Marek Kondrat Speaks

Kondrat - Actor, Oenophile

When did you last drink ‘Jabol’ (cheap Polish wine)?

20 years ago, I guess, when I was building a house in Mazury. Together with my brother-in-law we bought a crate of ‘Jabol’ for the workers, but at 4 a.m, after fishing all night, we would treat ourselves to ‘Jabol’ too. It was great. [smiling] 

They say that back in the times of Historia żółtej ciżemki and O dwóch takich, co ukradli księżyc, the Kaczyński brothers were taller than you.

That’s true and I was glad that after many years I could “look down on them”. I remember them from my childhood and I have a theory that if someone is full of hate they stop growing! [smiling]

In that case, one former deputy PM must have had an idyllic childhood.

I think Mr Roman had his fair share of abuse. The Kaczyński brothers on the other hand fed themselves with hatred for the system and everything around them. That sort of nutrition doesn’t boost growth.

But it’s effective.

And hazardous too. Identical twins do everything together. The President is his brother’s president, not ours. I’ve noticed Jarek’s dominance over Leszek, which is clearly visible. Jarek was probably born first and poor Leszek came second. Today, the Kaczyński brothers are like Nixon towards the end of his term, when he could well have caused a great deal of harm. Luckily, somebody spotted it and stopped him.

Kondrat - President?

Perhaps it’s your turn now? We’ve had actors who took the presidency.

No thanks. I’ve already had such proposals. Besides, we all know that those actors who became presidents were rather poor actors. [smiling]

But you would be a fantastic speaker.

I even know what I’d say! I once came out top in a Warsaw presidential poll! The journalists Najsztub and Żakowski asked me why I won’t take up the gauntlet but I don’t know enough about Polish people. I don’t know who we really are. Just like those in power, who don’t travel that much and don’t know “the nation”, as they love to call us. The difference is that I admit to it.  

How would you describe Poland?

This country is ‘different’. Poles have the dilemma of not wanting to belong to any civilization, be it western or eastern. We choose to dabble in our heroic history whereas Europe offers us cooperation, but this cooperation rejects Europe’s painful past. What really annoys me are the ignoramuses trying to convince me that they are on a mission, using words like “nation”, “Poland”, “patriotism”, “motherland”, and treating me like an idiot. They take advantage of the blessings of democracy. Polish people either feel inferior about their provincialism or are extremely pompous towards those ‘worse off’ than us: Albanians, Romanians or Romanies… There is a song in Stanisławski’s cabaret: “Thank you Albania that you exist. Thank you Albania, thank you. Thanks to you we’re not the worst, thanks to you we’re not last.”

wywiadowcy.pl

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A Guide to Vacations

Watching the Minutes

There are a number of ‘first minute’ (fm) deals on the market at the moment. Would making a booking so much in advance be wise? Fms start late in the year and decrease in number the closer we get to the vacation season. Beginning in March or April, regular catalogue rates start replacing fms. Generally fms are attractive to tourists as there is a wide range of offers to choose from, it is fairly simple to find an interesting deal both in terms of cost and location, regardless of one’s preferences. How about the cost of fms? According to travel advisors we should expect around a 10% discount; accepting anything lower would not be advisable. Fares, especially those of the discounted variety, always need to be examined in detail as packages that feature 30-40% discounts too often mysteriously ‘disappear’ when the customer finally decides to make a purchase.

What time of year should one consider finding the lowest-priced package? Avoiding the high season is always a good decision. The worst month to buy is May: first minute deals are rarely available while there are few ‘last minute’ deals (lms). Waiting until the last moment to take advantage of an lm offer is not always good as frequently the range of options is limited therefore lms generally take a back seat to fms. One must not overlook the fact that the quoted price is often a fraction of the cost. Airport fees, visas, entrance fees and single room requests always incur extra charges. Reading the fine print should be compulsory before we decide on a purchase as travel agencies tend to conceal certain facts that may discourage a potential buyer such as long distances to the beach or city centre, no attractions in the vicinity of the hotel, or “room type to be assigned upon arrival”. Opting for a low-cost deal is recommended more for those who vacation regularly and find it easier to cope with possible disappointments. Conversely people who take time off for holidays less frequently had better not get involved in risky ventures and should sign an agreement with a proven, reliable provider. One additional feature that holiday-makers may consider is a fixed price guarantee, one that protects against a price hike in the event of changes in exchange rates or increased transport costs.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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First Pure Party

No Alcohol, We

‘Pure Party’ in Freta Gallery – great music in a ‘pure’ atmosphere. If you are longing for a party without cigarette smoke and endless supplies of alcohol then we have good news for you. On Saturday, for the first time in Poland, there will be a ‘Pure Party’ in Warsaw. If you are looking to have a good time and all you really need is great music and the company of interesting people where drinking and smoking are not mandatory then ‘Pure Party’ is for you. There is no place for fun artificially created by cigarettes and alcohol, which many people are normally unable to relax without. You are likely to meet loners, globetrotters as well as connoisseurs as ‘Pure Party’ is not only about music – everyone will have the opportunity to taste dishes from around the world with one restriction: no meat will be served. There will be plenty of vegetarian dishes and some for vegans also. A circus-like performance with African instruments playing in the background will start things off. Fans of music of all kinds will find something for themselves during the party as oriental music, reggae, latino and even tango will be heard throughout the event. The highlight will be a mixture of exotic trance and ‘primeval’ energy. Instead of alcohol, participants will have to settle for freshly-squeezed fruit juices or chai, a combination of tea, milk, herbs and spices. Marcin Garczyński, one of the organisers believes that “the event we are preparing will generate plenty of genuine joy and will not lead to hangovers and gaps in one’s memory”. ‘Pure Party’ starts at 20:00 on Saturday, tickets are still available but are selling fast.
Metro

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Cultural Boom

Poland on the Up

Great new Polish films attracted huge audiences; Polish theatre achieved notable successes throughout Europe and Polish artists received several prestigious awards. 2009 was a good year for Polish culture and entertainment. With much more to offer the viewer, four films stood out particularly: Dom zly, Rewers, Zero and Wojna polsko-ruska. All were original plots that portrayed evil. Wajda’s Tatarak was praised by critics all over and won an award for film of the year. The documentaries Chemia and Po-lin were seen by many simply as works of genius. One fact that is well worth noting is that all of these successes were achieved despite huge financial problems. The Polish theatre scene has not been this diverse for quite a while. A(polonia) and Nasza klasa were given great reviews from critics in many countries while Krystian Lupa received the European Theatre Award, the theatre equivalent of an Oscar.

One of the most famous contemporary art museums in the world, London’s Tate Modern, rented out a huge hall for a 6-month period to Miroslaw Balka and his sculpture. The music festival scene is thriving also. The Opera Rara series from Kraków was a hit as was Szymanowski’s Król Roger, which toured Europe. There were concerts aplenty including Madonna, Radiohead, Jane’s Addiction and NineInchNails. Polish music keeps getting better every year – in 2009 Behemoth was the first Polish band to hit the Billboard charts while Dick4Dick, Pablopavo, Hey and Gaba Kulka all recorded albums of exceptional quality. E-paper had its début in 2009, an invention that might actually save the “art” of reading which is losing popularity very fast – last year more than 60% of Poles did not read a single book. In retrospect, 2009 just might one day be regarded as a breakthrough year, one that influenced culture to a great extent just like 1989 did for the world of politics – artists, performers and the like no longer had to curry favour with politicians and were not at the mercy of the powers that be. On the contrary creators, producers but also viewers and fans all started making their own contributions to the world of culture and entertainment, with the goal of creating a more culturally conscious society in mind.

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We Will Have Our Own Dr House

A Polish House Awaits?

There are some issues that are no longer considered taboo in Polish sitcoms – homosexuals, the handicapped and AIDS testing, to name a few. Nevertheless, TV stations still avoid certain topics… The world of Polish sitcoms is a world of women. Certainly not by accident as it is women who constitute between 53%-68% of all viewers; only Świat wedlug Kiepskich has more male viewers than females. Strangely enough even thriller-type sitcoms attract more women than men. What do females expect from these types of television shows? “They want a programme produced in Poland, one that features well-known Polish actors,” says Piotr Jasek from BrzydUla. “The main character should be a woman, too”. It is great if the heroine in question ‘defeats’ men in some way. “She must have problems at work as well as at home”. BrzydUla’s main character is in love but it is an impossible love: she is an ugly girl from the countryside who falls for a handsome, intelligent and wealthy man, one who often deceives her. The viewers root for her, though. ‘Difficult love’ has also been a theme within Magda M., Ranczo and Dom nad Rozlewiskiem. Breaking patterns is not a strongpoint of Polish television stations. While in W labiryncie (the first Polish family sitcom whose 120 episodes aired between 1988 and 1991) God was sometimes presented in a rather negative light, now it would be rare to find a similar approach to religion in more contemporary TV programmes of the same kind. Topics such as abortion or in vitro fertilization are generally avoided. Politics is yet another topic rarely found in sitcoms because, “these are issues that divide people; if we mention them in our programmes, some people will stop watching. And in today’s competitive world every viewer is worth his or her weight in gold,” says a screenwriter.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Going To The Movies

Polish Movies

Since the last Gdynia Festival, there have been far more positive reactions to what the Polish movie industry now has to offer. Here is a sneak preview of what will be on at the movies in 2010 and 2011. “M20″ is a story about two brothers going to their father’s funeral. In his will, the man leaves them an old Warszawa M-20, an extraordinary car as one of its passengers was Karol Wojtyła. The two main characters are symbolically played by Adamczyk and Woronowicz, who have both starred in films about Pope John Paul II and priest Jerzy Popiełuszko, respectively. The première is scheduled for April 2010. “Trick”, likely to hit movie theatres in March of 2010, is a contemporary political thriller set in modern-day Poland. The main character, a money forger currently serving time in prison is given an offer he cannot refuse, and one that might set him free. The film’s director says that he was inspired by the American thrillers of the 1970s and French police thrillers. “The Lullaby” (Kołysanka) is a film Juliusz Machulski is currently working on. It is a horror movie set in a Mazurian village about a family that makes objects out of clay. Whenever the family appear, people start disappearing. Robert Więckiewicz who plays the father of the family hopes that viewers will find the movie rather funny. “Nothing is obvious or straightforward in the film, and no heads are chopped off,” says Więckiewicz. The film should hit cinemas in February next year. On June 28, Jerzy Hoffman, another top Polish director, will begin shooting a movie, yet to be given a title, about the Russian-Polish war of 1920. With an estimated budget of PLN 20 million and computer-generated special effects, the film promises to make interesting viewing. Some historic figures such as Piłsudski and Lenin will also appear in the film. The 110-minute première is set for August 25, 2011.
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Grey World, Great Film

Great Grey Movie

Nothing here is pretty. The scenery is ugly, the people evil,  the police incompetent, the world hopeless. Only Wojciech Smarzowski’s movie turns out to be exceptional. There are no flowers, no sun rays. Open up to Poland, to its past. In Wojciech Smarzowski’s new film, the Poland in question is a country where life is incredibly difficult. Or maybe it is only the people that cannot bear to live there? It is a life of constant feuding and bickering and numbing your mind with alcohol. Waiting things out, killing time, betrayal and mud that covers everything. Despite the gloomy atmosphere there is a sense of hope that one feels while watching; at least Poles know how to make a quality film.
Metro

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Book Cemetery

The End of Books

Warsaw second-hand booksellers have raised the alarm that as many as a few hundred thousand books will soon be trashed. Help save them and take home as many as you can. On 30^th November the opening of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books (Cmentarzysko Zapomnianych Książek) will take place in the University of Warsaw Library. The Cemetery is actually a second-hand bookshop where you do not buy books but take them and give them a new home. The number of volumes exceeds 30,000. This extraordinary way of selling books is a response by Warsaw second-hand booksellers to poor readership and the situation on the ailing book market. “New titles and authors die everyday and we are witnessing this sad process,” says Waldemar Szatanek, the man behind the campaign.

There are thousands of books in second-hand bookshops which no one asks for and then there is the problem of what to do with them. “Neither customers nor libraries want them. Should we throw them out? Recycle? This is sacrilege for every bookseller and book lover,” explains Szatanek. The problem with unwanted books has been growing in the last few months. People leave whole collections of used books in second-hand bookshops “Surprisingly, the motivation behind this is not the money they get but simply the need to dispose of the books. Our customers tell us that they feel bad about throwing books away so they bring them here. Unfortunately we are the ones who have to do it because there is no room to store them. We are becoming undertakers,” says Grzegorz Cielecki, a second-hand bookseller from Warsaw. As the vast majority of booksellers in the capital experience the same problem, some of them decided to save a few hundred thousand books from being thrown out. Hence, an idea emerged to create the Cemetery of Forgotten Books. The books are for free but you have to pay to enter the Cemetery. Once you are there you will receive a bag, which you can fill with as many items as you want. There are 5 crypts in the Cemetery ranging from history and poetry to fiction and entertainment. For more information on opening times and entry fees click here.
tvnwarszawa.pl

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Super Beth Concert

Super Hero?

The only things missing during Saturday’s concert of American group Gossip at the Palladium Club were tickets. On the other hand, great music and a crowd of fans going crazy was clearly visible. It was without question one of the best Warsaw concerts of 2009. Clad in a black, tight-fitting outfit, with flame-red hair and a rainbow-flag cape tied around her neck which she received from one of the fans, Beth Ditto of Gossip looked like a super hero straight out of a comic book. Her energy was contagious. Just a few minutes into the concert a few hundred fans were dancing, singing, jumping and going into a frenzy – numerous beer-filled plastic cups shot up into the air after Ditto’s broken Polish “Na zdrowie!” The performance started with Dimestore Diamond, a simple song off Gossip’s latest album Music for Men, released in 2009. Other songs soon followed: the bass-filled Heavy Cross, Love Long Distance, and punk soul Men in Love. Fans of older hits such as Listen Up did not have to wait long to hear their favourites. Gossip exploded onto the music scene a few years ago on a mission to prove that a star performer does not have to be anorexic or look like a walking advertisement for a plastic surgery clinic. Gossip are long-time advocates for the rights of feminists and homosexuals and firmly believe that being natural is a quality their fans have come to respect and admire. Ditto is approachable and always keen either to jump into the crowd or invite fans to join her on the stage. And when she is not singing, she talks to fans and jokes with them wanting them to enjoy her show to the fullest. The concert ended with Queen’s We Are The Champions. Ditto waved and quickly disappeared… only to return a short while after singing with fans in front of the club’s entrance. Hardly typical behaviour for a star but then Beth Ditto is a super hero and can do whatever she pleases.
Gazeta Wyborcza

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Warsaw Citizens Like Halloween

Polish Tradition?

Ghosts, vampires and skeletons were having fun all over the city. A few years ago Halloween evoked extreme opinions – the advocates of the Polish tradition perceived it as profanation of All Saints Day. Today it is popular and night parties do not interfere with celebrating the Polish tradition. “These two holidays do not rule out each other,” says Filip, an artist who went to a Saturday party in Warsaw. Halloween costumes were not obligatory but those who dressed up, got a discount at the entrance. Although it is cheap to buy a werewolf mask, Joanna prepared her own zombie make-up, which took her two hours to make. Some people decided not to dress up. “I have a great Halloween Red Riding Hood costume, but I did not put it on tonight. I thought that not many people would be dressed up,” said Bianca from London, whose eye was bleeding. The next day, those same club-goers went to visit cemeteries in their casual clothes. “I do not have any family members buried in Warsaw, but I want to visit my favourite writer’s grave. I do it every year,” says Jacek Meler, who also partied on Saturday. Warsaw citizens treat Halloween as a fancy-dress ball. However, the trick-or-treat tradition has not caught on in Poland. American children walk around their neighbourhoods collecting sweets; Polish children stay in bed. “I did not prepare any sweets and nobody knocked at my door anyway,” says Helena. “My children and I celebrate the traditional Polish holiday, not some monsters. It has always been like this and we will stick to it.”
Gazeta Wyborcza

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