Walesa: Man of Hope

It was in the post-WWII, Stalinist, Communist, Cold War, era, that the Polish Director Andrzej Wajda set his 1977 film 'Man of Marble'. Remarkably it was made in the Communist-era. The era was post-Stalinist and so the earlier Stalinist setting of the film helped get it past the censors. It starred Jerzy Radziwilowicz and Krystyna Janda. The fictional story of the era was told via the making of a film, found-footage material, and interviews. All put together and filmed in such a way as to be totally believable. A great film.

This reviewer, having had the chance to see the film in the years shortly after it was released, being impressed with the film, and following political events in Poland, was excited to hear of a sequel. This was called 'Man of Iron' (1981).

'MoI' picked up where 'MoM' ended. It too starred JZ and KJ. Similar in style to the previous film, it brought the fictional story, that dramatized, fictionalized, and mirrored, real life events, and brought them up to that present day era.

Now Director Andrjez Wajda has made a third film which can perhaps be viewed as the final part in what is now a trilogy. It is titled 'Walesa. Man of Hope' in the anglicized form. Film was shown in Polish with English sub-titles. Using the technique of an interview, it then tells the story to the audience via flashbacks for much of the film. 'W.MoH' covers some of the same ground as 'MoI', however this is not a fictional story but is the true story of Lech Walesa. Incidentally perhaps, the title of the Lech Walesa autobiography is 'A Way of Hope'.

Robert Wieckiewicz is Lech Walesa. I do not say that lightly. He seems to capture the character and the mannerisms perfectly. The younger Walesa is attractive, arrogant and cocky. He is uneducated but technically minded. He is not bookish but is a good talker. As the younger Lech grows older, RW continues to convince in the role.

Agnieszka Grochowska is Danuta Walesa. She too convinces as we see her age during the film. Her husband is a man committed to a cause. She shows what it is like to be married to such a man.

Poland is a communist state. The Polish United Workers' Party, aka the Communist Party, was in theory the organized vanguard of the proletarians. In reality it did not lead, but rather oppressed the workers. Poland was not a workers' state but a police-state. Even the unions were part of the oppressive state apparatus rather than genuine representatives of the workers. They were merely stooge unions. All this is shown well in the film. Film shows how individuals have to navigate their way around the brutal and oppressive police-state. As Andrzej Wajda had to compromise, negotiate, and navigate his way around, to get 'MoM' made, so too did everybody else in Poland. All were touched by the police-state and had to react as they thought best at the time.

Communist theory is that individuals do not matter and that only economic forces and class-struggle are important in changing history. Others can point to individuals that have changed history. The film shows well, most particularly in one scene, the truly squalid life style of the workers. Into this mix came, though just touched on in this film, Karol Wojtyla. On the 16/10/78 he became Pope John Paul II. Be it economic forces, or individuals, that changed history, it was clear that here in Poland a struggle was taking place.

Lech Walesa was at the heart of this struggle. We see him trying to work for his cause. These days we are familiar with revolutions organized by social-networking sites. In those days the underground had a much more primitive underground way of communicating. The samizdat scenes in the film, enable Director Andrzej Wajda to incorporate a brief scene from the film 'MoI' with the actors JR and KJ. Thus does art imitate life and does that life incorporate the art too. As we discovered in 'The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance' (1962), "When the legend becomes the fact, print the legend!" The film covers most of the important dates, events, and facts. Bar one. On the 13/5/81 there was an assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II. It is now generally accepted who instigated this plot. However this does not seem to have had any bearing on events later. Academics, historians, and others, now generally accept that the 'Brezhnev Doctrine', a publicly stated position since 1968, though one that merely reiterated previous policy, eg. in 1956, that 'Brezhnev Doctrine' was not going to be enforced.

'W.MoH' is able to stand alone as a film. If you wish to view it in a wider context, then 'MoM', then 'MoI', should be viewed first in that chronological order. However it is not necessary. This is a great stand-alone film. Greater context is not needed to appreciate and enjoy this film.

After Pope John Paul II, Lech Walesa is perhaps the second most famous Pole in the world. This film is a great tribute to Lech Walesa.

A great director has made a great film about a great man. As such it is a fitting monument to both of them.

The Poles have been accused of being heroic and ungovernable. They are guilty as charged.

Great film. True story. 10/10.

a portrait. a homage. a form of definition of a struggle. at the first sigh. in fact, a film about an ordinary man who has the chance to be part of a great change. the film represents the mark of Andrzey Wayda. the technique, the construction of story, references to his filmography, the tone, the dialogues, the spirit of wake up of a profound Poland . it is not a biopic but a testimony. it is not a demonstration but only an exercise to propose a slice of recent history for understand a cause. it is easy to define it as an eulogy. in fact, it is only a tool for explain. for describe. for impose the final part of a project who explains Poland and its fight under communism. a high ambition result could be unclear for viewers. and Wales is not exactly an exception. but a good support for discover Wajda films. for search the trajectory of Lech Walesa. for remind the recent past of Poland. and the values who remain its roots.

At the outset, Walesa: Man of Hope is not an ordinary film. It is one of the best examples of Polish director Mr.Andrzej Wajda's unending talent and enormous cinematographic vision. The best thing about this film is how does one dramatize real life incidents to create a biopic which is both entertaining and rich in details. It is because of this quality that the film is so tightly structured that while watching it, one doesn't even realize how 128 minutes have passed. The film finds its origin in a detailed interview conducted by noted Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci. She takes the help of an interpreter (Italian-Polish) in order to ask important questions to Mr.Lech Walesa related to his turbulent life. What is of interest is that not only she asks pertinent questions but also receives candid answers. The manner in which these questions and answers are represented on the screen speak volumes about Mr.Andrzej Wajda's method of filmmaking. He goes to a relatively distant past to reveal unknown facets about a man who would become hugely famous after a decade. Polish actor Robert Wieckiwicz is extremely ideal in his role as Lech Walesa-one of the most famous Polish citizens whose name is known even to many young schoolchildren all over the world.Lastly,Walesa:Man of hope is not a film.It is pure history in making about a person who changed the destiny of a whole nation.

WALESA: MAN OF HOPE tells the story of the rise and rise of Lech Walesa, who led the Solidarity movement in the Seventies and Eighties, and helped bring about a revolution in Poland. The story is a familiar one of an iron-willed person whose commitment to the cause overrides everything - even his family. Despite being jailed on numerous occasions, and threatened with everything, including lifetime imprisonment, Walesa (Robert Wieckiewicz) remains sternly committed to his cause, and thereby helps bring about change in a rapidly disintegrating communist regime. Wieckiewicz's performance is just wondrous; he remains utterly convincing in the role, showing the weak as well as the strong sides of the character as he tries to bring up a family of six children while showing loyalty to his fellow-workers. Structurally speaking, Wajda's film follows a familiar path; we are encouraged to sympathize with Walesa, even if we doubt his methods sometimes, as someone who genuinely fought on behalf of the workers he tried to represent. For those unacquainted with the nuances of Polish history during this period, WALESA: MAN OF HOPE offers a useful lesson. Its message remains as significant today as it did three decades ago; even today, there are those - in the Soviet Union in particular - who are resisting the authorities' attempts to suppress them for similar motives. WALESA: MAN OF HOPE offers hope for them as well as for anyone pursuing the cause of freedom.

a film by Andrzey Wayda. for many viewers could be enough for guarantee a remarkable movie. but a film about Walesa by Wajda is more than a good movie.certainly, it represents a real event. sure, first for subject. than for acting. and for photography. it is not a homage but a tool for discover a man behind masks, rules, verdicts and definitions. because Walensa by Wajda is an ordinary person, fragile and angry, vulnerable and religious, fascinating and human. his humanity, his deep humanity does it one of remarkable leaders and the portrait reminds the Biblical heroes for the force of fight and for profound faith. for me, a man from East, this film is, in a special form, a masterpiece. not for itself but for the splendid art to remember a reality who is basis for contemporary society from a part of Europe. and, sure, as exercise of memory. because, after two decades and a half is not easy to see the reality only as show , ignoring its roots.