The Existential Dimension of Polish Cinema of “Moral Anxiety” and Ukrainian “Urban Prose” Films: a Dialogue of Cultures

The purpose of the article is to determine the specificity of the existential dimension of the hero of Ukrainian films of “urban prose” in the context of its comparison with the cinema of “moral anxiety”, including the outline of the thematic and cultural-historical connection of these film directions. The methodology. The film analysis was used to determine the characteristics of the heroes in cinema of “moral anxiety” and Ukrainian “urban prose”, as well as to clarify the existential specificity of these directions of European cinema. The historical method helped reveal common aspects and intersections of the historical and cultural context of the development of Polish cinema of “moral anxiety” and Ukrainian “urban prose” films. The method of systematization was used in the holistic analysis of the films, outlining the ideological and thematic motifs and elements of the philosophy of existentialism in the films of that time. With the help of a comparative analysis, the features of similarity in the portrait of the Polish and Ukrainian existential hero have been clarified. The results. On the example of the main trends on the Polish screen of the 1970s and specific Polish films (made by such directors as K. Zanussi, A. Wajda, A. Holland, etc.) and Ukrainian films created in the period from 1960s — mid-1990s (in particular, the most famous directors of “urban prose” — V. Kryshtofovych, K. Muratova, R. Balaian and others), an analysis of the image of the hero on the screen was carried out. Key modes of existentialism addressed by directors in their films are highlighted. A number of common ideological characteristics in the depiction of the socio-cultural context of the selected period of the second half of the XX century, namely the Soviet period in the films of “urban prose” and the times of the communist period in the films of “moral anxiety” have been clarified. The scientific novelty. Taking into account the lack of research in Ukrainian film studies on the connection between Ukrainian “urban prose” and cinema of “moral anxiety”, the article consistently outlines the thematic and general cultural-historical connection of these cinematographic trends, which made it possible to consider the Ukrainian hero in a wider European context. The features of similarity in the portrait of the Polish and Ukrainian existential hero were identified and the problem of “social anxiety” on the screen was analyzed. The practical significance. The article can be used in the framework of teaching humanitarian disciplines: film studies, art studies, cultural studies, philosophy and history, as well as for further research of European cinema and, above all, its existential direction.