Bad Luck

Bad Luck is Polish director Andrzej Munk’s slapstick comedy, which addresses many social and political issues. Through his sardonic lens he focuses on and brings into perspective the social and political implications of conformity. He effectively portrays anti-Semitism in the Polish society, linking humor to the amoral position. Munk uses this bleak history in combination with comedy in order to oppose the Polish tradition of story telling. Instead of bringing light to a story about nobles, he uses a common character with a humorous role.

Munk deconstructs the Polish myths of heroism. The main character, Piszcyck (Bogumil Kobiela) who is your “average Joe”, goes through great lengths to assimilate; his futile attempts often times lead to a mistake or disaster. Munk demonstrates through Piszcyck’s oblivion that life can exist without politics; this in many respects is a type of resistance, which takes the audience away from the historical atrocities and tragedies. Piszcyck, however, is unlike the majority because his sincerity is exaggerated. Munk captures the pother of Piszcyck, who is too blind to see his disasters are not because of fate. Instead his misfortune is due to his frequent lying, hyper-sincerity, and his indecisiveness. Throughout the film he’s confronted with situations that require him to take one side or the other, however, he doesn’t autonomously (or consciously) choose a side or a path. For example, when Piszcyck attends a political rally, one group is pro-government and the other fascist, he finds himself alternating between groups, yelling and rooting. Piszcyck’s position is often times based on chance.

The audience will never know whether or not Piszcyck’s accounts are accurate, or if he is exaggerating the truth. But it is possible to assume, from his narcissistic and mischievous behavior and the frequent contradictions in his stories, that some of his past is also shrouded in fictional details. As a statement this suggests that people should question the veracity of stories. The film also questions the validity of fate, and more specifically how much so does fate influence a person. Piszcyck’s story, which asks for pity, in this case from the prison warden, instead shows that fate hasn’t burdened his past but rather it is all of the lies and indecisiveness that has affected his history.