I watched "Jezioro Bodenskie" (Lake Constance) because of the name of Stanislaw Dygat, who is considered to be one of the most outstanding writers of post-war Poland. His books, including "Lake Constance", were translated into other languages. Even more interesting is the fact that "Lake Constance" is loosely based on his experience as a POW in a German prison camp. Actually, the film is a compilation of the material from two novels by Stanislaw Dygat ("Lake Constance" and "Carnival"). The film, which is an interpretation of these works by director Janusz Zaorski, presents a psychological portrait of a young Polish intellectual who experiences the war as a spiritual shock that shakes his previous way of thinking. In addition, the film is a kind of discourse on the national flaws and virtues of Poles, the understanding of Polishness, and stereotypes of Polish behavior towards foreigners. The film was watchable to me, but I found many dialogues irritating. It may be because I am an engineer with over 30 years of experience working in international companies. So part of our job is not only technical skills but also a constructive attitude towards people of other nationalities and races. If you want to waste your time on petty squabbles, nothing ever gets done. I liked some things in the film, but all these discussions about Polishness (similarly, one can discuss Spanishness or Bulgarianness) seemed to me to be just empty chatter. But I am not yet dismissing Stanislaw Dygat, but have to read the original novels to form my own opinion about him.
