious practices. Leszczynski's next film, Siekierezada (Axiliad, 1985), based on writer Edward Stachura's writings and life (which he ended prematurely in 1979 by committing suicide), became the winner of the 1986 Festival of Polish Films. After the transition to democracy, Leszczyński directed only two films, the Polish-Norwegian coproduction Koloss (1993) and Requiem (2001), the latter made in the spirit of The Life of Matthew. That parallel is emphasized by another casting of Franciszek Pieczka (this time as Bartłomiej) and Anna Milewska (this time as his old love interest Olga).

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof