Walesa - Czlowiek z nadziei (2013)

	Also Known As: Walesa: Man of hope
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Andrzej Wajda
	Actors: Robert Wieckiewicz, Agnieszka Grochowska
	Country: PL
	Genre: Drama, Comedy
	Conditions of visioning: 09.06.2018, DVD, Polish/Italian version with English subtitles
Synopsis: In the 70's in Poland strikes are hit hard by the Polish government. With worker victims. Lech Walesa (Wieckiewisz) gets father for the first time. In the 80's new demonstrations start to have a memorial for the victims of previous strikes. This is the start of a movement leading to Solidarnosc, the Polish free trade union. This movement is led by Lech Walesa. His wife Danuta (Grochowska) supports him all along.
Review: Receiving this movie as present from a Polish friend and anyway interested in History, I had to watch this movie with delight.  The story of Lech Walesa's life focuses on the time frame from one strike to the establishment of Solidarnosc as Free trade union in a sovietic country. No mention of the other counterparts (e.g. Gorbi) or partners (e.g. Adam Michnik) who had a major role in the establishment of Solidarnosc. The movie sounds a bit biased in the sense that it is glorifying only Walesa. But the story telling is often rather a family drama than a historic drama. And this reduces his glory. The daily life in a family in Poland becomes visible and the fact that it affected masses of people as well. The acting is really good by both main characters. Even the secondary roles are good although they are quite stereotyped. The sceneries are very well selected. The views on the huge soviet residence buildings or on the shipyards give the impression that industrial working conditions and poverty affected masses of people.  The movie is good to see from a historical point of view, if one gets informed of the surrounding actors of that period. It is a good movie for the emotional content, the status of Polish worker society at that time.
Rating: 6/10