Moonlighting, written and directed by Jerzy
Skolimowski
A different
version of this note and thoughts on other books are available at:
- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEVa4_CsRStSBBDo4uJWT8BSWtTTn0N1E
and http://realini.blogspot.ro/
This is a
very good drama, with relevance in today’s world.
There is so
much talk about a “beautiful, beautiful wall” that the orange Donald wants
erected and other leaders contemplate in various parts of the world, where
nationalists are on the rise, that the theme of Moonlighting sounds familiar.
It is the
story of a group of workers that try to make some more money in a different,
more developed county.
And it is
an acclaimed film, included on The New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made
prestigious list:
It also won
in the most important cinema competition that I know of- The Academy Awards
promote lesser films in my view-Cannes:
The author won
the Best Screenplay Prize.
Jeremy Irons
is outstanding in the leading role.
He is
Nowak, the English speaking leader of a construction team.
At the
customs, as they enter Great Britain, he declares that they are coming to buy a
second hand car.
-
Do you have money?
-
Yes…twelve hundred pounds
He shows
the money but the truth is different.
They are in
Britain because they will be paid to work there.
This will
be done illegally and it will cost about five times less than a team that would
be hired legally, with taxes paid.
The workers
are Polish and some of their dialogue is incomprehensible, even if we can
deduce that they are unhappy.
When there are
exchanges they are mostly protestations against the policies and rules imposed
by Nowak.
They work
all the time and they just have a short pause for Christmas when they go to the
church and a few times to the shop.
The scene
when they enter the well-stocked shop, as opposed to what they have at home, is
funny if not hilarious.
And I can
vouch for its veracity, for the same thing happened to my mother when she went
to America and was overwhelmed by the supermarkets there.
The problem
is that they have very little money and the leader is soon unable to make ends
meet and pay for various necessities.
More important,
while the working men are in London, Poland is faced with a military coup and
all communications are cut.
Nowak is
hiding this news from his team and it is difficult, at one moment, a neighbor
comes with the newspaper and the headlines and is shouting about the calamity
facing that wretched country and Nowak hurries to shut the windows.
He is not
fair with his colleagues, at least this could be one take on events, especially
when he lies to them about the drama that could be engulfing their families
back home and that they wait uselessly near a phone booth to call.
At another
moment, in order to make the men believe that they slept for more hours, he
changes the time on their only watch
-
My watch is the only one showing the
correct time now…
Nowak has
to steal from shops, because he has no more money left.
In the
first place, his bicycle was stolen, just as he was buying things for the house
that they work on and then he steals a bike.
-
“Nowak: I can speak their language;
this is why the boss chose for me for the job. But I don't know what they
really mean.”
This is a
wonderful film, if depressing, about alienation, the ordeal of people who have
to go away from their homes, live in hostile, unfamiliar surroundings, and cope
with shortages and sometimes destitution.
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