“The Pilecki Report” has been shown in cinemas for a week, but it does not attract crowds. On the opening weekend, only 23.1 thousand copies were sold for this production. viewers. A reader pointed out to us that when we wrote: “” we made a mistake: “No, no, we, the taxpayers, paid for this crap, as usual.” And he’s right!
The film, which was supposed to be a monument to PiS’s historical policy, cost as much as PLN 38 million, which makes it the fourth most expensive film production in Poland after 1989. Only the adaptation of Sienkiewicz’s historical novel “Quo Vadis”, the biographical film “Karol. The Pope Who Remained a Man” and the famous “The Battle of Vienna” cost even more. However, these productions were not financed by taxpayers’ money. Only part of the budget was financed by TVP or PISF.
It is not only one of the most expensive films, but also the longest in production
“The Pilecki Report”, apart from being one of the most expensive films in the history of Polish cinematography, is also one of the longest filmed. According to reports, the contract for the production of the film was signed in the spring of 2019 and then a budget of public money was found to start work on the film. The main sponsor was the Polish National Foundation, which contributed as much as PLN 16 million.
This is a completely new organization because it was established in 2016, a year after PiS took power. It was created by 17 State Treasury companies and, as the then Prime Minister Beata Szydło said: “the foundation promotes the image of Poland, using the strength and energy of state treasury companies.” On their website we can read that the organization is responsible for “taking care of the image of Poland as an open country.”
The other institutions that decided to support the project do not need to be introduced, because they are Polish Television and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. However, one million went from the account of the Polish Film Institute, whose head, Radosław Śmigulski, was critical of the production – both in the first version and the current one. Because as it turns out, a lot happened between March 2019 – when the decision was made to make a film about Pilecki – and September 2023, when the film finally debuted in cinemas.
Initially, Leszek Wosiewicz was chosen to direct the film. The decision was made by the director of the Documentary and Feature Film Studio, which was entrusted with the production. The director was supposed to have extensive knowledge about Pilecki, which was to result in a complete work. However, this did not happen. Already at the beginning of work on the production, many people pointed out that the project was simply very weak. The scenario itself was controversial, as Minister Gliński himself pointed out in an interview with a right-wing portal:
If PLN 40 million of public money is spent on a film, its artistic quality and image should be at the highest level. Work has begun to shorten the script and reduce costs, said Gliński in 2019.
Work began on shortening the film, which lasted as much as three hours, and it was decided to tidy up the script. It lacked dynamics and included historical manipulations related to, among others, with the Polish People’s Republic Prime Minister Józef Cyrankiewicz, whom Pilecki did not actually have the opportunity to meet in the German extermination camp. There is also no shortage of controversy when it comes to filming the film – the photos were not taken in Auschwitz, but in the Modlin Fortress, where a model of the concentration camp was built. According to “Newsweek’s” findings, the Auschwitz Museum immediately decided to dissociate itself from the production due to unpleasant experiences with the director when he was filming “Kornblumenblau” in the camp in 1988.
The first director was not up to the task. New scenes began to be added to his film, but it did not speed up the premiere
Despite numerous uncertainties and difficulties, Wosiewicz finished the film in his own way in 2020, and his (state) sponsors were devastated. The editor of Wirtualna Polska managed to reach a person who saw the film in this version and called it a complete disaster. Then it was decided to remove the director from the production and Krzysztof Łukaszewicz took his place. He added another 28 days to the 70 shooting days filmed by his predecessor, approaching Polish records. In an interview, he mentioned that, in his opinion, the film lacked dynamism and the character of the hero was not very expressive. Łukasiewicz also emphasized that he wanted to rid the production of ideological manipulations.
However, this did not speed up the premiere of the fourth most expensive Polish film after 1989. For the following months, it lay on the shelf, and none of its producers could indicate specific reasons why this was happening. A year ago, in an interview with “Newsweek”, the Documentary and Feature Film Studio used the excuse of the pandemic, and the Ministry of Culture did not provide any statement. However, the director of the film himself assured that the premiere will take place soon and all work is at the post-production stage. However, according to the agent of Przemysław Wyszyński, who played the main character of the film, the film’s producers still could not indicate a specific release date of the production.
This took place only a year later, on September 2, 2023. And the American pre-premiere at the Museum of the Victims of Communism in Washington will take place on (sic) May 25, 2023, which the right-wing media eagerly boasted about. Before the Polish premiere, we can also find many praising sentences about the production in the media from people who hold significant positions in state-owned companies that financed the film. “” describes an interview with the president and the vice-president of the Polish National Foundation, Michał Góras. He himself was present at the pre-premiere show in the United States, which made him “incredibly built”. He also stated that the film was receiving only positive reviews, and the production took third place at the box office after its opening weekend. This is how he explains the long wait for the premiere:
This is not an easy film. It is long awaited. A dozen or so films should be made based on Captain Pilecki’s biography. The fact that this film could be presented only now, in 2023, shows that this production needed a lot of preparation, says Góras.
A similar tone was recently expressed by the Minister of Culture, Piotr Gliński, who in an interview for “” expressed deep regret that “films on such important topics are made with such difficulty.” He also stated that the “Pilecki Report” should also have educational functions. Moreover, in the interview he explained why the production took so long, pointing out the previous director’s technical shortcomings. However, as the head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, he was very keen to complete the production.
We all contributed to this 38 million. When will this end?
However, film critics do not share the praiseworthy words of Góras and Gliński. Krzysztof Varga from “Newsweek” already says in the title of his review that . He describes the genre of the film and others like it as “martyrological cinema of God’s homeland” and points out that attendance in cinemas can only be ensured by ordering school trips to this title. In turn, Sebastian Łupak from the WP Film portal writes in the first sentence of his review that “”. We read further that the main character is bland and the film itself is artificial – most scenes resemble stagings and the narrative is disordered.
There are many more opinions like the above – also among ordinary people who vote for a film with their feet by going to see it in the cinema. And “Pilecki’s Report” did not have spectacular results after the opening weekend, on the contrary. Only 23.1 thousand people went to see the film. viewers, which is very unpleasant considering such a huge budget. Cinemas also do not expect a sudden increase in interest in this title. In the latest repertoires of multiplexes, we can see that the film has been completely withdrawn from some cinemas, while in other cinemas one screening per day is allowed.
Most of the popularity is expected when the film finally hits streaming. Then, out of curiosity, everyone will turn on the “Pilecki Report” to see for themselves, in the comfort of their home, what PLN 38 million of our money was spent on. However, it must be admitted that when we realize what we really want to do, it will not bring a smile to our faces. Personally, I would prefer that bad films would not be made for huge amounts of public money, which I can later watch online to check it out. This is truly ridiculous. What is even more important is that in our reality we are less and less aware of it.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
