Day of the Wacko (2002)

DAY OF THE WACKO, directed by Marek Koterski, is a rather droll comedy about the daily life of an eccentric and depressed Polish high-school teacher. He's angry, lonely, underpaid, unappreciated, and can envision no end to his predicament. Imagine a film in which the ambient spirit of Eleanor Rigby is reconfigured as a very frustrated Polish, middle-aged nerd, and you come close to the tone of this dark farce. There are some scenes which are very funny, and others are just plain odd. Yet, overall, the film is worth a look. When the hero visits the beach to relax and unwind, he meets some of the craziest and bizarre characters that one could imagine. A few of these scenes are flat-out hysterical. Bonus Features are all in Polish without sub-titles.

I'm always looking at IMDb's best movie lists and this movie is in the list. Although it did not get much votes, average of votes is so high that it got a place in the top list. After watching it I gave it an 8 here is why: It'a about a middle aged, divorced, very lonely, obsessive and miserable man.This guy apparently has wasted his life, never found his dream girl, got married to another woman whom he did not love. Missed the chance of becoming a professor, got a job as teacher with low salary and disrespectful students.He only loves and cares about his son. But he predicts and afraid of that his son will become just like him and have a miserable life.Those all said, is this all his fault or are the society, country and people to blame is a question we ask along watching the movie.This movie shows a countries's long-time social problems, pointless politicians, spoiled youth and culture, changing but not adapting social structure and so on. Unfortunately those are not only for Poland but all the countries does have this kind of problems.So here we have two sides of a man's sad story. One side is his own obsessions, never ending health problems, pressure of his mom and always looking for better and never finding true love dilemma. Second is the weirdness of the society, a harsh criticism of Polish people and funny examples of how stingy, not friendly, selfish they are.Of course it does have some cultural references to Polish life and history which I could not understand since I am not Polish, but most of the movie is about us, all human beings.Just give it a try, I'm sure you'll find some similarity to your life.

"Day of Wacko" is in my opinion the best ever Polish movie. And I'm surely NOT exaggerating. Non-Poles who are not interested in or have no idea about Polish culture and realities will probably not get half of the film, but I still recommend it to anyone who's open minded. This is a story about a well-educated and intelligent teacher in his middle-ages, who can't stand stupidity, ignorance, his neighbours, and generally everyone and everything around him. If you've seen "Falling Down" (1993) with Michael Douglas, which is by the way another film I'd recommend, you'll get the point. However, no plagiarism was used here. The main character hates himself as well, mainly for the lack of inspiration in writing and still being dependant on his mother. The whole movie is presented within the monologues he has in his head, in many cases dirty ones. And by that I mean many vulgarisms, which at some point may get repelling. Although containing some comic parts, this film is depressing, especially if you think about the man's tragedy, because his life can be called like that. If you try to understand his situation, see why he's frustrated, and why there are so many negative feelings in him, you'll probably reach the point in which you'll feel down. There are many Polish stereotypes, system faults, and absurd presented and in some way laughed out. But then again, you have a depressing feeling of not being able to do anything about it. I really recommend watching this movie to anyone, especially to those who have some mixed feelings about the world. If it's possible, try to talk to any Polish person around, so he/she would explain some of the things that may be typical for Polish society and not common at all in other cultures. I just hope the English translation of this film is good...General note: 10/10 and I really mean it.

On the contrary to many previous critiques of "Dzien Swira" ("Day of the Wacko"), I would like to add my opinion which I believe is rather objective and certainly true for all who understand the pillar of it's meaning and purpose of director's view. This movie apart Koterski's location is widely describing human social habits and it's showing how seeking of life's purpose might poison social behavior. Marek Koterski definitely outreaches "Nic Smiesznego" ("Nothing funny") vision in Wacko. Every single scene including those containing dirty words and actions is describing how predictable people are under defined circumstances and how dumb we might be even while having so much knowledge and theoretical understanding of feelings. Everlasting seeking for perfection clearly illustrated by dreaming of Ela, main character frustration on payday or subordination and blind following alternated by opposing to his mother are just few examples. Adam, sky high above all his neighbors or travel mates is probably being seen as recluse but he doesn't see his problem, he is concentrated on "me, myself and I". This movie is about loneliness and warns viewers to not to elevate walls separating them from society. When watching "Day of the Wacko" with this point of view in mind you might be surprised how much of Wacko you have in yourself. And it's deep deserves 10.