2012 MUBI World Cup Voting, Match #50: Poland (Bad Luck) vs. Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World)
It’s the magpies match. We miss you magpies, wherever you are.
fantastic!!!! i was not aware these films were in the cup. must be my lucky day. hugs to mags, wherever she is.
Fake beard’s account is gone too? Oh well. Thanks for the film suggestion anyway.
fake beard deleted his account around two months ago.
people are strange..
ok, now i’m singing the doors :p
i’m okay with that. just don’t get out of the doors of mubi again :)). we don’t need no relapse -ation..
the films are both stunning. in sally’s memory i want to vote for her favorite
poland (bad luck) 1 – slovakia (pictures of the old world) 0
but i won’t forget these people
cheers magpies
Poland (Bad Luck) 1 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 0
poland (bad luck) 0 – slovakia (pictures of the old world) 1
Great match
Poland (Bad Luck) 1 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 0
Poland (Bad Luck) 0 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 1
Poland (bad luck) 0 – Slovakia (pictures of the old world) 1
Both were fantastic films, Twodeadmagpies had introduced me to Pictures of the Old World and other Dusan Hanak films about a year ago, and I really thank her for doing that. Hanak is a great film director and I’d say this is his best film (out of the ones I’ve seen). It’s full of interesting and charming people as well as of admirable (as the one of the man who survived cancer on drinking apple liquor).
Bad Luck is not only a great depiction of the first half of the 20th century in Poland, but the filmmaking serves wonderfully to film history. The school days part was just as I think Pudovkin or Eisenstein would’ve liked it to be. The narrative is treated as history and changes as the position of the film in history changes too.
But I’ll have to give it to Slovakia here; although Poland was a worthy competitor, Hanak’s documentary reaches outstanding.
Oh! And if anyone is feeling curious, Bad Luck was composed of 233 takes. An average of 2.19 takes per minute with an average duration of 27.29s each.
wow! ^ did u count them santropez :p
I saw Bad Luck last night and it was great. Definitely a great selection for a world cup as it places the narrative firmly in some specific times and places and tries to represent a specific sense of what was going on in different eras. Things change but really they don’t.
Good comedic acting and mixes of genres as well.
@Ruby Stevens
I counted them because I need them for my thesis, which is about how technologic developments have changed films’ average number of takes per minute through time and thus, changing how we tell our stories in movies.
Poland (Bad Luck) 0 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 1
Poland (Bad Luck) 0 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 1
As the man said in Pictures of the Old World, “People are interested in what is funny.” However, much as I enjoyed the social satire in Bad Luck, I’m voting for the mesmerizing photography/cinematography of Pictures from the Old World. Thanks for finding these two fine films for us – submitters and downloaders. (Also, thanks to Riss for re-instating my link to the blog after a computer glitch. I wanted to view the Slovakian film so I could vote in this match, as I had seen Bad Luck earlier).
God, I envy you people. I’m really missing out.
As good as both films are, only one of them had the line I dreamed of having seven girlfriends in my belly and that one came from Slovakia. What a difficult yet ultimately humanist document is Pictures of the Old World. I know it was made in 1972 but perhaps we should notify Dentists Wiithout Borders about the Slovakian rural community.
Pictures of the Old World is my introduction to Dušan Hanák. I thank you all. Andrzej Munk is known to me and very much appreciated. His doofus humor kept a tight reign on the fickle movements of historical ideologies in Poland, and elsewhere. Reminding us it takes a genius for toadyism and jumping on the popular bandwagon in order not to run afoul of one’s fellows when they’re marching behind one flag or another. Like most of us, Piszczyk was no genius. Individualism, even bumbling unintentional individualism is never popular and often hazardous in organized societies of heterodoxy with or without a uniform; and where to even be mistaken for a Jew is to risk ostracism or far worse.
so hope I can get to these before 8am tomorrow, they’re not long! hopefully can get one in tonight, and will have to get up early…Pictures looked quite delicious the glimpses I got when vimeo-ing it and want to see them for magpies too, her “babies”;)
It’s no wonder that magpies felt such a motherly love and sense of protection over these films, especially Pictures of the Old World. There’s something about extremely elderly folks that invokes a similar sense of affection and want to protect them as you would also feel about infants. Actually it’s something almost even stronger. With infants there is the potential of a whole life ahead of them, but with the elderly there is a real sense of value of a whole life lived. Yet the film makes a point that these folks don’t have any kind of sense of knowing anything espeically revelatory after all of their years. Work, happiness, life, new life, these are all things they value if they even aquiesce to answering the question of what has value. They seem like rote answers but feel like they have more validity coming from someone who has had to live through it all much longer.
This is my favorite discovery of the cup so far and the best film I’ve seen in a long time.
I really like Bad Luck quite a bit too.
Poland (Bad Luck) 0 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 1
for those who are interested, here is a link to a great essay on Bad Luck
Poland (Bad Luck) 0 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 1
Thanks for that link Chromeheart, it expanded my appreciation of the various aspects of Bad Luck, this observation in particular crystalises the nature of Piszczyk, the *innocent abroad
“Everybody goes through the motions; and everybody “knows better.” Piszczyk’s true “failing” is that he entirely lacks this cynicism and hypocrisy: this is precisely why his Party superior finds his enthusiasm suspect. How can anyone truly serve the Party, if he fails to be aware that everything the Party stands for is a sham?”… such a clever film but was quite simply mesmerised and blissed out by Pictures of the Old World.
This…:♥
*it reminding me of another Polish film I saw recently, Tadeusz Chmielewski’s Eva Wants to Sleep which also uses the innocent abroad (a farm girl in the city) approach with comic ingenuity and farce to comment on political and social constructs
riss are u here?? it’s time to close this match. ^ love that clip meg xD
Sorrrry, got distracted
VOTING IS CLOSED
Final tally:
Poland (Bad Luck) – 3
Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) – 7
The winner is:
SLOVAKIA!
There is lightning over the Tatras
Thunders wildly beat
Let us stop them, brothers
After all they will disappear
The Slovaks will revive
That Slovakia of ours
Has been fast asleep so far
But the thunder’s lightnings
Are just rousing Her
To be awoken
@ ruby that was an amazing apparatus! I wanted everyone to have another look;)
I’m glad I got to see both although not in time to vote. The ending of Bad Luck was surprising and improved the final rating I would have given it quite a bit. The photographic quality of the Old World was wonderful right from the start and I knew the minute it started that I would vote for this one but I wavered for a few seconds after seeing the ending of Bad Luck.
Risselada
This topic is part of the 2012 MUBI World Cup. If you have not already done so, please read the first post at the topic for an introduction to and rules about this year’s World Cup:
http://mubi.com/topics/2012-mubi-world-cup-introduction-submit-your-list-of-films
Poland
Original title: Zezowate szczęście
Directed by: Andrzej Munk
Approximate runtime: 92 min
Submitted by: twodeadmagpies
Slovakia (Czechoslovakia)
Original title: Obrazy starého sveta
Directed by: Dušan Hanák
Approximate runtime: 74 min
Submitted by: fake beard, Max painter, Santropez, twodeadmagpies
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The purpose of this topic is to cast votes in the matchup listed above and also to be a forum for discussing the films in the match.
Anyone who has seen both of the films listed above may vote in this match. You must vote for whichever of the two films you personally like better. In order to vote you must post a reply to this topic containing one of the following sequences:
If you are voting for Bad Luck: “Poland (Bad Luck) 1 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 0”
If you are voting for Pictures of the Old World: “Poland (Bad Luck) 0 – Slovakia (Pictures of the Old World) 1”
Your vote must contain the names of both films with a “one” after the film you are voting for and a “zero” after the other film. If your vote is not formatted in this way it will not be counted.
Along with your vote you are strongly encouraged to leave additional comments regarding your reactions to the films, your reasons for why you voted the way you did, and responses to other participants’ comments. Being able to have deep discussion about the films and different aspects of them is an important part of finding enjoyment in participating in the World Cup.
This match will end on Thursday, July 26 at 10:00 PM GMT. No votes attempted to be cast after that time will be counted. Shortly after the match ends the votes will be tallied and a winner of the match will be declared. If the films both receive the same number of votes, the match will be considered a tie.
The percentage of votes each film receives in a match will have an effect on whether or not the corresponding country will participate in the final round of the World Cup. Thus even if the film you vote for loses in this match, your vote will still be important.
The results of the matches as well as the schedule for future matches can be found here:
http://mubi.com/lists/2012-mubi-world-cup
If you would like to participate but are unable to find sources to watch these films, please send me a personal message so that I can invite you to the private website featuring internet links to view the films.