Der Tag eines Spinners

Dzien Swira ( Day of the freak) is Koterski's latest addition to an already impressive portfolio. Like his other semi-autobiographical move titled Nic Smiesznego ( nothing funny), Dzien Swira records the inner dialogue & the prose of a single day in the life of Adam Miauczynski, a character based on M. Koterski. Miauczynski, like Koterski, is an compulsive-obsessive, excentric, bitter & disillusioned individual caught in Poland's post communist reality, a reality as Ill suited to him as the communist one was. One of the reasons why Koterski's work is either loved or intensly disliked by Poles, is the painfully acurate description of polish hell, made all the more vivid by his insistance on showing the trivial & at the same time essential moments of daily life in excruciating detail. life is all the more hell when the damned are aware that life could be different, and this is what makes Miauczynski's suffering all the more real. A number of the scenes are classics, unequalled by any of Koterski's contemporaries, especially the scenes depicting Miauczynski's relationship with his son, the senate, train toilet and street demonstration scenes.

It is unfortuante for the western viewer that the context & language of the film make it very difficult to translate adequatly, refering as it does to polish classical literature, contemporary culture and nigh-untranslatable street slang, the contrast being all the more vivid, since Miauczynski is a Polish literature lecturer obsessed with what he percieves to be the decay of the language he loves.

If I were to compare Koterski to any western director, it would be to Britain's Mike Leigh. An insane Mike leigh with an infectious sense of humour & a penchant for social commentary.

All in all, This is Koterski's finest work to date, perhaps the finest Polish film in the last 5 years. My rating is a solid 8/10

I think it definitely is. Recently Polish films were pretty much always with Olaf Lubaszenko and Cezary Pazura. A decent director/actor pair but nothing special. Their films like "E=mc2" and "Chlopaki nie placza" were funny but rather mundane, just vulgar humor followed by slapstick. It's funny, but you get sick of it after a while. Then there were movies like "Psy" which are Polish wannabe American crime thrillers and action movies. Again they were decent efforts, but not comparable to movies of the same genre from Hong Kong (Hard Boiled) or America (Resevoir Dogs). This film however is a true work of art. Not just made to look cool, but to express a directors point of view. I think it compares to Aronofsky's masterpiece "Pi," in that it's story about a man lost in the search for something. Granted is the fact that this is a very different film than "Pi" in its story, but artistically it's a good achievement for a Polish director who looks like he is on his way to be among Wajda and Kieslowski. 9/10

No MPAA rating. Contains strong profanity

The film does not consist only of flat humor as of vulgar speech and behave of the protagonist but has a very deep social critic (as for example the popping up of 3rd world scenes or showing how neighbors treat each other or in general how people talk to each other). The protagonist appears as a freak but compared to the rest of the world he is the most normal one, it is the behave of the society which leads him to his abnormality. An other strong critical emphasis is put on the consume-society of our world. TV advertisements are shown totally ridiculously and the products they advertise are totally non-sense. It may appear quite funny, but if we think about this fact it is shown like it is in reality. Profit and consume dominate about rationality and humanity. It is one of the best movies I've seen in the last year, the humor is not typical American slapstick or "Al Bundy -like" but the vulgar talking of the protagonist calms the pathetic style and makes it easier to watch and also very funny. A+!!!

"Day of Wacko" is in my opinion the best ever Polish movie. And I'm surely NOT exaggerating. Non-Poles who are not interested in or have no idea about Polish culture and realities will probably not get half of the film, but I still recommend it to anyone who's open minded.

This is a story about a well-educated and intelligent teacher in his middle-ages, who can't stand stupidity, ignorance, his neighbours, and generally everyone and everything around him. If you've seen "Falling Down" (1993) with Michael Douglas, which is by the way another film I'd recommend, you'll get the point. However, no plagiarism was used here. The main character hates himself as well, mainly for the lack of inspiration in writing and still being dependant on his mother. The whole movie is presented within the monologues he has in his head, in many cases dirty ones. And by that I mean many vulgarisms, which at some point may get repelling. Although containing some comic parts, this film is depressing, especially if you think about the man's tragedy, because his life can be called like that. If you try to understand his situation, see why he's frustrated, and why there are so many negative feelings in him, you'll probably reach the point in which you'll feel down. There are many Polish stereotypes, system faults, and absurd presented and in some way laughed out. But then again, you have a depressing feeling of not being able to do anything about it. I really recommend watching this movie to anyone, especially to those who have some mixed feelings about the world. If it's possible, try to talk to any Polish person around, so he/she would explain some of the things that may be typical for Polish society and not common at all in other cultures. I just hope the English translation of this film is good...

General note: 10/10 and I really mean it.

Even though I've lived in Poland for over a year now, I generally don't watch many Polish movies, especially newer ones, which I've found to be very derivative of American and British films. This movie however is a true gem. A rare film that makes you take stock of your own choices in life. The movie focuses on a day (though actually it has to be more than one day) in the life of Adas, a 49 year old high school teacher from Warsaw who's first words to us are "I'm afraid of waking up", and we soon learn thats not all he's afraid of. Adas is deeply dissatisfied with every aspect of his life. From his noisy neighbors, to his broken family, to the Polish government, to his own inability to climb out of his personal hell. Told mostly through narration voice-over which clues us in to Adas's thought process, the film explores the turmoil of middle age with an honesty and poignancy rare in film. While certainly hilarious in moments, this movie serves up an equal (or greater) amount of melancholy as well, balancing the two aspect, delicately. As Adas passes from compulsion to depression, to denial, to rage, we learn more about him, and come to empathize with him. The most striking feature of this movie for me, was the universality of Adas, and the relate-ability to him. Yes he is Polish, with some uniquely Polish complaints and problems, but he could easily be any middle aged man in any western society. While he's a wacko in his own way, what the movie says is, "aren't we all?", "aren't we all this man in some way?" This movie did for me, what hardly any movies do anymore; it made me think and reflect about my own life and my own choices, and any movie that can do that, deserves praise in my book.