“If you don’t know this film, you don’t know anything about Polish cinema.” It was the weirdest I’ve ever seen

“Kallafiorr”, apart from being a perfect fit for the festival’s subtitle “Terribly Strange Films”, is also an important film in the history of Polish cinematography. Jacek Borcuch created the first independent film in history, which was widely distributed in cinemas and opened the door to other creators. To make “Kallafiorra”, the then debuting director sold his beloved Golf and the car he bought with the money he earned in Krzysztof Krauze’s “The Debt”. As he says, he invited his friends to the set – Andrzej Chyra, who was soon to become one of the most sought-after actors in Poland, and Daniel Bloom, also responsible for the film’s music.

“Kallafiorr” by Jacek Borcuch at WTF FEST in Warsaw

The story of an exploding grandmother, a revelation in which an ordinary mortal appears to Jesus and not the other way around, and of course the competition in a pub for the last portion of a unique cauliflower – these are scenes that will remain in your memory for a long time after watching Borcuch’s film. But there is much more to this strange and seemingly very random cinema.

“Kallafiorr” is, above all, the essence of the 90s. Those who don’t like unusual cinema can watch it, if only to reminisce about old Warsaw. And although Jacek Borcuch himself points out that we are dealing here with a film about nothing, years later it becomes a postcard not only from a bygone era, but also a record of changes in Polish cinematography. The picture has the ephemerality and love of the moment of Linklater, the naturalism of the Danish Dogma and much of “Pulp Fiction”. The characteristic division of the frame, the chronology that weaves threads together at an unexpected moment and the excellent shots from inside the car necessarily bring to mind Tarantino’s most popular work. However, Borcuch has something else in common with the pulp master – an invaluable ear for constructing dialogues.

Starring Andrzej Chyra, a cauliflower and an exploding grandmother

Conversations are definitely the strongest point of “Kallafiorra”. Borcuch swears that every dialogue that appeared on screen was written by him, and the actors followed the script exactly. It’s hard to believe. Tarantino’s talk about nothing here is simply brilliant and seems impossible to repeat in such a natural and light way. It even feels like most of the scenes were improvised. In turn, the art of squeezing such freedom from dialogues, actors and scenes favors comedy. The sense of humor in “Callafiorra” is key.

Full of drug metaphors, the picture allowed Borcuch to unfasten his roller skates when it came to the jokes used in it. And although there are those who will say that the humor here is low, it cannot be accused of a lack of consistency and accurate setting in the film reality. The comedic aspect of “Kallafiorra” is based on the love of absurdity. This is definitely my favorite type of humor, which is still missing in Polish cinema.

Jacek Borcuch revealed after the screening of his debut film at WTF FEST that “Kallafiorr” was the only film in his oeuvre that he did not like. This is hardly surprising, after all, the director’s list of achievements is long and impressive. “Everything I Love” from 2009 caused a sensation at Sundance and was the first Polish film in history to be shown in the Main Competition. The painting was also awarded two Eagles and a Golden Lion. Borcuch’s other productions were also nominated at Sundance: “Sweet End of the Day” and “Nieulotne”. However, in my personal ranking of the director’s works, “Warszawianka” is undefeated – the best Polish series I have ever seen. Also thanks to the brilliant music created for the production by the previously mentioned Daniel Bloom.

This year marks 25 years since the premiere of “Kallafiorra”, and although Borcuch is in a completely different place in his career today, he has absolutely no reason to be ashamed of his debut. Some scenes may be more or less accidental, and the characters cannot count on the endings of their stories, as mainstream films are accustomed to, but “Kallafiorr” is, above all, a very original and conscious film created with youthful passion and curiosity. It is a record of the director’s artistic ambitions and skills, which he “only” had to improve in later years.