Stanisław
Lem’s famous space-traveler Ijon Tichy is the sort of fellow who could possibly
save or destroy the universe. He always understood the science of his wacky
circumstances, but he was known to be klutzy and guileless. However, he caught
a nice break when he was depicted by the distinguished-looking Piotr Kurowski in
two short films produced for Polish television, including Marek Nowicki &
Jerzy Stawicki’s Professor Zazul, which
screens as part of Stanisław Lem on Film,
the upcoming retrospective survey of cinema based on the work of the great
Polish science fiction writer.
Initially,
the 1962 short appears to have more of the trappings of a horror film when
Tichy is forced to take refuge in an old dark house during a severe storm. It
turns out the place even has a mysterious laboratory and a scientist, who is
most likely quite mad. That would indeed be Zazul—sort of.
Frankly,
Zazul feels considerably ahead of its
time, given its doppelganger themes, the circular structure, and the generally
slippery nature of reality. In retrospect, it looks like considerable resources
went into its twenty-two minutes of air time, including set decorations worthy
of the best Frankenstein films and a groovy vibraphone-heavy soundtrack
composed by Edward Pałłasz. Plus, the frequent product placement for Coca-Cola
is almost bemusingly surreal, given the era—early 1960s Poland.
