A DOUBLE PORTRAIT. THE IMAGE OF DEPRESSION (Portret podwójny. Wizerunek depresji)

'Beyond the Forest. Life in a Dying Culture in Transylvania' by Gerald Igor Hauzenberger is a complex, multilayered work. The film presents a disappearing culture of the German minority in Transylvania. The culture that has roots in the migration that took place in the 12th century is captured in a double portrait of a man and a woman living in two places distant from one another. It is thanks to this technique that Hauzenberger was able to create a complex and deep understanding of Johann Schuff. This controversial figure was not only a member of the Waffen SS in his youth, but continues to have racist views of ethnic minorities. This however does not prevent him from having a relationship of sorts with local Gypsies. Through the analysis of Schuff as a person, one is able to gain a deeper understanding of the role ideology plays in the life of a man. It also offers an alternative view of the complex history of Europe.