Nie lubie poniedzialku

Nie lubie poniedzialku is a great satire on the Polish reality during the period of harsh Communism. Tadeusz Chmielewski, similarly to another famous comedy director Stanisław Bareja, wanted to present the society and all of its problems in a really exaggerated way.

What may be surprising to some of the viewers is the fact, that even though the movie presents a caricature of the country's situation, there are still some scenes and incidents that could have as well taken place in the 70's.

The movie takes on a truly irreverent tone, as it shows all of the occurring characters as people that may seem totally out of context. Yet, their peculiar behavior beautifully intertwines with the main storyline.

All the events in this film occur on one unlucky Monday. As the title says: 'I hate Mondays'. Because who doesn't? Everything bad always happens at the beginning of the week and it is better to stay at home and wait for the next day, just to avoid any misfortunes.

Here we find an Italian, who through a complex (and really funny) series of events is mistakenly taken for a totally different person. The most amazing fact is that nobody even noticed the he can only speak Italian. However, due to magnificent Polish hospitality he finds himself right in the middle of a big ceremony. And if this wasn't enough, he is also dragged into an affair with a pretty Polish lady.

In order to be able to fully understand all the dialogues, comical situations, and many, sometimes very odd, accidents one has to know even a bit about the history of Poland in the post-war era. It is almost impossible to translate the conversations to English language (or any other) without losing their contextual meaning.

However, if you still want to experience a bit of Polish reality in those very hard times, but experience it with dozens of laughs, be sure to watch Nie lubie poniedzialku. It's definitely one of the best comedies that the country has to offer.

Nie lubie poniedzialku (I don't like Mondays) has always been one of my favourite Polish comedies - and comedies at all. It is a pity, that it is little known outside of Poland, because in my opinion it is a worthy counterpart of world's best classics of that period. And the film has aged well and is not less funny today.

The film has not one main plot nor leading character, but instead is a brilliant mix of several intersecting stories of people in Warsaw on one unlucky Monday. Among others we have Italian buisnessman coming to the city and getting lost, governmental delegation sent to invite him, a worker of provincial national farm looking for parts for a combine harvester, a policeman who has to take his kid to work, a taxi driver seeking revenge on his passenger, a gang of bank robbers, a singer who does not want to drive drunk, and a modern sculptor. The paths of most characters cross on some occasion, leading to funny situations. After digital restoration we can fully enjoy colourful views of Warsaw streets, buildings and (not too numerous) typical vehicles of that period.

In a background we have a reality of communist Poland in early 1970s, with problems like workers neglecting work, or lack of many goods in trade, including toilet paper and machine parts. The film is a satire on communist economy similar to later famous films by Stanislaw Bareja, although not such vicious, and therefore it is more light-hearted and satisfying, with likable characters. A knowledge of Poland is not required to understand adventures of characters and enjoy situation jokes. We have also light satire on modern art.

The film is defintely recommended, especially to those, who like to give older movies a chance.

It is like a walk around new Warsaw rebuilt after war. Funny situations. Plenty of famous actors. It may be watched again and again and never gets boring.