Wajdy portret podwójny
Wajda's Double Portrait

Summary/Abstract: Preizner presents two books about life and work of one of the greatest Polish film directors: "Wajda. Portret mistrza w kilku odsłonach" ("Wajda – Portrait of a Master in Several Scenes") by Tadeusz Lubelski and "Andrzej Wajda. History, Politics, and Nostalgia in Polish Cinema" by Janina Falkowska. Preizner points out, that although at first glance these two books are very different from each other, in fact they complement one another. The book by Lubelski presents Wajda’s work in close relation to his biography, detailing many, previously unknown, facts from his life. But it does not deal with film analysis. Whereas Janina Falkowska presents Wajda’s life and historical context of his work in a rather cursory way, concentrating instead on the analysis of him films. The reason for this approach is that the volume is a sort of academic text book written for English speaking audiences. These two books provide us with a detailed portrait of the director, his life and work, and are written with an incredible personal and emotional engagement, which at the same time does not detract from their scientific detachment and objectivity.

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