Kilka refleksji o serialu Rodzina Połanieckich i filmie Marynia

Abstract

In 1978, Jan Rybkowski filmed the novel by Sienkiewicz The Połaniecki Family, which divided the Polish society and critics when it was published in 1895. The director made his film adaptation in the form of a TV miniseries, and that fact was particularly important. The main characters of a TV miniseries begin to function as personality models, especially when they are played by popular, nice actors, and the opinions and views expressed by them are in a sense legitimized and ennobled by the very fact that they are heard in many households. That imposes on the director of a TV miniseries an additional responsibility, and it forces first him, and then the viewers and critics, to consider the fundamental question of the reasons behind the decision to process that particular literary work, thus, to establish the criteria of the director’s choice, and to identify the ideological and artistic value of the original serving as the basis of the film adaptation. In what genre can we classify that seven-episode series? Many people considered that series to be a film of costume and manners. One also encounters opinions emphasizing its melodramatic features. What personality models are proposed by the main characters of the series? What conclusions can be drawn by the viewer of the film version of The Połaniecki Family? That life is not an idyll, although good will of both spouses may bring good results? That man is weak, but he/she can fight his/her weakness? That family is the fundamental cell of the society? Could this novel have been filmed slightly differently? In her article, the author tries to answer these and other questions.