Cinema of the Other Europe, The Industry and Artistry of East Central European Film, Dina Iordanova, Wallflower Press 2003, £14.99, 224 pp, ISBN 1903364612
paperback.

‘East Central Europe’ in this book covers Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland, though there are also brief comments on the other countries that once formed what was called the ‘Eastern Bloc’. The primary focus is the period from 1945 to 1989, with some discussion of the cinemas that preceded this period and also those that followed after that year of momentous change. It should be clearly said that this is an academic book. It is written and organised in the style and language of such works. It avoids the excesses of academia’s specialised language, though it does aim for that very exact, sometimes pedantic, style of description and comment. In most cases the writer is careful to explain specific terms, such as with ‘runaway’ productions, now commonplace in the area. These use local labour in the service of foreign finance.

The academic framework is also apparent in what is termed the discourse of the book. The topics and points of discussion and debate clearly refer to the preoccupations of scholars in Universities and similar institutions. This can make life difficult for a reader unfamiliar with such an approach. The subject also produces its own difficulties. As the writer concedes many of the films that are discussed in detail are little known in the West. It would be an impressive film viewer who has seen all the films dealt with in the volume. I, unfortunately, have not, but the book whetted my appetite to track down as many of these films as I can.

However, Iordanova does bring a detailed knowledge and understanding to the subject. The descriptions of both the industrial context and discussion of particular filmmakers are generally clear and informative. And both are placed in a context that is detailed and well presented. There are chapters on historical film and films dealing with identity, modernism and the position of women. And there are useful discussions of important cultural strands, for example, films that deal with anti-Semitism. The book points up both change and continuity in the region. Two factors among the latter are the major studios of Barrandov in Czechoslovakia and Babelsberg, once sited in East Germany. The later was earlier the home of the great UFA studio. Another is the continuing influence of surrealism in decades when in the west this had run its course. This influence also feeds into the important tradition of animation discussed in the volume. One virtue of the book is that the author deals with these Eastern European films and filmmakers to a great degree in their own terms. There is a serious engagement with the social and industrial context in these countries.

Having applauded this there is one odd weakness. The author uses a number of terms to categorise the societies under study, including ‘communist regimes’, ‘state socialism’ and ‘totalitarian’. However, there is no clear explanation of the meanings attributed to these, though all have different and problematic usages. The closest to a definition is when the author takes the trouble to define Socialist Realism. This recognises that what we call ‘socialism’ is a period of construction and transformation which, if successful, is followed by a communist state. It should be apparent from the author’s comments on the post-war settlement that led to these eastern European regimes that their socialist status was debatable. So, a clear discussion of what these terms mean is essential for clarity. The omission appears to follow from the terms of the academic debate into which the books falls. There seems to be little academic interest in understanding the political economy of either the Soviet State or of the members of the post-war Comecon. Yet the films themselves demonstrate that these societies and their regimes were never uniform in their policies or their relationship with the Soviet Union. Iordanova’s discussion of the Czech and Polish films, by for example Jaromil Jires or Andrzej Wajda, brings out clearly the differences in both their content and their standpoints. Whilst the political dimension needs development the book does offer a picture of the complexities of these films and film industries

(This review was first posted to the in the picture magazine website.)