Czlowiek z marmuru (1977)

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Writer:

Aleksander Scibor-Rylski (writer)

Release Date:

25 February 1977 (Poland)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

In 1976, a young woman in Krakow is making her diploma film, looking behind the scenes at the life of a 1950s bricklayer...

Plot Keywords:

Hero | Bricklayer | 1950s | Heroism | Revolution

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Jerzy Radziwilowicz	...	Mateusz Birkut / Maciej Tomczyk
Krystyna Janda	...	Agnieszka
Tadeusz Lomnicki	...	Jerzy Burski
Jacek Lomnicki	...	Young Burski
Michal Tarkowski	...	Wincenty Witek
Piotr Cieslak	...	Michalak
Wieslaw Wójcik	...	Jodla
Krystyna Zachwatowicz	...	Hanka
Magda Teresa Wójcik	...	Editor
Boguslaw Sobczuk	...	TV Producer
Leonard Zajaczkowski	...	Leonard Zajaczkowski, Cameraman
Jacek Domanski	...	Soundman
Irena Laskowska	...	Museum Employee
Zdzislaw Kozien	...	Agnieszka's Father
Wieslaw Drzewicz	...	Hanka's Husband

Also Known As:

Człowiek z marmuru (Poland)
Man of Marble

Runtime:

165 min | USA:160 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Black and White | Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | Argentina:13 | Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Katowice, Poland

Company:

Film Polski Film Agency

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Lekcja polskiego kina (2002)

Not on par with Wajda's finest

Andrzej Wajda has always impressed me, and his war trilogy are among the best and most essential films in the history of cinema, but "Man of Marble" is an ambitious, interesting idea that isn't realized very well in script or in terms of the finished product.

The most interesting aspect of "Man of Marble" outside of the much-examined similarities to "Citizen Kane" is how subversive it is. I wonder how this was ever released in Poland at the time, and the scenes in the film where I felt Wajda really did succeed as a director is where he contrasts Soviet propaganda with the actual events- very powerful. Wajda fails more than he succeeds with this particular film though, it's a disjointed narrative and it takes tremendous skill to keep the audience interested in both stories. Sure, one may argue that "Man of Marble" isn't intended as entertainment, but even in the context of art-house cinema this film is only engaging in parts, with Agnieszka's attempt to make this film ending up far more interesting than the film she's making.

I can see where Wajda is going with the way he shot this film, but it just doesn't work very well, and the score for this film has to be one of the worst matches I've ever come across. It's ludicrous.

Something of a companion piece by the same writer and director, I found "Man of Iron" far more engaging and impressive.

5/10