In 1961, Stanislaw Rozewicz created the novella film "Birth Certificate" in cooperation with his brother, Taduesz Rozewicz as screenwriter. Such brother tandems are rare in the history of film but aside from family ties, Stanislaw (born in 1924) and Taduesz (born in 1921) were mutually bound by their love for the cinema. They were born and grew up in Radomsk, a small town which had "its madmen and its saints" and most importanly, the "Kinema" cinema, as Stanislaw recalls: for him cinema is "heaven, the whole world, enchantment". Tadeusz says he considers cinema both a charming market stall and a mysterious temple. "All this savage land has always attracted and fascinated me," he says. "I am devoured by cinema and I devour cinema; I'm a cinema eater." But Taduesz Rozewicz, an eminent writer, admits this unique form of cooperation was a problem to him: "It is the presence of the other person not only in the process of writing, but at its very core, which is inserperable for me from absolute solitude." Some scenes the brothers wrote together; others were created by the writer himself, following discussions with the director. But from the perspective of time, it is "Birth Certificate", rather than "Echo" or "The Wicked Gate", that Taduesz describes as his most intimate film. This is understandable. The tradgey from September 1939 in Poland was for the Rozewicz brothers their personal "birth certificate". When working on the film, the director said "This time it is all about shaking off, getting rid of the psychological burden which the war was for all of us. ... Cooperation with my brother was in this case easier, as we share many war memories. We wanted to show to adult viewers a picture of war as seen by a child. ... In reality, it is the adults who created the real world of massacres. Children beheld the horrors coming back to life, exhumed from underneath the ground, overwhelming the earth."
The principle of composition of "Birth Certificate" is not obvious. When watching a novella film, we tend to think in terms of traditional theatre. We expect that a miniature story will finish with a sharp point; the three film novellas in Rozewicz's work lack this feature. We do not know what will be happen to the boy making his alone through the forest towards the end of "On the Road". We do not know whether in "Letter from the Camp", the help offered by the small heroes to a Soviet prisoner will rescue him from the unknown fate of his compatriots. The fate of the Jewish girl from "Drop of Blood" is also unclear. Will she keep her new impersonation as "Marysia Malinowska"? Or will the Nazis make her into a representative of the "Nordic race"? Those questions were asked by the director for a reason. He preceived war as chaos and perdition, and not as linear history that could be reflected in a plot. Although "Birth Certificate" is saturated with moral content, it does not aim to be a morality play. But with the immense pressure of reality, no varient of fate should be excluded. This approached can be compared wth Krzysztof Kieslowski's "Blind Chance" 25 years later, which pictured dramatic choices of a different era.
The film novella "On the Road" has a very sparing plot, but it drew special attention of the reviewers. The ominating overtone of the war films created by the Polish Film School at that time should be kept in mind. Mainly owing to Wajda, those films dealt with romantic heritage. They were permeated with pathos, bitterness, and irony. Rozewicz is an extraordinary artist. When narrating a story about a boy lost in a war zone, carrying some documents from the regiment office as if they were a treasure, the narrator in "On the Road" discovers rough prose where one should find poetry. And suddenly, the irrational touches this rather tame world. The boy, who until that moment resembled a Polish version of the Good Soldier Schweik, sets off, like Don Quixote, for his first and last battle. A critic described it as "an absurd gesture and someone else could surely use it to criticise the Polish style of dying. ... But the Rozewicz brothers do no accuse: they only compose an elegy for the picturesque peasant-soldier, probably the most important veteran of the Polish war of 1939-1945." "Birth Certificate" is not a lofty statement about national imponderabilia. The film reveals a plebeian perspective which Aleksander Jackieqicz once contrasted with those "lyrical lamentations" inherent in the Kordian tradition. However, a historical overview of Rozewicz's work shows that the distinctive style does not signify a fundamental difference in illustrating the Polish September. Just as the memorable scene from Wajda's "Lotna" was in fact an expression of desperation and distress, the same emotions permeate the final scene of "Birth Certificate". These are not ideological concepts, though once described as such and fervently debated, but rather psychological creations. In this specific case, observes Witold Zalewski, it is not about manifesting knightly pride, but about a gesture of a simple man who does not agree to be enslaved.
The novella "Drop of Blood" is, with Aleksander Ford's "Border Street", one of the first narrations of the fate of the Polish Jews during the Nazi occupation. The story about a girl literally looking for her place on earth has a dramatic dimension. Especially in the age of today's journalistic disputes, often manipulative, lacking in empathy and imbued with bad will, Rozewicz's story from the past shocks with its authenticity. The small herione of the story is the only one who survives a German raid on her family home. Physical survial does not, however, mean a return to normality. Her frightened departure from the rubbish dump that was her hideout lead her to a ruined apartment. Her walk around it is painful because still fresh signs of life are mixed with evidence of annihilation. Help is needed, but Mirka does not know anyone in the outside world. Her subsequent attempts express the state of the fugitive's spirits - from hope and faith, moving to doubt, a sense of oppression, and thickening fear, and finally to despair.
At the same time, the Jewish girl's search for refuge resembles the state of Polish society. The appearance of Mirka results in confusion, and later, trouble. This was already signalled by Rozewicz in an exceptional scene from "Letter from the Camp" in which the boy's neighbour, seeing a fugitive Russian soldier, retreats immediately, admitting that "Now, people worry only about themselves." Such embarassing excuses mask fear. During the occupation, no one feels safe. Neither social status not the aegis of a charity organisation protects against repression. We see the potential guardians of Mirka passing her back and forth among themselves. These are friendly hands but they cannot offer strong support. The story takes place on that thin line between solidarity and heroism. Solidarity arises spontaneously, but only some are capable of heroism. Help for the girl does not always result from compassion; sometimes it is based on past relations and personal ties (a neighbour of the doctor takes in the fugitive for a few days because of past friendship). Rozewicz portrays all of this in a subtle way; even the smallest gesture has significance. Take, for example, the conversation with a stranger on the train: short, as if jotted down on the margin, but so full of tension. And earlier, a peculiar examination of Polishness: the "Holy Father" prayer forced on Mirka by the village boys to check that she is not a Jew. Would not rising to the challenge mean a death sentance?
Viewed after many years, "Birth Certificate" discloses yet another quality that is not present in the works of the Polish School, but is prominent in later B-class war films. This is the picture of everyday life during the war and occupation outlined in the three novellas. It harmonises with the logic of speaking about "life after life". Small heroes of Rozewicz suddenly enter the reality of war, with no experience or scale with which to compare it. For them, the present is a natural extension of and at the same time a complete negation of the past. Consider the sleey small-town marketplace, through which armoured columns will shortly pass. Or meet the German motorcyclists, who look like aliens from outer space - a picture taken from an autopsy because this is how Stanislaw and Taduesz perceived the first Germans they ever met. Note the blurred silhouettes of people against a white wall who are being shot - at first they are shocking, but soon they will probably become a part of the grim landscape. In the city centre stands a prisoner camp on a sodden bog ("People perish likes flies; the bodies are transported during the night"); in the street the childern are running after a coal wagon to collect some precious pieces of fuel. There's a bustle around some food (a boy reproaches his younger brother's actions by singing: "The warrant officer's son is begging in front of the church? I'm going to tell mother!"); and the kitchen, which one evening becomes the proscenium of a real drama. And there are the symbols: a bar of chocolate forced upon a boy by a Wehrmacht soldier ("On the Road"); a pair of shoes belonging to Zbyszek's father which the boy spontaneously gives to a Russian fugitive; a priceless slice of bread, ground under the heel of a policeman in the guter ("Letters from the Camp"). As the director put it: "In every film, I communicate my own vision of the world and of the people. Only then the style follows, the defined way of experiencing things." In Birth Certificate, he adds, his approach was driven by the subject: "I attempted to create not only the texture of the document but also to add some poetic element. I know it is risky but as for the merger of documentation and poety, often hidden very deep, if only it manages to make its way onto the screen, it results in what can referred to as 'art'."
After 1945, there were numerous films created in Europe that dealt with war and children, including "Somewhere in Europe" ("Valahol Europaban", 1947 by Geza Radvanyi), "Shoeshine" ("Sciescia", 1946 by Vittorio de Sica), and "Childhood of Ivan" ("Iwanowo dietstwo" by Andriej Tarkowski). Yet there were fewer than one would expect. Pursuing a subject so imbued with sentimentalism requires stylistic disipline and a special ability to manage child actors. The author of "Birth Certificate" mastered both - and it was not by chance. Stanislaw Rozewicz was always the beneficent spirit of the film milieu; he could unite people around a common goal. He emanated peace and sensitivity, which flowed to his co-workers and pupils. A film, being a group work, necessitates some form of empathy - tuning in with others.
In a biographical documentary about Stanislaw Rozewicz entitled "Walking, Meeting" (1999 by Antoni Krauze), there is a beautiful scene when the director, after a few decades, meets Beata Barszczewska, who plays Mireczka in the novella "Drops of Blood". The woman falls into the arms of the elderly man. They are both moved. He wonders how many years have passed. She answers: "A few years. Not too many." And Rozewicz, with his characteristic smile says: "It is true. We spent this entire time together."
妈咪看的时候跟着看了点。以前的审美真棒。想起中森明菜，也是可惜了，以前的发型和服装
难道应该把本人与电影本身分开吗？难道会有更多人是因为某位主创/演员而观看这部片的吗？这是对一个icon所能做到的最不超出预期的描摹，怎奈她已化作星辰，闪耀于夜空之中了。因此我永遠懷念你。3.6
3.5/5 女主还是不错的 但对于整部电影有点五味杂陈 只能说还是很触动情怀的
边看边怀念，也边擦着湿润的眼睛，梅姐给我带来的感动不光是舞台上的惊喜，也是面对生活从不退缩的坚定。
梅姐和哥哥的魅力在于自在，洒脱，真，没有人演的了他们，或者说他们没法被演。
粤语先演口碑场。通过时间顺序记录了梅艳芳高低迭起的人生，并从她的事业、感情、友情等进行不同方面的刻画。但从全片来看，仅仅蜻蜓点水般选取几个高光瞬间以及人生转折点进行回顾，所作铺垫太少，许多情节也显得过于突兀，不免成为流水账。与真实影像的混合桥段其实挺有创意，但也是一把双刃剑，毕竟传记剧情片和纪录片是两种截然不同的呈现形式。模特出身的王丹妮大银幕首秀饰演的梅艳芳令人印象深刻，不少的造型扮相让人回想当时的“百变梅艳芳”，演出细腻自然。影片最后的尾声和高潮做的较为出色，催泪煽情，最后以一曲光辉灿烂的《夕阳之歌》为本片画上句号，也让观众感慨梅姐的传奇一生。
有長文影評。說實話，這是一套難以評價的電影，缺點明顯如劇情散亂缺乏重心、坊間反映過份美化近藤真彥、配角角色性格不立體、部分角色太令人出戲等等，筆者對《梅艷芳》的評價如幾年前美國奧斯卡獲得最佳導演的《波希米亞狂想曲》一致，不完美的電影亦能感動人心，就如《波》片末的戶外音樂會，《梅艷芳》片末的道別毋需粉飾，只需播放原片便能打動人心。
这五颗星是给王丹妮的，有内味～可惜的是后期王丹妮hold不住这个角色，anita的气势无可替代！
百变梅艳芳，香港的女儿。喜欢港片的，强推《梅艳芳》，看到泪目。 王丹妮演得非常好。 演哥哥的不做评价。程序员都干嘛吃的？别TM搞美女换头了，赶快让去世的演员们在电影里复活才是正经事。
本片由梅艷芳四五歲上台表演拍到她臨終時的夕陽之歌演唱會，在長達三十多年的跨度，編導努力地重現了梅艷芳許多人生大事（如新秀得獎，拍《胭脂扣》，認識劉培基以及張國榮等），也重現了八十年代的輝煌香港歲月，只是取材繁雜，缺乏焦點。編導似乎不想放過梅艷芳人生任何一個細節，但這種旁枝末节太多，勢必削弱了本片一定的戲劇感染力和節奏感，前半段像流水線，中半段避走海外拍得太兀長，後半段更是像紀錄片多過像電影，草草收場。新人王丹妮詮釋的梅艷芳不功不過，但在捕捉梅艷芳的神韻上有些距離，儘管悟性不錯，但限於劇本問題，無法深入梅艷芳內心世界去探討（只是看到梅艷芳的一生，卻不知道她應該是一個怎麼樣的人）。
sorry 永远爱梅姐 但这个电影呈现的香港女儿 只可以说流于表面 浮光掠影
只要有信心，无难事！虽然作为传记片来说，过于平实，但是还是有被感动到，珍惜生命，珍惜时间，活的精彩，respect 梅姐
12/30@国金百丽宫 逝世18周年纪念专场 7.2 成色比预期高。尽管素材海海但并未淹没在一味膜拜里，演得有自己理解，剪得节制精确，拍得也低调恳切，混着旧影简直太杀。未料从姐姐病榻前一直哑哭到尾，湿透冬夜口罩。所谓绝代，便无再有。
三星半。这片子太不好拍了，梅艳芳的很多故事都不能触碰，最终选取的素材已经是可控范围内的极限了。影片以40年为跨度：通过梅艳芳几段恋情的无疾而终，姐妹的亲密/隔阂，表达梅艳芳向往婚姻、家庭而不得，与刘培基、苏孝良的关系如同父女；一边点出与张国荣的挚友关系，一边也在突出前辈对后辈的提携；Anita是为了舞台而生，几段演唱表演与私生活状态形成鲜明反差；梅艳芳做慈善、在sars期间开动员演唱会，表达热爱香港。最终落脚点是香港的女儿。表达上很诚恳，完全弱化了商业属性，尽可能用情绪带动叙事节奏。摄影和剪辑帮助很大，整体很利落，清迈部分虽略显拖沓，但不算大问题。王丹妮的气质比梅艳芳弱，但整体来讲算是合格了，几段爆发戏份的表演比较亮眼。古天乐的刘培基意外的不错，是他少见的戏路。
长达三个半小时的导演完整版，其实都知道依然很碎片，很多内容都没法深入，但是多少看得出几个阶段的不同侧重点，但不好轻率说新人王丹妮是完全失败的，这就是一部概念先行的片，应该看得出编导想表达的是什么，不够客观，当然对梅艳芳这样的人物只能这样处理了，还想怎样去挖所谓内幕和深度呢
王丹妮行，刘俊谦不行(没有一点哥哥的神韵!…&戏份是不是有点多…?…虽然俩人好…
我会记住梅艳芳，但大概不会记住《梅艳芳》
既然是要拍一个时代的标志性人物，不妨以个人为切口，拍出一部香港史诗，这才是《梅艳芳传》该有的份量，而不是现在这种，小学生作文一般的个人流水账。
看完最后一集，加一颗星。
Copyright © 2015-2023 All Rights Reserved
