Tonight at CSUN we saw an epic masterpiece by Wajda, called "The Promised Land". Set at the turn of the century, it is the story of three young friends from the city of Lodz. One is the son of an upper class Polish nobleman who owns a factory and lives in a nice house. Another friend is Jewish, and has connections to the city's money-lenders. The third friend is German and has a background in mechanics, he knows how factories operate. The Industrial Revolution is booming in Lodz, which has a large industrial sector, and the three friends - all in their mid-20s - vow to start their own factory to capitalize on the boom. Each friend has a particular talent to contribute toward the goal, and they begin their quest with zeal and optimism.
Along the way, the business elders of the city try to explain to them the way things work, which has to do with things like insurance scams (factories in financial trouble burn down suddenly), and the rules of borrowing money, and the way that workers are to be treated (as cogs in the machine, as if you couldn't have guessed). Director Wajda filmed the factory scenes inside an actual textile factory, from the 1900 era, that was still in operation in 1974 when the movie was made. It looks like a nightmare world, which is his point, because though such a factory does provide jobs, and mass goods to a populace, at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution factory workers were treated like cattle and the metaphor is apt because sometimes they were literally slaughtered by the machines they were paid a pittance to operate.
The story is mainly about the three friends, however, and their drive to build their own factory. As they learn the business ways of the other owners in their midst, they are caught between their own ruthless but idealistic dream - simply to be owners - and the heartless realities of the mass production economic system. One friend in particular is caught up in his own individual pursuit of hedonistic pleasure. He is seduced by the wife of a money-lender. This leads not only to his downfall but.....well, I shouldn't tell you.
What I should tell you is that this is major-league filmmaking, a sweeping tale that runs nearly three hours but never lags. "The Promised Land" was nominated for a Best Foreign Language Film Oscar, and deservedly so. We have gone all over the map with Wajda, in terms of style, from his early film-noirish political thrillers, to an art film like "The Birch Wood" to "The Promised Land", with it's "Godfather"-esque playout.......
There is something else I have to tell you, and it is some bad news about the future of the CSUN Cinematheque. This evening, before the start of the film, Professor Tim privately informed our small group of long time regular patrons that the CSUN administration has pulled the plug on the Cinematheque. Apparently there is a new head of the film department who wants to show that she can cut costs, and so she has cut the Cinematheque as of the end of the Wajda retrospective.
We fans of cinema are not going to go quietly into the night, however. Professor Tim is going to e-mail us with information as to who we can e-mail with our concerns and passions about this treasure that we have enjoyed on Thursdays nights for many years. For me, going back to September 2009. I am the earliest patron of the Cinematheque who has continued to attend regularly, and I would guess that I have seen approximately 240 movies by 18 different directors over the course of nine years.
And always in the front row......with my Thursday Night friends.
We will write some letters, for sure. As one young man, a student, said at the end of tonight's screening, "they can't take this away from us".
Surely a University with a mega-million dollar budget can afford this small artistic treasure, which Professor Tim, on his part, does free of charge.
Well, that's the movie review for the day, and also the news, such as it is. I bet we are gonna win. :)
Elizabeth, I saw another post or two, and they all seem to be about studios and music, so perhaps you are working on music of your own? I hope so. Post more about it if you can. :):)
See you in the morn. xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo :):)
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