Provincial Actors

Polish director Agnieszka Holland's second film "Provincial Actors" was highly effective in capturing the overall gloomy mood which prevailed in communist Poland of late 1970s. It was a time when ordinary people longed for freedom but were unable to express their views freely. It is with amazing finesse it tackled the dichotomy of big city versus small provincial towns especially in the manner culture and everything related to it is perceived by denizens of both places. There are some crucial lessons about art especially theatrical art to be learnt from "Provincial Actors" namely actors are not supermen as human beings they have tough lives outside of the theatrical stage. Agnieszka Holland shows us how emotionally disturbed the life of a married couple becomes when the husband is deprived of playing his role in an appropriate manner. No work of art can be disassociated from the times in which it is set. From this yardstick, this film reveals a lot about pre martial law Poland and the lives of its ordinary citizens. In one of the scenes, it was shown how television was a big luxury as very few people had means to even possess a 'black and white' television set. Despite its lugubrious stance, Provincial Actors remains a good work of cinema to be appreciated by admirers of both cinema and theater. Lastly, "Aktorzy Prowincjonalni" won some accolades too including best actress prize for Ms.Halina Labonarska at 6th Gdansk Polish Film Festival and FIPRESCI prize for its director Ms.Agnieszka Holland as part of critics' week at Cannes International Film Festival 1980.Film critic Lalit Rao spoke to Ms.Agnieszka Holland and this film's cinematographer Mr.Jacek Petrycki when they attended 44th International Film Festival of India 2013.