The film eludes the division into genres known to date and the established canon of perceiving film works; it is as enigmatic and ambiguous as the poetry and life of Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński.
On the one hand, it is a story about the poet and his perception of reality, about the need to expose oneself to a mortal trial in order to fulfil oneself and create. On the other hand, it is about the senselessness of war and art that is timeless and immortal. A journey through the final years of the great poet’s life is framed by a contemporary event—a poetry slam (a public competition between poet-performers) organised in 2011, on the 90th anniversary of Baczyński’s birth.
The film’s narrative is built from the poet’s poems, accounts by witnesses to events from years ago who knew him personally, and statements by young people fascinated by his work. “Baczyński” is the first cinematic attempt to answer questions concerning Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński. What kind of person was he? How much did love, alienation, war and occupation mean in his life? What inspired him, under the influence of which events did he create, and why did he die so young?
While searching for the key to the titular protagonist’s motivations, the film’s director, Kordian Piwowarski, found a man inextricably connected with his own work. Baczyński’s attitude and decisions reflected what he wrote in his poems, while the essence of his work consisted of the fears, desires and doubts that tormented him. Poetry gave meaning to his life and death and immortalised him as a legend.
(information: Studio Interfilm/ii)