Review of Wałesa: Man of Hope (2013) by Matt M — 24 Oct 2013

Legendary Polish filmmaker Wajda returns to shed new light on another important moment in Polish history and completes his trilogy; after the Man of Marble and the Man of Iron, here is the Man of Hope.

This time, his subject is Lech Walesa, an electrician who was responsible for founding the first independent trade union in the Soviet bloc. And this time, his subject is still and alive and kicking important figure in Polish modern history.

For Wajda, this is the return of his somewhat recognisable style of classics such as Man of Marble for which he also used archive footage, a mixture of black and white photography with colour photography and a steady pace.

The visual style is quite remarkable particularly when considering that this film did not have a big budget. Through its sometimes poignant sense of humour and use of irony in the portrayal it is also delightfully satirical and deserves added points for entertainment.

Perhaps it is not as passionate as his best work, but like a lot of his works he has that matter-of-fact consistency from which a genuine desire for unearthing the Polish conscience can be drawn. Wajda himself announced a while back that his biopic on Walesa might have ended up controversial, however it never feels like it is, but it rather feels like the solid and confident work of an experienced filmmaker.

It wouldn't be fair not to mention Robert Wieckiewicz's excellent performance as the titular historic figure.