Gdy spadaja anioly

When Angels Fall (1959)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

An elderly woman works a lousy job but she's capable of seeing things like no other. This short from Polanski has a lot of good moments but it really doesn't work well enough for the running time. The use of color was nicely done and the war scenes were very good.

Lamp, The (1959)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Surreal film from Roman Polanski about a doll maker. There's really no "story" here but instead we get various strange images. The images are nice but overall the film somewhat drags.

Fat and the Lean, The (1961)

** (out of 4)

Another Polanski short has him playing "Lean", a servant to the "Fat" man. I guess this thing was trying to be funny but it certainly wasn't. Some nice camera-work however.

One life in 20 minutes. Sad, but sometimes this is the truth. This short movie is about faith, is about destiny, and finally it is about broken dreams ... dreams which never die. For that old lady life is almost ended but her memories are now more powerful than ever because she has all the time to think at the past. In every man, in every person, which enters in that public toilette the woman saw ghosts from her past. This movie is very powerful through his images well captured by "Polanski's eye". Polanski has made a real masterpiece like almost all his movies are. (Please excuse my English because I know it is not very good)

I acknowledge the uniqueness of this film, but that doesn't mean I enjoyed it. At least I'm being honest about it. The visuals were the most interesting facet, along with this old lady's face. Wow, what a face: a million wrinkles, most of them with a story. It was interesting that the present day part of this short film was in black-and-white and the flashbacks were in color. You would think the director would do the opposite. However, the director here is not your ordinary filmmaker. He's Roman Polanski, and this is one of his last short films before he began feature-length ones.

I've never heard of a female attendant in a men's lavatory, but that's what we have here. It's a depressing job, one in which one usually sits all day and has hour to contemplate. For this old woman, it was unpleasant memories of the past as each new customer reminds her of something tragic in her past.

The acting in here was poor but I'm sure young Polanski didn't have much of a budget to work with. It wasn't exactly like working with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway.

Like most of his short films, there is little to no dialog.....but it's really not needed. However, the sudden scene shifts from her apparent memories to scenes which she couldn't have witnessed (i.e. World War I battle scenes) were confusing. Maybe it just didn't get it. However, I appreciated the sentimentality in here, even if I didn't understand some of it.

To those who haven't seen any of Polanski's short films, be warned: this is quite different from films you are used to seeing. They used to have "art houses" where they would show "arty" films like this. I wonder if they are still around?

It was his diploma production. The old woman is played by Polanski himself.

Some reviewers considered this very distinct among the other movies of Polanski, either earlier or made after. I dare to relate it to Nóż w Wodzie though (as I did with the other earlier films). Again there are the two worlds. Ours, remembered in twenty minutes, when you are too old and too aware that no hopes fulfill, no dreams come true, life is just nothingness. And theirs, the ones that live in another universe and come sometimes to visit us. And their visit makes sense to us only when no hopes, no dreams can support us anymore. Angels come only when you are too aware about the nothingness of your life. And they come exactly there, in the nothingness of your life.

Paul Tillich was right: you find God only after you have lost all.

This short film made me really depressed. So sad so sad. This is one of the greatest short movies I have seen for a long time.

The only thing she wanted was to be loved. But never was. A film about intolerance. It shows the intolerance of homeless, gays and different believers. And like a lot of his short movies do, it gives us a good impression of the big hate he had to the communist system.

The visual was impressive. The miniature town was ugly though, but gave a good effect, even in his young days Roman Polanski managed the art of visualising. The movie must have cost some money because of the war scenes, the costumes was not near the real thing, but did the job well.

I loved the picture where you see the young main character making her way down to the town. Beautiful picture.

Watch and enjoy ;)