Thanks to an advertising campaign conducted for the city (Cezary Pazura, standing in front of the new Dworzec Fabryczny, delivers his famous line from the film "Nic śmiesznego", but this time with a completely different intonation), memories of Marek Koterski's film have returned. How is Łódź presented there and how much does it relate to reality?
A few words about Koterski and Miauczyński
Marek Koterski is considered a chronicler of the myth of Łódź as a "bad city". Koterski graduated from the Łódź film school (though not without difficulties, as he received his diploma almost entirely thanks to his classmates). His films – until the memorable Dzień Świra – were not evaluated very positively. Koterski created the character of Adaś Miauczyński, the hero of five of his films, including "Nic śmiesznego". Miauczyński was an intellectual, a filmmaker tormented by existential questions, who struggled greatly with reality. Additionally, he was unfulfilled not only professionally but also in his family life. His life is essentially a tragic farce – regardless of what he tries, he fails to achieve anything. He partially blames the city where he lives for this – and that city is Łódź. He feels like an exile there, even speaking of the "Łódź cancer that gnaws at him".
A bad city
Łódź in Koterski's images is the quintessence of a "bad" city. Dirty, neglected, working-class, crumbling – the Łódź reality of the 1990s presented by the director leaves much to be desired. It is a place that deprives one of hope for a better future. The life of the main character "imprisoned" in a city that rewarded him with an apartment for completing his film directing studies with honors seems nonetheless to be a series of continuous failures. Łódzki Manhattan, the claustrophobic elevator he is forced to travel in every day, and the sense of being trapped in a toxic environment make him an unhappy, pitiful figure. His feelings are summed up, incidentally, in a scene when Adaś Miauczyński (played by Cezary Pazura) leaves the Dworzec Łódź Kaliska building and delivers the famous line that clung to the city for many years – "Łódź, ku***!". In Miauczyński's case, it was certainly not a sign of joy or delight.
How is it really?
Łódź is often presented in a certain stereotypical way. Films feature crumbling tenements, thieves and alcoholics roam the city streets. The Łódź youth have no future ahead of them. Stagnation, apathy, resignation – such is the cinematic climate of the city. Of course, this has little to do with reality, which filmmakers are slowly coming to realize. Comprehensive revitalization of the city is a response to neglected buildings. In many places, space is being reorganized anew, and the New Center of Łódź is also being created. Łódź residents themselves admit that more and more is happening in their city, the cultural sector is flourishing, and Łódź entrepreneurs are doing excellently in the market. The city is undergoing constant transformations. No wonder that the spot with Cezary Pazura – who this time delivers his line with admiration – has been well-received by Łódź residents.
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