On a film by Andrzej Sapija Cover Image

O filmie Andrzeja Sapiji "Powrót Odysa" II. Tadeusza Kantora notatki z prób
On a film by Andrzej Sapija

Author(s): Katarzyna Tokarska
Subject(s): Theatre, Dance, Performing Arts
Published by: Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk
Keywords: Kantor; Sapija; Odysseus; Polish theatre

Summary/Abstract: This article presents the most important stages and areas of Tadeusz Kantor’s output, as shown in Powrót Odysa II. Tadeusza Kantora notatki z prób [‘The Return of Odysseus, 2. Tadeusz Kantor’s rehearsal notes’], a documentary directed by Andrzej Sapija. The motif of a ‘return of Odysseus’, the principal category in Kantor’s art, was employed as the film’s structural skeleton. Once a real event, the production staged in 1944, when reduced to a few elements, often recalled as a reference and discussed at a length, had effectively been deformed. The article, in turn, becomes a commentary of a sort, exceeding the limits of the filmmaker’s script. The trade mainly concerns the Powrót Odysa production: for the Author, the facts established with respect to the premiere version have become the basis for a critical analysis of Kantor’s later utterances on the performance, including on a sequence repeated in his Nigdy tu już nie powrócę [I shall never return here]. The article follows the film’s narrative, attempting at communicating the abundance of motifs touched upon by Sapija and taking into account the filmmaker’s interpretation and precise composition of the material, as ensuing from the editing work and documents selected.

  • Issue Year: 2006
  • Issue No: 4
  • Page Range: 177-190
  • Page Count: 14
  • Language: Polish
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