Kamila Postolowicz

Polish Postwar Film Spring 2019

The Role of the Camera in Ida

Ida, a Polish film directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, has been regarded as a cinematographic masterpiece due to its carefully framed and composed images. Ida is set in 1962 and focuses on the journey of Ida, a young woman about to take her vows to become a Catholic nun, and her aunt Wanda, a former Communist state prosecutor, in finding the truth of what happened to their Jewish family during WWII. Although the film was created in 2013, it embodies the essence of films produced in the1960s as it was intentionally shot in the 4:3 aspect ratio as well as in hard-focus black and white. The important role of the cinematography is clear from the opening scene, as the boxy images are used to create a sense of isolation trapped in the past and remind the audience of other Polish films produced in the 1960s. Furthermore, in Ida, the camera itself maintains a contemplative distance from the world portrayed in the film. This essay puts forth the argument that the camera acts like an indifferent character who is separated from the narrative. Throughout the film, the camera is a divine being that seems to exist beyond time, and one who simply watches the events unfold without any investment. This disassociated presence of the camera is characterized through a lack of movement, a distant and upwards perspective, and partial illumination of the characters.

The distinct way that the camera slowly moves in Ida serves the direct purpose of embodying an indifferent presence and reflecting the powerful grip of the past. The camera rarely ever shifts in this film, resulting in the creation of long, static shots. The images then are slowly edited together, acting like still paintings or photographs. Thus, the characters are immobilized in time, reflecting the paralyzing impact Ida and Wanda’s past has on their present life. This is clear through the plot of the film, as Wanda is later unable to cope with the reality of her family history and chooses to end her own life, allowing her past to freeze herself in her present. Additionally, these long shots produce a sense of dreaminess and of time simply floating. Through this, the indifference of the camera and incarnation of a presence outside of time is clearly articulated. The camera does not track the characters or follow them through space, inducing a sense of isolation as the characters lack accompaniment. In contrast to typical Hollywood films, the characters are the ones who move in and out of the frame, while the camera stays in the same position, portraying a lack of interest in what the characters are doing. In one particular scene, the characters rise, but the camera does not shift upwards and rather remains at their midsection. Throughout the film, the camera maintains this restricted point of view, and only sees what is necessary, leaving the rest of the narrative to be pieced together by the audience.

Although the majority of the film is produced with such steady shots as described before, the camera’s movement deliberately changes at the end of the film. Once Ida experiences life outside of the convent, she walks down the road to a location unknown to the audience, and the camera bobs up and down, tracking Ida and focusing in on her face. The camera’s movement here reflects her newfound freedom, as it has begun to follow the story that Ida has decided for herself. Her path is no longer influenced or dictated by the Catholic nuns or her past. The manner in which the camera behaves is thus crucial to showing how the camera remains indifferent to the lives of the characters up until the final minutes of the film.

In addition to the movement of the camera, the perspective of the lens works to emphasize the contemplative distance the camera maintains. The camera is typically far from the characters, and does not hone in on their faces. The presence represented through the camera is not extremely interested in the narrative, and thus remains physically removed. This distance created by the camera has another purpose- Ida and Wanda tend to appear very small in the frame and are overcome by the vastness of their surroundings. The austere landscape, such as the one created as Ida and Wanda walk to the forest with the Polish man who killed their family, produces a sense of isolation and loss in a large world. Concurrently, the bare and vast environment works to create strong feelings of oppression. Desolate horizontal space is used to reflect the oppressive nature of the past, since time is typically represented in a linear manner. Ida and Wanda are stuck in the middle of the horizon, which represents their present, and are held back by their past and unable to move forward into the future. Vertical space is left open as well, as the characters are typically located in the bottom two quadrants of the frame. The sky above Ida and Wanda is always gray and heavy, symbolizing the burden of the past weighing down on them. The sky is, in a sense, crushing them, and is always present, mirroring the notion of the absent presence of Jewish people in Poland. The memory of the war and people is constantly there and follows the characters, almost to the point of suffocating them, but is never explicitly addressed or explained. The camera does not probe to find the answers, but maintains both a physical and contemplative distance, observing the characters interact beneath the dark and heavy sky.

The third cinematographic element that is utilized in Ida to emphasize the indifference of the presence of the camera is the lighting. The film does not employ extravagant lighting, but rather relies on a single source of light to illuminate the characters. Natural light falls in through windows, and typically casts shadows on the faces of Ida and Wanda. Throughout literature, light has been a symbol for knowledge, and in this film, the faces of the women are never fully illuminated, as the camera has limited information about who they are. It has no insight into their mind and psyche, and does not attempt to enter it, remaining under the veil of darkness. This is reiterated by the fact that all that the camera and audience know of Ida and Wanda is what has been articulated through suggestive comments. For example, Wanda casually mentions that she was a state prosecutor, and does not dive into a deeper explanation of the blood she has on her hands. Additionally, sunlight is crucially never seen shining down from the sky. Sunlight tends to be a symbol of hope, and it is absent here, clouded by dark gloomy skies, reflecting how it appears to be impossible for Ida to escape the darkness she is surrounded by.

Light continues to be an important symbolic element, as electric light illuminates Wanda’s apartment, reflecting her initial coldness to Ida, while warmer candlelight flickers on Ida’s face in the convent. The candlelight only reveals a portion of Ida’s face, again representing the limited knowledge we have of her, as well as her internal battle with her intention to become a nun. In the convent, as the nuns are bathing, Ida stirs the coals in the fire. The light, which would have been a red hue if the film were in color, shines onto her face from below, revealing a demonic fire inside of Ida caused by her exposure to the outside world’s sin. Again, the flickering light of the fire, symbolizing desire, falls on part of her face, as at this point of the film, her inner stirrings are still hidden from the passive camera. To sum up, the single source of lighting that only partly illuminates the characters in Ida is used to show how the camera is separated from the narrative due to its limited insight into the characters.

In conclusion, the camera in Ida takes on the role of a divine presence that exists outside of time. It remains situated outside of the portrayed world and is a passive observer who is unbothered by the difficult issues that Ida and Wanda face. It never tries to obtain more information, but only gains knowledge through subtle comments made by Wanda and Ida. Frames marked by isolation and gloom are carefully composed through static shots, a distant perspective, and limited lighting, transmitting the main message of the pain caused by the past to the viewer. The camera reveals a contained story with just enough information necessary for the audience to piece it all together into a cohesive narrative. The stunning cinematography and deliberate visual images set Ida apart from the majority of other films produced today that focus on heavy editing and shaky frames that track the characters’ every move. In this manner, Ida’s clean visual simplicity creates a framework in which the suffering caused by history is clearly delineated.