Autumn Girl was not what I expected it to be when I clicked the play button. What I had imagined to be a fun drama about a Polish performer turned out to be a whole lot more. Autumn Girl is a sexy, sometimes surrealist, jazz musical set in 1960s Poland that tells the story of famed real-life Polish performer Kalina Jędrusik.
Autumn in Poland
I’ll be honest, the main reason I added Autumn Girl to my watchlist was because I realised I hadn’t seen any Polish feature films before and, given the opportunity, I wanted to add to my cinematic education. Which was as good enough an excuse as any. Autumn Girl’s storyline isn’t a new one. A woman, ahead of her time (and by that I mean a woman who is strong, sexually confident, and has decided that her place in the world isn’t just to be some man’s wife), finds herself fired by a jealous new boss who has had his sexual advances rebuffed.
This is a story probably as old as cinema itself, with many a Hollywood starlet falling foul of some sleazy dirty bastard of a producer. In fact, the easiest parallel that can be drawn is between Kalina Jędrusik and Marilyn Monroe, herself a victim of a sexualised persona. Unlike Ms. Monroe, however, Kalina Jędrusik was able to win more battles than she lost and performed until her death in 1991.
Autumn Girl is not something I would recommend to everyone. There is nothing spectacular about this story or the way it was told. In fact, it wasn’t until I sat down to write this review did I find out that Kalina Jędrusik was a real person. Autumn Girl isn’t a cradle-to-grave or a rise-and-fall-and-rise-again story of this Polish sex symbol. At least not in the traditional sense. It is a snapshot of a moment in Kalina Jędrusik’s life that, upon further reading, is something that she had to face over and over again. Doubted by the higher ups, she is constantly challenged to prove that she is more than a pretty face and a décolletage.
Autumn (Girl) Leaves
Autumn Girl is a movie I would most definitely recommend if you were looking for something different. Tired of the Netflix murder mystery docu-series, or the Netflix reality dating game show, or the “entertaining enough” Netflix action movie? Then this fun, sexy, sometimes surrealist, jazz musical set in 1960’s Poland might be the thing for you. (P.S. Yes I used sexy as a code in describing this movie. There is nudity here.)
This is the best kind of art film. Not dour. Not slow. Not boring.
Look, I know I’ve given Netflix a hard time lately, what with their release of The Guardians of Justice and how Apple TV Plus is constantly releasing amazing work. But then I stumble on something like Autumn Girl and I am immediately glad that Netflix is in my life.
Also, if you’re a fan of jazz, check out the movie’s soundtrack. With COVID restrictions being removed, this is the perfect car ride soundtrack to show off your international flavour while taking that loved one to the restaurant. (Apple Music, Spotify)
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