Sanatorium pod klepsydrą (Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass), dir. Wojciech Has, 1973.

A liberal adaptation of the prose of Bruno Schulz, based on the title of Schultz’s collection of stories Sanatorium under the Sign of the Hourglass (1936). The oneiric story of Józef (Jan Nowicki) who meets his long since departed father at the mysterious sanatorium of Dr. Gotard (Gustaw Holoubek), existing in a dimension beyond time. Returning to the small Jewish town of his youth, recalling the figure of his father and the first pangs of unrequited love, the protagonist struggles with adulthood.

Film in Polish.

Tickets – 5 PLN, 15 PLN combined ticket.

Rites of Passage. A review of films about coming of age.

The films included in this selection seem at first glance to have nothing in common: their subject matter, genre, country and date of production all differ. Yet all address the issue of maturing, as related to the embracement of one’s Jewish identity – maturing with history in the background, in both the individual and the collective dimension, freely or by force.

The review accompanies the seminar Do we mature and when? in the Believe in the Museum? series.

Within the framework of the cycle we will show:

November 6, 7 pm – Świadectwo urodzenia (Birth Certificate), dir. S. Różewicz, 1961

November 13, 7 pm – Lebanon, dir. Samuel Maoz, 2009

November 27, 7 pm – A Serious Man, dir. Ethan and Joel Coen, 2009

Supported by Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland