FAVKh016 Cinema of Central Europe: Poland and Hungary

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Asynchronous teaching
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Jaromír Blažejovský, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Jaromír Blažejovský, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
The capacity limit for the course is 57 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/57, only registered: 0/57, only registered with preference (fields directly associated with the programme): 0/57
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course is focused on Polish and Hungarian national cinemas, close from aesthetic and historic points of view.
The Polish cinema was at the top of its social and artistic importance in the period of so called Polish school (1956-1963, Andrzej Munk, Jerzy Kawalerowicz, Wojciech J. Has) and in the period of the Cinema of Moral Anxiety (1976-1981, Krzysztof Zanussi, Krzysztof Kieslowski). The central figure of all periods was Andrej Wajda.
We will study the work of Hungarian auteurs, which showed great courage and artistic originality in reflection of tragic collective experience, used their own metaphorical systems or created autonomous fiction worlds: Zoltán Fábri, Miklós Jancsó, István Szabó, András Kovács, Péter Bacsó, Márta Mészáros, Zoltán Huszárik, Gábor Bódy, Béla Tarr.
Main objectives can be summarized as follows:
to understand relationships between policy, ideology and the film industry in two countries of ”real socialism“ and since 1989;
to know the ”canon“ of most important films from Hungary and Poland and to experience the films as a spectator;
to extend the knowledge base for historical comparison in the context of Central Europe
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to:
understand reflections of the Central Europe history in Polish and Hungarian cinema
interpret hidden and subversive meanings in watched films
recognize their aesthetic values.
Syllabus
  • Introduction into the study of Polish and Hungarian cinema
  • Polish film school, Andrzej Wajda, Andrzej Munk, Jerzy Kawalerowicz
  • The sixties and "the third cinema"
  • Revival of the seventies, Krzysztof Zanussi
  • Cinema of Moral Anxiety and the cinema of the eighties, Krzysztof Kieślowski
  • Polish cinema since 1989
  • Contemporary Polish cinema
  • Hungarian cinema to the fifties
  • The sixties
  • Miklós Jancsó
  • Anti-stalinism and rock subculture
  • Hungarian cinema after 1989
  • Contemporary Hungarian cinema
Literature
    recommended literature
  • LUBELSKI, Tadeusz. Historia kina polskiego : twórcy, filmy, konteksty. Wyd. 1. Katowice: Videograf II, 2009, 622 s. ISBN 9788371836664. info
  • CUNNINGHAM, John. Hungarian cinema : from coffee house to multiplex. 1st pub. London: Wallflower Press, 2004, xii, 258. ISBN 1903364809. info
    not specified
  • SKOPAL, Pavel. Filmová kultura severního trojúhelníku : filmy, kina a diváci českých zemí, NDR a Polska 1945-1970 (Film culture of the Northern Triangle : movies, cinemas and cinema-goers in Czech lands, GDR and Poland 1945-1970). Vyd. 1. Brno: Host, 2014, 308 pp. Filmová knihovna ; sv. 3. ISBN 978-80-7294-971-7. info
  • Kino polskie jako kino narodowe. Edited by Tadeusz Lubelski - Maciej Stroiński. Kraków: Korporacja ha!art, 2009, 391 s. ISBN 9788361407942. info
  • The cinema of Andrzej Wajda : the art of irony and defiance. Edited by John Orr - Elżbieta Ostrowska. 1st pub. London: Wallflower Press, 2003, xxii, 205. ISBN 1903364574. info
  • FALKOWSKA, Janina. Andrzej Wajda : history, politics, and nostalgia in Polish cinema. 1st pub. New York: Berghahn Books, 2007, viii, 340. ISBN 1845452259. info
  • ZANUSSI, Krzysztof. Struktura krystalu a jiné filmové povídky. Praha: Mladá fronta, 1981. info
  • KIEŚLOWSKI, Krzysztof. Kieślowski o Kieślowském. Edited by Danusia Stok, Translated by Lenka Kuhar Daňhelová. Vydání první. Praha: Academia, 2013, 237 stran. ISBN 9788020022516. info
  • HALTOF, Marek. Krzysztof Kieślowski a jeho filmy. Vyd. 1. Praha: Casablanca, 2008, 230 s. ISBN 9788090375673. info
  • BRACHTLOVÁ, Ingrid. Miklós Jancsó. Praha: Čs. filmový ústav, 1990. ISBN 80-7004-032-7. info
  • Béla Tarr - V oku velryby. Edited by Kamila Boháčková. Praha: AČFK ve spolupráci s nakl. Casablanca, 2010, 202 s. ISBN 9788087292075. info
  • PORTUGES, Catherine. Screen memoires : the Hungarian cinema of Márta Mészáros. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1993, 190 s. ISBN 0253207827. info
Teaching methods
Lectures, film screenings, discussions, homework.
Assessment methods
The exam: an annotated filmography of 26 (13 Poland + 13 Hungary) watched films for a group discussion.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course can also be completed outside the examination period.
Information on the per-term frequency of the course: jednou za 3-5 let.
The course is taught: in blocks.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2021.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/FAVKh016