Pharaoh (Zespól Filmowy “Kadr,” 1966)
The 1960s brought one of the largest film productions for Polish cinema. Pharaoh (Faraon, 1966), masterfully directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, revolves around the figure of young Ramses XIII (portrayed by Jerzy Zelnik), who is prepared for and eventually succeeds his father to the throne of Egypt, where he encounters the powerful opposition of the holy priests. These men were of vital importance to Egyptian society, where a greater part of life was dedicated to religion. And soon, they clash with the young pharaoh, whose wishes are to become the greatest and most powerful pharaoh in Egyptian history. And in order to accomplish such position, he has to reduce the power held by the holy caste. Therefore, establishing the film’s main theme: Power.
This theme is defined in the first scene where two holy scarabs, fighting over the same ball of clay, lead to Herhor’s decision (Piotr Pawłowski), as High-Priest of Amon, to change the army’s route to follow a longer road, in order to avoid crushing the holy insects. Ramses opposes this judgment believing it is an absolute waste of time.
From here the film follows young Ramses on his path to becoming Pharaoh. During this journey, Ramses is blinded by the image of his ancestor, Pharaoh Ramses XII, who defeated the power of the priests and became solemn ruler of Egypt. As he takes the throne, Ramses’s desire to increase his power takes the form of an order he gives to the priests – to grant him access to the treasury room, passage to which is only known by the priests. This room holds a treasure of an unimaginable value, that had been offered to the Gods by generations of pharaohs and functions as a sort of national bank. This order antagonizes the priests, whom Ramses then plots to defeat. A mission which he fails to accomplish due, primarily, to his obsession with and miscomprehension of the Egyptian hierarchy of power.
Unlike his father, Ramses refuses at all costs to practice political pragmatism and be the highest figure of the empire. He aspires to become a symbol and to achieve eternal glory by defeating the empire’s direct enemies, the Assyrians and the Phoenicians, by accessing the treasury, and by having a male heir to secure the throne. But in all these fields Ramses fails because he does not realize he stands alone in this fight – whereas others choose not to challenge the powerful priests and remain under their dominion, fearing punishments or assassination. This fight without guarantees. Guarantees of having aid. Having aid from his mother who declared Ramses’s son a slave and, therefore, only able to rule Israel and not fit for the Egyptian throne. Having aid from his second lover, who is vile and betrays him with Lykon, his doppelgänger, a Greek criminal who will execute Ramses’s first lover and son and, ultimately, Ramses himself.
This film reflects on the role of power in society and the importance of this resides in the film’s own ability to overcome its setting and structure, establishing parallels with our contemporary world and with its contemporary systems of power. This film draws a portrait of a man who tries to fight against a hierarchic world and its supreme figures. Doesn’t this sound familiar when compared with many people who engage in strikes, elections, or protests in our contemporary society?
The nature of Ramses’s actions draws a character arc that goes from a complete anti-hero, in the film’s beginning – a lonely rebel without an apparent cause that fights an already established system. Whereas as the plot unfolds, Ramses becomes a more heroic figure because we discover that in the basis of that established system lays fear, betrayal and more importantly hypocrisy.
Pharaoh (Zespól Filmowy “Kadr,” 1966)
Therefore, similarly to some heroes in ancient tales, Ramses is struck by the fatal hand of destiny which dictates his death and with it the possibility of change. And as the film ends, it leaves in the spectator’s mouth the bitter taste loss. Of emptiness even. Because once the tracking shot advances to the temple’s inside, where Ramses has been murdered, all that is to be seen is darkness.
At last the visual richness of this film must be mentioned. It is composed of historic accuracy and masterful skills in film directing. This film, that first reached audiences in 1966, has a scene with a barge on which Ramses’s mother, Nikotris (Wiesława Mazurkiewicz), travels. This barge was built according to ancient drawings for the sole purpose of adding realism to the only brief scene where it is used. Also the funerary traditions of Ramses’s father, the clothes, the sets, the chosen locations, and, most importantly, the use of the camera, work to establish this faithful portrait. The camera that occasionally floats around the space building proximity with the characters in the sometimes belligerent environment (for instance, the scene where the Egyptian soldiers fight a rival army, eventually winning the battle), sometimes exotic, sensual environment they live in (for instance, the party in Ramses’s chambers). The same camera that is intelligently placed across the landscape capturing the legions and the vastness of the territory in golden palette compositions that are able to transform a simple object or legions of people into symbols of a lost era.
“Peasants, always peasants. For you, priest, only someone eaten by lice deserves pity. Why don’t you count the Pharaohs who were dying in pain, who were murdered? But you don’t remember them. Death is no more generous with me than with your peasant.”
Ramses XIII
Author Biography
Truman Hopper was born in Portugal in 1994. She recently concluded a degree in cinema at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School. She is an aspirant scriptwriter and filmmaker who occasionally enjoys writing about film.
Film Details
Pharaoh (Faraon, 1966)
Poland
Director Jerzy Kawalerowicz
Runtime 180 minutes
