The last stage – a film by Wanda Jakubowska with music by roman palester. An attempt at interpretation

Abstract

The Last Stage by Wanda Jakubowska constitutes one of the most significant – if not the most significant – post-war Polish film productions to draw Europe’s attention to the subject of the concentration camps. In April 1948, Leon Bukowiecki announced in the pages of “Film” a motion picture “which must deeply affect every viewer, regardless of whether they had experienced a camp or not. The Last Stage is not merely a staged documentary from the land of silence; it is a work of high artistic calibre.” In July 1948, the film was awarded the First Prize at the 3rd International Festival in Mariánské Lázně; 22,000 viewers attended screenings at the 1st International Workers’ Festival in Zlín, where it likewise received one of four equivalent prizes. Jakubowska was acclaimed as the foremost director in Europe at that time. A year later, however, the film was sharply criticised at the Filmmakers’ Congress in Wisła for its indebtedness to Italian Neorealism. Today, the film’s explicit ideological orientation and its entanglement in propagandistic politics do not diminish its artistic value. The socialist-realist elements that accompany its outstanding technical execution and distinctive aesthetic operate in tandem with a high level of professionalism. The film’s history is also shaped by the adversities Jakubowska confronted with remarkable determination. Sources refer to the director’s crucial trip to Moscow for the project – and even to Stalin’s tears and emotion as he approved its production.