Sieniawka

Although bearing the provenance of documentary form, Sieniawka seems to be perched on the precarious precipice of the subconscious and imaginary, imbued with an alien, hallucinatory quality that sets it apart from other hybrid films, making it a completely unique and singular cinematic object. Malaszczak’s camera delves into a psychiatric ward in rural Poland where his aunt used to be the director—a dilapidated brutalist compound which appears like the end of the world, or perhaps another world altogether—mostly tracking a character named Stefan. Scenes of everyday routines are juxtaposed against visions of his memories from another time and place, amidst a landscape of ruins with only the barest vestiges of life. The past and present, objective and subjective, all beg to inexorably dissolve into each other.  

Image © Mengamuk Films