“Nobody Knows that There is a Soul under the Sex Appeal”. Literary Song in Katarzyna Klimkiewicz’s Autumn Girl Cover Image

„Nikt nie wie, że jest pod seksem i dusza”. Piosenka literacka w filmie Bo we mnie jest seks Katarzyny Klimkiewicz
“Nobody Knows that There is a Soul under the Sex Appeal”. Literary Song in Katarzyna Klimkiewicz’s Autumn Girl

Author(s): Pola Biblis
Subject(s): Music, Polish Literature, Film / Cinema / Cinematography, History of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
Keywords: Kalina Jędrusik; Elderly Gentlemen’s Cabaret; Autumn Girl; film; musical; sung poetry; Katarzyna Klimkiewicz; Polish Peoples Republic; Polish cinema;

Summary/Abstract: The article aims to examine the role of sung poetry in the film Autumn Girl (Bo we mnie jest seks, 2021), inspired by the life of Kalina Jędrusik. Katarzyna Klimkiewicz, the direc- tor, incorporates the genre of musical, featuring songs which Jędrusik performed throughout her career – mostly written by Jeremi Przybora and Jerzy Wasowski from the renowned Elder- ly Gentlemen’s Cabaret (Kabaret Starszych Panów). The movie is loosely based on historical facts: it is a rather feminist deconstruction of Jędrusik’s pop-cultural persona and the 1960s in Poland. I analyse how new contexts help to reinterpret classical sung poetry. Songs serve as character exposition, reinforce the feminist reading of the movie and enrich the original lyrics with new meanings. Additionally, to contextualise the issue, I discuss the tradition of Polish musicals and the Elderly Gentlemen’s Cabaret.

  • Issue Year: 20/2023
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 174-188
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish