I saw "Milioner" (The Millionaire) on Polish TV and liked it for many reasons. It can be viewed as an individual story, a good social drama presenting a realistic image of the Polish countryside of the 1970s, and also as a symbolic parable that is an illustration of the following sentence by Oscar Wilde: it is easier to sympathize with friends/neighbors in poverty and misfortune than to rejoice in their successes. The plot is about Jozef Mikula (Janusz Gajos), who is an ordinary peasant worker. His life changes dramatically when it turns out that he won a million zlotys in the lottery. Jozef starts to modernize his farm and also helps a lot in his village. But in spite of his generosity, his neighbors view him with envy and resentment. The film's undoubted merits also include a realistic portrayal of the Polish countryside in the 1970s and a great performance by Janusz Gajos (he won an award in Gdynia for this role). When I watch old movies, I always try to relate them to the present. So here is my specific interpretation of Oscar Wilde's quote: Since introducing democracy and a market economy in Eastern Europe, we are all better off. We are no longer all poor, but we are also no longer equal, and some people are more successful than others. This generates envy and resentment, causing an increase in the popularity of right-wing, populist parties such as Jaroslaw Kaczynski's PIS, which, despite its bombastic slogans, is based on arousing envy and resentment. And the voters of PIS are mainly people from small towns and villages, just like in the plot of " The Millionaire". I also enjoyed the film for more personal reasons. I grew up in a Polish village, and in the 1970s I was a teenager, so for me it was like a sentimental journey to my past. But " The Millionaire" was also great material to take a look at the changing customs, mentality, and material environment. Even though our life got a lot better, there are some exceptions. Like we didn't use disposable plastic containers and bottles then, and everything was glass. Used glass was always picked up and washed by the kids, who could sell it in any local shop. So even now there are still a couple of useful tips that can be learned from the old movies like " The Millionaire".
