Nikodem Dyzma

The film "Nikodem Dyzma" is one of several adaptations of the novel "Nikodem Dyzma's career" by the Polish writer Tadeusz Dolega-Mostowicz (1900-1939). The novel has a universal appeal, and the same idea was used in the American movie "Being There" from 1979 with Peter Sellers and Shirley MacLaine, whose writer was Jerzy Kosinski (1933-1991). "Nikodem Dyzma" is a satirical comedy of manners, exposing-through the story of a dazzling career of a swindler reaching the highest honors-the corruption of the ruling circles of pre-war Poland. The film is somewhat outdated, mainly because of the acting and the touch of communist propaganda. But I think that it is still worth seeing, because some scenes are terribly funny and the universal appeal of the story is preserved. To me, "Nikodem Dyzma" is more credible than "Being There", because Jerzy Kosinski pushed the limit of the credibility of his story simply too far. Today Dyzma is a synonym in Polish of an uneducated man who, thanks to chance, made a career and reached high office. So you can find that sort of people in any country. In Poland we had a real invasion of Dyzmas during the rule of the nationalist/populist PiS party. This party abolished competitions for public positions, so that almost every office or state company was headed by a Dyzma.