The movie brought by the Polish embassy in Albania will screen at the Marubi Academy of Film and Multimedia in Tirana on Monday, June 23 at 19.00.
TIRANA, June 18 – We all know the name and legacy of Lech Walesa, who rose from being a shipyard worker to the President of Poland and became a Nobel Prize winning warrior for equality and fairness. But do we know the actual man and the very real hardships he endured to become what he was? Award-winning director Andrzej Wajda mixes archival footage and stunning re-enactments to bring the legend back to life. Through Robert Wieckiewicz’s uncanny and perceptive performance as Walesa, a real man of light and dark emergesئlawed and fearless. We see the passion, arrogance, and love for his family that would not permit him to stand by and watch his countrymen suffer brutal oppression and deprivation. As events escalate and the Solidarity movement grows into an unstoppable force, we are witness to just how this remarkable man altered the course of history. Superb cinematography and vibrant pacing make these world-changing events fresh and real. Combining harsh realism and moments of quiet intimacy, Walesa. Man of Hope is a cinematic biography worthy of the man it portrays, says the Cleveland International Film Festival about the 2013 Polish movie production.
The movie brought by the Polish embassy in Albania will screen at the Marubi Academy of Film and Multimedia in Tirana on Monday, June 23 at 19.00.
How was it possible for one person to change the world so dramatically? It is as much a political as a psychological question. Wajda, intruding into a private, even intimate sphere of the trade union’s leader, attempts to capture the phenomenon of this incredible metamorphosis: from a simple worker, focused on his day-to-day duties, into a charismatic leader. This controversial persona, himself not without flaws, helped millions set free their dreams of freedom they’d been hiding deep in their hearts, setting the stage for transformations beyond anyone’s imagination at the time.
And yet, Wałęsa’s story does not only have this one psychological or local dimension. It is embedded in the context of international politics. The life of a simple electrician, at first fighting for his fellow workers’ rights, only echoes some remote events, until it is Wałęsa himself and millions of his fellow countrywomen and men that become world news for several years to come.
This historical perspective, combined with a dynamic story of daily life in the Polish People’s Republic, should help comprehend the phenomenon of those transformations. The film is mainly addressed to young people, at the same time constituting a reminder of an outstanding filmmaker. Sometimes you must fight for freedom, sometimes you must defend it, there are, however, no circumstances which could excuse you from contemplating our freedom.
