He appears from nowhere, he’s lukewarm, barely speaks but somehow he is able to win people over. He captures his victims’ affection and then finishes them. It’s difficult to guess his murderous motif and generally what’s on his mind. Though there are many question marks it’s quite a feast for viewer’s eye and mind. Krzysztof Skonieczny serves us “deeply independent” movie about homicidal youngster marauding in the big city.
Marcin (Marcin Kowalczyk) is a twenty some years old guy. In first shots we see him walking around inoperative amusement park without any specific reason and then we follow after him to some Warsaw skyscraper where we look for Mr and Mrs Wróblewski. The protagonist doesn’t find them, but meets their daughter – Ola (Jaśmina Polak) – who he follows to the parties. Eventually they have fun together and Marcin ends up in Ola’s apartment just as he has planned. He is mysterious, quiet, dangerous (holds a knife in his pocket); you could say by his eyes he’s up to something really bad. Unbelievably, his lack of social skills and stillness is what Ola and her parents take for understanding, honesty and support. The protagonist sustains their belief in that version of his character and then (quite fast) he gets down to savage killing.
We could try to somehow justify his actions thanks to the way movie acts had been separated. It’s done with a help of children drawings which are titled – Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and Kid’s Day. When Marcin talks to Mr Wróblewski he says “First I will kill you and then mother”; when we add to this the shots from the amusement park it creates a narration of protagonist’s lost childhood. Maybe he was abandoned as a new-born by Ola’s parents or some other couple and he seeks revenge but it doesn’t really matter if he kills his real parents or some random people. Or he’s a psycho who loves violence and to see fear and startle on innocent faces. I believe there are a few ways of analyzing Skonieczny’s debut film.
Hardkor Disko also contains a bit of information about contemporary youth. We see them partying in flats, discos and somewhere in countryside. We observe Ola’s lifestyle – workshop and then drinking, getting high, partying, coming back home in the morning. It sometimes seems she’s lost, miserable an has low self esteem. One could decribe the whole generation by her behaviour but one should also have in mind, that Ola is a wealthy girl – a daughter of an architect and a theatrical scenographer, loving parents. Only some percentage of the youth could live her life and afford that kind of spending free time. Marcin is different and that attracts her.
Hardkor Disko received mixed reviews. I guess most critics concentrated their brickback on movie’s slow going action, lack of information and songs in the soundtrack. The truth is this film wasn’t meant to be clear and obvious. One should appreciate this new stylistics and good using of film citations; it’s pleasant seeing a shot similar to the opening one in Funny Games by Haneke with classical music in the background or another one referring to Fincher’s Seven. The citations and music nicely correspond with film’s content.
Skonieczny is an interesting young artist. He is a founder of artistic conglometate – głębokiOFF (“deeply independent”)1 and through it he organises and creates music videos, shorts, theatre performances and so on. He produced Hardkor Disko – his first feature film on his own too. Krzysztof Skonieczny represent fresh, tough-minded approach to art and that’s why I’m looking forward to seeing his future projects.
Polish Cinema Review 