Pseudopathy vs. pseudoprogress

Rarely does any movie production directed at a mass viewer origin adequate controversy that almost everyone tries to respond to it. Let us add: those who have not seen the movie and – as they publically declare – never intend to see it.

Of course, it's about the Green Border movie directed by Agnes Holland. It must be admitted that – regardless of the assessments of her political views and the calculations of the worldview – it is undoubtedly an crucial figure for Polish cinematography. Even in the early years of her work, she practiced criticism of the attitudes of Poles, frequently justified, like in "Fever" (1980) or "Lone Woman" (1981). It besides existed in a abroad cinema, for example, rather well with the manager of respective episodes of "House of Cards", a series showing the cuisine of American politics. But at the same time she took a position typical of the Polish part, to the pain of politically correct liberal intelligence, most likely longing for the times of the salon of the Union of Freedom, and today, despite an advanced age, celebrating all the slobbering minorities from the rainbow flags. In a word: erstwhile we talk about Holland, there is simply a dissonance on the line rather good cinema – simplified, schematic views on the world.

Sztamps and environmental stereotypes must influence what is most crucial in the work, or message. And so it is indisputably besides in the Green Border. From the workshop or method side, this movie may even like it; after all, we are dealing with a painting created by a professional, experienced director. good shooting on Podlasie for the movie Tomasz Naumiuk. A small bit worse with the acting game, alternatively the middle, although against the background of the others, the playing border defender was kicking out Tomasz Italianok.

Cinema is in fact a metapolitical instrument, and in a vulgarized version – a propaganda tool. Therefore, it is worth focusing on sending and possible interpretations of it, assessing artistic qualities leaving professional movie critics. At first glance there are 2 crucial silences in the painting, which was expected to draw us a tragedy taking place on the Polish-Belarusian border.

Firstly, the large origin of non-European immigration could be shown. From specified background he started erstwhile in his excellent movie addressing the problem of secret American prisons in Poland another titled director, Jerzy Skolimowski ("Essential Killing", 2010). He was not afraid to show the personnel from Afghanistan, on which armed invaders from outside the ocean hunt for a completely random mountainous part of the country and then drive it to far Europe. The Holland movie should besides start with Afghanistan. That's where Leila comes from, played beautiful well by an Iranian actor Behi Djanati-Atai. She emphasizes that her brother worked for the Polish military contingent in this country, which is de facto for the occupiers' helpers. The occupier and his supporters left, and the erstwhile collaborators were left to their fate.

In this context, the pictures from Kabul Airport from 2021 were very meaningful. It would be worth showing them, as would the American aggression against this war-torn country. due to the fact that these are the real causes of emigration and attempting to illegally cross the border by hundreds of thousands of its inhabitants. Another of the refugees presented in the Green Border came from Syria and tried to get through to Sweden, where his brother is already here. It shows scars after the slavishness aimed at it by the people of the alleged muslim State just for lighting a cigaret publicly. So possibly it would be worth explaining to the viewers of the movie where fundamentalist terrorists came from in the mediate East and who destabilized a peaceful country ruled by Bashara al-Assad?

We besides have immigrants from Africa. Cause? Let us not forget the set of genocidal conditions imposed by the global Monetary Fund and the neo-colonial policy of Paris in the region. Let us besides remember the demolition of Libya and the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi, adopted with applause by the then American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which yet led to the transformation of the wealthiest country of North Africa into the gateway to the European Union for immigrants from that continent to Europe. It is worth showing the origin of the problem, in this case the aggressive policy of the alleged West towards non-European countries. However, it was Agnes Holland that was not interested, or she simply lacked courage.

Secondly, the movie clearly presents the Belarusian border services in a negative way, thus entering the leading speech of anti-Belarusian propaganda dominant in all mainstream Polish debates. While any Polish borderers display human reflexes in Holland's image, the Belarusians are shown in it like hatchers from the Gestapo. There is besides a deficiency of reflection on the causes of the tragedy. Polish-Belarusian border was tight as long as he wanted it Aleksandr Lukashenko. erstwhile the Polish authorities one more time supported plans for a coup in Minsk in 2020, the president of Belarus could decide to respond. This form of political revenge cannot be considered to be a human-right action, but nothing else was seemingly found in the arsenal of Belarusian authorities. The full problem could be solved if individual from Warsaw called Minsk, sent a signal about the readiness to normalize our relations with the east neighbour. This simple fact would besides be worth signaling in the film, due to the fact that it would show clearly who bears political work for human tragedies.

The most crucial reflection after seeing Holland's Green Border concerns us. Polish society is overran by deep but artificially created divisions that organize our public life around matters frequently secondary. The movie by Agnieszka Holland shows them, most likely in a way overblown. On the 1 hand, we have Border defender officers, programmed by simple, in fact racist slogans of PiS politicians, primitively explaining to them that Poland's enemies are “puppies”, Lukashenko and, of course, Vladimir Putin. We do not know if specified words were given at the briefings of Polish borderers and soldiers from the mouth of their commanders. However, we can imagine that, since specified rhetoric, which was immersed in the fumes of absurdity and grotesque, was utilized by the head of the Ministry of the Interior Mariusz Kamiński and those liable for uniformed services.

Incidentally, the same ruling camp made rather good money, trading Polish visas outside Europe, but this is simply a beautiful fresh story. The borderers in Holland's image, like the average Polish people, are people with limited imagination, uncritically accepting government propaganda. It most likely is, anyway. The planet of primitive pseudo-patriotism, a slogan of the kind "mura after Uniform", created by the PiS propaganda apparatus, has caused tremendous havoc in the minds of many Poles.

But Holland shows in his movie and the second world, the first opposing. It is an environment of alleged activists who decide to aid refugees. Who are they? People without material concerns, representatives of well-paid free trades or corporate people, completely separated from the reality and problems of their fellow citizens. They look at the second with contempt, high. Their lifestyle and cultural profile show that they represent a number epatating unaccepted by most sexual orientation, soaked in sex ideology. In short: in the movie Holland (or possibly in Polish reality) the pseudo-patriotic planet collides with the pseudo-progressive world. Both are unauthentic, artificial, created by social engineering utilized by external centres and their local vassals (PiS and PO). Paradoxically, showing this sociocultural division is – most likely in spite of the desire of 1 of its directors – a certain value of the Green Border, at least for viewers reasoning somewhat more critically.

Another advantage of Holland's movie is showing the human face of immigrants. This is simply a direct hit in the primitive rhetoric of PiS politicians, who effort to accomplish immediate polling targets on the sowing of fear and dehumanization of subsequent groups (Russians, Belarusians, Muslims). On the another hand, the Green Border lacks not only the background and political context, but any indication of the thought of solving the immigration problem. Immigrants may be sympathetic, kind, educated, but this does not change the fact that we should want them normal, safe surviving conditions in their home countries. Meanwhile, by standing alongside aggressive Atlantic hegemonists, we indirectly contribute to the demolition of another non-European countries.

And finally, it is worth repeating again: before we criticise a movie (and the Green Border is what to criticize for), let's see it first. Otherwise, our criticism will not only be half-hearted, but absurd. For the Polish political class, the environment is absurd, but it is simply a circumstantial species that we should not imitate.

Mateusz Piskorski

Green Border, dir. Agnieszka Holland, Poland 2023.

photo public domain

Think Poland, No. 41-42 (8-15.10.2023)