Jan Bratek. An ordinary man in the Communist Poland. Thrashed about by history, he always falls victim to its changing course and takes the flack as a citizen. He either fails to denounce this classmate or takes the blame for the anti-Semitic assault on a shopkeeper, or he chooses the wrong moment to borrow some salt from his neighbour and becomes arrested and detained as a member of the political opposition; as he tries to help two young people he takes illegal leaflets and is pursued by the Communist riot Police. But he always knows how to to get out of these tangles without losing face. With dignity and honour. "He is a good, even virtuous man. But he is also quite ordinary, and he is no hero. I wanted to show that the majority of people in my generation were like him. Jan Bratek embodies an average Polish person," says Jerzy Stuhr.
The lesson of laughter and humility
The director uses the film to ridicule all those things that Polish people cannot. Shallow Catholicism, anti-Semitism and hysterical patriotism. "We must learn how to poke fun at ourselves. Unfortunately, as a nation and society, we have a penchant for martyrdom, we find glory in the wounds, we perceive ourselves as victims. When somebody points this out, we take offence. What for? Why? We need to learn how to ridicule all this," Jerzy Stuhr plays Jan Bratek together with his son Maciej. The director says he has not done anything spectacular as an actor. But the role created by his son is certainly worth the headlines. "Maciek has always head this penchant for parody. He knew how to parody the way I walk, make gestures and speak when he was a child. I never fought this because it was good. And now he can use it in the film," says Jerzy Stuhr.
Almost without politics
Mr Stuhr has worked on the film for more than 7 years. He says it is one of the most important pictures of his. His squaring accounts with the past as a citizen. Jan Bratek is very much akin to Jerzy Stuhr. First off, they live in the same era. "Janek is facing the same problems that I used to face. And my entire generation. Take his desire to travel for example. And the fact that it was impossible for most of the people at the time," adds Mr Stuhr. The director refrains from taking sides in Citizen. He avoids propaganda and politics. He says he is an artist, not a journalist. With one exception, however. In one of the scenes, Bratek's friend tells him (when he refuses to vet new government officers for their Jewish origins) that he is exactly like those from the Communist riot Police. A phrase that Jarosław Kaczyński used to describe political opposition during his tenure as Prime Minster. "I wondered a lot whether to leave the phrase or not. But I came to the conclusion that I make films about myself and I have to be honest, and this That's why I left it in the script,"says the director.
A history lesson for the young
The first-night show attracted a lot of young people in the audience. After the screening, as they joined a Q&A with Jerzy Stuhr, they asked questions about photography, soundtrack and other technical issues. At the end of the session, a young girl criticised the main hero. She said that he lost his face, and that he was dodging between different factions and behaved cowardly. Jerzy Stuhr answered:"I was and I am honest in the film. That's what we had to be like to survive. And he added after a moment:"I know that young people may struggle to enjoy or understand the film. They may find it too abstract. But we will see what they can make of it. The best review I've heard so far comes from a man who said after the screening: The film was about me."
Citizen enters cinemas on Friday 7.11.
