ul. Bażyńskiego 1a 80-952 Gdańsk
Poland
ISNI ID: 0000 0001 2370 4076
GRID ID: grid.8585.0
Krzysztof Kornacki
Gdansk Journal of East Asian Studies, Issue 19, 2021, pp. 232 - 247
https://doi.org/10.4467/23538724GS.20.061.13501The article describes Kamienne tablice (Stone Tablets), one of the last movies directed by Ewa and Czesław Petelscy, the once-known director’s tandem. In the 1980s, after the introduction of martial law, they remained faithful to the communist authority, so they could realize high-budget films. That is why the film Kamienne tablice was taking place in India in 1956, and some of the pictures were just filmed in India. Therefore, the movie was very poor and its three threads – political, erotic, and exotic – do not make up the whole. Political thread has been considerably softened compared to the initial plans and tailored to ideological needs. Petelski also failed to create a credible melodrama (the only thing that was supposed to attract viewers was erotic scenes, but they were poorly staged), and India is shown superficially, like in travelogue, from the perspective of a stranger.