Prasłowo i słowo odnalezione w „Sanatorium pod klepsydrą” – filmie Wojciecha Jerzego Hasa 1972
Protoword and the Word Discovered in “Sanatorium Pod Klepsydrą” – the Film by Wojciech Jerzy Has 1972

Summary/Abstract: While discussing Mityzacja rzeczywistości – Bruno Schulz’s essay on myth and poetry, of importance for anthropological reflection – the author of the article juxtaposed it with Sanatorium pod Klepsydrą, a film directed by Jerzy Wojciech Has (1972). Z. Benedyktowicz found the mechanism and phenomenon of ”glossing life with the aid of the myth”, described in Schulz’s essay (B. Schulz: “The human spirit is tireless in its glossing of life with the aid of myths”) in the strategy accepted and applied by the film director, who in his cinematic version introduced into Schulzian prose “a discovered word” – a citation from the “protoword” (myth), borrowed from the Book of Ecclesiastes [Kohelet, 12, 1-2], a profound kinship with the essence and mystery of Schulz’s oeuvre. In this way, Has’ film directly cites poetry as conceived and depicted by Schulz in his extraordinary definition formulated in the above-mentioned essay: “Poetry is the short-circuiting of meaning between words, the impetuous regeneration of primordial myth”. By continuing to devote his attention to the relations between myth and poetry described by Schulz, the author of the article concentrated on such motifs (source word, “protowords”) as “domicile” and ”returning home”, present in Polish films, poetry, and theatre (i.a. Andrzej Wajda – Tadeusz Konwicki – Tadeusz Kantor – Wojciech Jerzy Has), indicating their profound connection with the oeuvre of Bruno Schulz and constructing “memory of places” in the same spirit in which the author from Drohobycz wrote in Sanatorium pod Klepsydrą (The Hourglass Sanatorium): “Under the imaginary table that separates me from my readers, don’t we secretly clasp each other’s hands?”. Into reflections referring to his earlier works: Przestrzenie pamięci: antropologia pamięci, Antropologia pamięci i motyw domu w polskim filmie and Elementarz tożsamości the author also included his experiences from participating in the VIII International Bruno Schulz Festival in Drohobycz.

• Details
• Contents