Disillusionment+Nationalism= Bad Luck

Alicia Chmielewski
1-11-07

Andrzej Munk, Bad Luck (1959)

Bogumil Kobiela stars as a sort of ill-fated yet directly responsible comic character in Andrzej Munk’s Bad Luck, as he plays the role of Piszczyk, a naïve, incompetent and whole heartedly sincere man who finds himself collaborating with whatever political group interests him from moment to moment. In some cases, he does so as a way of saving himself from mobs who always seem to persecute him, in others,because it seems to offer him a potential window into attaining a love life, such as when he becomes involved in the resistance against the communist government in order to capture the attention and attain the love of Basia. He is a comic character, always desperately attempting to gain the favor of every person of superior standing in his life, yet “fated” to fail in his quest for social acceptance, in part because of his unrealistic, suspicious “over enthusiasm” and Polish nationalism.
It is difficult to explain the self-deprecating humor many Poles possess. It is clear that Munk is indeed drawing off of it in the way he is able to highlight the absurdity of the need to belong to a particular political group, when, in reality, the reasons and understandings of the politics behind the choices Poles had to make in terms of which political agenda to adopt were not clear-cut, as Wajda’s Ashes and Diamonds (1957) has already made us consider. It is as if attempts to become a part of either opposing vision of Poland are futile, given its historical losses of identity and national power/unity. There may have been a little bit of Piszczyk in every Pole during the historical time period of approximately 1930-1950 that the film deals with; the desire to wholeheartedly establish and believe in one unifying national identity, but the lack of knowledge in how to go about fulfilling that desire. On this note, a further comparison between both Wajda’s Ashes and Diamonds and Munk’s Bad Luck can be made. Both films feature the aesthetic of the lost or blinded Polish citizen striving to create a diamond out of ashes, constantly questioning whether the side and means he has chosen to do so is ethical, just, and most effective, or, as was more the case in Bad Luck, unable to fully comprehend the politics of this time of confusion and constant danger under German and Soviet rule.
One concept that I found to be particularly intriguing, and I believe more important to the overall understanding of the ideology of the film as a whole than it may be given credit for, is that of the escape through imprisonment. Piszczyk presents the case, by telling us the story of his life of “bad luck”, that the only place he has been able to escape misfortune has been prison. Only by cutting himself off from his broader society can he find peace. It is almost as if Piszczyk is resisting both the hypocrisy of insincere enthusiasm and the reality that there is reason to be insincere in regard to evaluating the new Poland of this time. First, Piszczyk unknowingly isolates himself by living his life in such as way that he cannot help but encounter “bad luck.” After he lives out this type of personal isolation, arising from his inability to grasp any notion of the politics behind his actions, he encounters the isolation of prison, where he can perhaps focus solely on an internal, personal life. Within this situation, there is no need to contribute to any politics outside the prison walls. Avoidance in itself becomes a type of lifestyle choice- a way of coping with confusion and disillusionment.
The fact that Bad Luck turns tragic situations to comedy highlights a certain need to distance oneself from actual historical events. By being able to showcase ridiculousness and exaggerate, to wildly comic ends, subjects that may have been seen as politically incorrect under the communist government, the devastation of the actual events is lessened and a national identity of some sort can begin to be established. Comedy allows a sort of isolation from realism and is freeing to the society in a way similar to how prison is freeing to Piszczyk. There are still no diamonds to be found, but there is an attempt to come to terms with the past by placing its events within a framework of utter ridiculousness. In doing so, the present is also commented on because viewing past events in such a comic light allows contemporary audiences to understand the effects of extreme nationalism coupled with a history of displacement. Piszczyk is a product of a specific history and environment just as much as he speaks to a deeply humanist instinct in all of us with his desire to belong to the best nation in the world – his Poland, which unfortunately cannot be simplified to suit his enthusiasm any more than it can be promised undoubted prosperity.