Krzysztof Kieslowski''s
Camera Buff(Amator),1979: Filip''s predicament,ours too. Kieslowski gives us a chance to peep into the
life of Filip Mosz. Who''s Filip Mosz? A camera buff. Well, to be precise, he does take a keen interest in shooting documentaries. But, is that all? No, before being a camera buff, he has been a timid employee, a husband, a nobody. And after the role of camera buff, he would be going to play the roles of a non-conformist, an artist, a defeatist, and what not? A nonentity again only this time having the privilege of being filmed after wearing the shoes of compromise that has always been offered enough space in one''s life along with freedom, truth, honesty. It''s only after a few minutes of sharing Filip Mosz''s life, one would hardly have any difficulty in tracing the similarities of one''s life with that of him.Knowingly or unknowingly we are all after a
goal. Some of us get lucky enough to glimpse it while for the rest the quest goes on to be such a never-ending stuff that it
starts eating up the life itself. Filip belongs to the first category.And seemingly the first category looks full of ease and promise. Then how could Filip be ripped apart by the PREDICAMENT? Even the achievers know the pangs of thorns on the path of reaching the aim. And what about those for whom the goal is though seen, is ever-elusive, the path getting longer, more adverse. Kieslowski problematizes those impediments on the path of attaining the goal-- the goal of crusading for the truth, for the justice. Mosz does not become a docu-maker by choice. He buys an 8mm Camera to record his new-born baby. Now this commodity takes the form of a fad and from fad to the shape of a commitment. He shoots local football match, proceedings of his
factory. Nobody pays him any attention. But problem starts creeping when he
gets hold of the secret treasure of a human being, an artist-- championing and questioning the the reality. Unlike Mosz''s exuberance with his new expertise, other start having problems with him. What happens is, thanks to the incredible direction of Kieslowski and knock-out performance of Jerzy Tuhr, the turning round of secret treasure into nemesis. When Mosz starts receiving accolades for his work,he gets serious about his passion. He founds a cine club and manages to bring Janusi(played by Zanussi himself) for a seminar. Non-conformist Zanussi''s presence makes the Mosz''s factory authority frown. Though ignored or ridiculed, Mosz''s obsession of film or camera craft starts getting on the nerves of the many. Immersed in his mission, Mosz gets a jolt when his wife leaves him. The worst befalls when Mosz''s immediate boss gets fired for letting him shoot a docu on a disabled worker. The worker though promoted a the ideal worker of the factory, has been under financial crisis and inconvenience. The factory sensing trouble tags the docu controversial and wants to censor it. Mosz feels pushed-to-the-wall. He has always shared a good terms with the immediate boss and he just can''t stand his humiliation. Though his crew members insist him not to succumb, Mosz is already sensing defeat. He accepts it and wastes the entire film by throwing it into the street on the scorching broad daylight. Only this defeat does not have any elevating quotient but keeps our chins down in shame. Because, we share this defeat too. We, the modern human beings who pride so much ourselves for the zeal to change the system yet turn out to be so tiny before the Leviathan of society. Like Mosz, Kieslowski has also tried to bring out the reality in order to question it. The celebrated climax scene shows Mosz talking to the camera(viewers) about himself, about his present crisis. And then suddenly he turns his 8mm camera on himself. Having investigated and shot the crooked nooks and corners of society, it''s turn to have a self-investigation. The compromise has cut him off from the secret treasure of truth, ethics. This self-exploration might illumine some of the attributes which are still pure and potent inside him to make him fight back. His 8mm camera, the metaphorical eternal conscience is ready for his spiritual post-mortem. Mosz''s camera''s rolling... Are you ready to face it?
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