Jerzy Skolimowski is one of the most original Polish directors and one of only a handful who has gained genuine recognition abroad. This is the first monograph, written in English, to be devoted to his cinema. It covers Skolimowski's career from his early successes in Poland, such asIdentification Marks: None and Barrier, through his émigré films,Deep End,Moonlighting and The Lightship, to his return to Poland where, in 2008, he made the internationally acclaimedFour Nights with Anna.

Ewa Mazierska addresses the main features of Skolimowski's films, such as their affinity to autobiographism and surrealism, while discussing their characters, narratives, visual style, soundtracks, and the uses of literature. She draws on a wide range of cinematic and literary texts, situating Skolimowski's work within the context of Polish and world cinema, and drawing parallels between his work and that of two directors, with whom he tends to be compared, Roman Polaski and Jean-Luc Godard.

Ewa Mazierska is Professor of Contemporary Cinema, Department of Humanities, University of Central Lancashire. Her publications includeCrossing New Europe: The European Road Movie (Wallflower Press, 2006),Dreams and Diaries: The Cinema of Nanni Moretti (Wallflower Press, 2004) andFrom Moscow to Madrid: Postmodern Cities, European Cinema (I.B. Tauris, 2003), all co-authored with Laura Rascaroli andWomen in Polish Cinema (Berghahn Books, 2006), co-authored with Elbieta Ostrowska.

List of Illustrations Acknowledgements

Introduction: Outsider, Nonconformist, a Man In-between

Chapter 1. From Participant to Observer: Autobiographical Discourse in the Films of Jerzy SkolimowskiChapter 2. About a Boy: Characters, Narratives and Ideologies in Skolimowski's FilmsChapter 3. Between Realism and Non-realism: The Artistic Context of Skolimowski Films and their Main Visual MotifsChapter 4. In the Land of Hamlets and Don Quixotes: Skolimowski's Encounters with LiteratureChapter 5. I Dont Like Obvious Film Scores: Music and Other Sounds in Skolimowski's Films

Conclusions

Biographical Note Filmography Bibliography Index