Hope is around if someone believes that the earth’s not a dream but living flesh, that our sight, our hearing, and touch are not liars. For all the things I have known here are like a secret garden. You stand at its gate, entry’s forbidden, but you know it is there. If our eyes were a bit better and wiser, we’d see a new flower and many a star in the world’s secret garden. Some people say that the eye’s a deceiver, that nothing exists, that it’s all an illusion, but they are the ones who no longer hope, who think you need only look back to find it has all disappeared, sneaked out of sight as though by a thief.
. . . . . Opening preamble to Man of Iron

Despite winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1981, Andrej Wajda’s substantial film Man of Iron (1980) (Czlowiek z Zelaza in Poland) lacks legs among international audiences. It’s a powerful film about a tumultuous period in the history of Poland, but it’s the kind of film that will be much more meaningful to the Polish people and their Eastern European neighbors than among the people of the West. The film's director, Wajda, once complained in despair that people of the West seem to have little if any interest in films from Eastern Europe. Although part of the limited Western appeal for Man of Iron might be attributable to general xenophobia, part of the difficulty also rests with Wajda’s approach to his topic. The film is packed with references to major political events in Poland, through inserted documentary clips as well as dramatic reconstructions, but the significance of the events is not adequately contextualized or explained to ensure understanding for those not intimately familiar with recent Polish history. I imagine that this film must be highly cherished by the Polish people who lived through the events depicted, but its dramatic punch is not enough by itself to hold full interest without the added element of nostalgia.

Historical Background: Andrzej Wajda, born in 1926, is among the finest directors to emerge from Poland. He directed his first film, A Generation, in 1954. He followed that success with Kamal (1956), and Ashes and Diamonds (1958), which completed his so-called “War Triology” – all films depicting events in Poland during World War II. After 1958, Wajda turned his attention to making films about the remarkable contemporary events that were gripping Poland from the mid-fifties up until 1990. These films, nobably Man of Marble (1977) and its sequel Man of Iron (1980), played a significant role in a turbulent political era by helping to unite Poles and maintain their political morale.

During the 1950’s, the Polish people were beginning to express resentment toward the policies of their government, domination by the Soviet Union, and the rampant economic hardships under which they lived. Protests continued in the 1960’s. Concern among intellectuals and students over limitations on freedom of speech led to student riots in 1968, but lack of broader support for the issue among the working class enabled the government to easily suppress the riots. Two years later, in 1970, strikes and riots broke out among workers in Gdánsk and some other Polish cities over economic conditions and demands for political reforms, but the students and intellectuals mostly sat out these demonstrations, partly out of resentment for lack of worker support for their cause in 1968. Economic conditions in the country continued to deteriorate, until shortages of food and consumer goods as well as sharp increases in food prices triggered more riots in 1976. Although the government postponed the increase in food prices, economic conditions continued to worsen in the late seventies. Around this time, about fifty labor unions of Polish workers formed an umbrella organization that became known as “Solidarity.” Lech Walesa was chosen as leader of the group and in the summer of 1980, thousands of workers all over Poland went on strike. The government acceded to many of the demands of Solidarity and recognized the organization as a free trade union independent of the Communist party. Economic conditions in Poland continued to grow worse, however. Stanislaw Kanis replaced Edward Gierek as leader of the Communist Party, but Kanis had to be replaced shortly by Wojciech Jaruzelski, a general of the Polish army. Jaruzelski declared martial law in December of 1981, arresting Walesa and hundreds of the leaders of Solidarity. Martial law was relinquished about a year later and the labor leaders gradually released. Finally, in 1989, the Polish government reached an agreement with Solidarity that fully legalized the union and brought about a reorganization of the government that added an elected President with broad powers and a Senate to the already existing Parliament. Candidates backed by Solidarity swept most of the seats in the free election of 1989 and the new government began to dismantle the Communist political monopoly. Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a Solidarity leader, was elected prime minister in 1989 and Lech Walesa won the presidency a year later.

In a larger context, the Polish Solidarity movement was a major factor in ending the dominance of the Communist Party in the Warsaw pact countries and, ultimately bringing about the end of the Cold War. The events in Poland served as a catalyst for similar movements throughout Eastern Europe and the breakup of the Soviet Union itself.

The Story: Structurally, this film is interesting by reason of it having essentially two lead characters of roughly equal centrality to the story. The heroic lead is a young labor leader, Maciej Tomczyk (Jerzy Radziwilowicz). Through flashbacks and current story elements, we learn that Maciej was the illegitimate son of Wieslawa “Anna” Hulewicz (Wieslawa Kosmalska) and Mateusz Birkut (also played by Radziwilowicz). As students, Maciej and his roommate, Dzidek (Boguslaw Linda), had participated in the student riots of 1968. Maciej was highly disappointed when his father, a labor leader at the shipyard, had refused to rally his union to back the students. Consequently, the student riots were easily though violently quelled by the police. Later, in 1970, the students similarly refused to back the shipyard workers and Birkut had been killed by gunfire when the tanks and army units had moved in. Maciej had then quit school, figuring that Poland’s future lay with the labor movement rather than among the intelligentsia. Now, as the film unfolds, it is 1980 and Maciej has become a labor leader like his father in another shipyard and the Solidarity movement is underway.

The other lead character in the film is Winkiel (Marian Opania). As the story opens, he is working for a government controlled television station, producing pro-government, anti-striker propaganda pieces for public consumption. He had once produced a piece about Birkut a decade ago but has since sold out to the establishment interests. He drinks heavily, which one rather assumes is part of the price he has had to pay for selling his political soul to the Communist government. Winkiel is selected by the boss of his organization to produce a propaganda piece for the powers-that-be. They want a “documentary” that will portray Maciej Tomczyk in an unfavorable light. They provide Winkiel with background information that he can exploit. Tomczyk spent a period of time in a mental institution, for example, after his father was killed. Winkiel doesn’t especially want to be involved in this sleazy business but his job is at stake and he has some transgressions in his own background (including a drunk driving accident) that he is reminded about as implicit blackmail.

Winkiel sets out to do the background research that will be necessary for producing the poisonous documentary. He observes Tomczyk speaking at a demonstration and encounters Tomczyk’s old roommate, Dzidek. From Dzidek, he learns about Maciej’s past activities. He meets Maciej’s mother, Anna, and grandmother, Matka Wieslawa (Irene Byrska), both of whom are strong supporters of the labor unions. Anna comments that “Maciek had to be hammered out like a piece of iron.” Winkiel then inquires, “And you forged him?” to which Anna responds, “No, life did.” Winkiel also interviews Maciej’s young wife, Agnieszka (Krystyna Janda), in a jail cell, where she is being held for no particular reason other than her sympathy with the strikers. Bit by bit, Winkiel forms a picture of Maciek through the people who know the young man best and realizes that Maciej and his associates are quality people who simply want justice and a better life for all of the Polish people. Winkiel has to come to terms with the conflict between the pressures that have been placed on him and the nobility of purpose of the man whom he has been assigned to denigrate.

Themes: One set of themes explored by this film consists of themes inherent in the labor movement in Poland during the time period depicted. There is political strength in solidarity behind a just cause that can enable people to accomplish important political objectives without warfare. The Solidarity movement in Poland was a revolutionary event in that it triggered political upheaval that ultimately impacted much of Eastern Europe without major bloodletting. Stubborn, patient perseverance is sometimes more powerful than armed rebellion. The courage and perseverance of Poland’s brave workers ultimately opened the gate to the secret garden of political and economic reform.

As far as the portion of the film that is dramatic embellishment and centered around fictional characters, the main message is that selling out one’s principles for the convenience of keeping one’s job will typically come at the price of physical and mental deterioration. Though it sometimes requires courage to stick to one’s core values, you’ll usually feel a good deal better about yourself or, at worst, martyr yourself for what you truly felt was right. For all of the anxiety in the lives of Maciej, Agnieszka, Anna, and Matka, they lived their principles and could hold their heads high. By contrast, Winkiel suffered from both psychic and physical pain.

Production Values: Man of Iron was beautifully photographed. The editing seamlessly integrates vintage newsreel and documentary footage with staged segments. The film was shot under intensely adverse political pressure and the editing was completed just hours before the initial screening of the film at Cannes.

Jerzy Radziwilowicz was a handsome young man when this film was made and gives a solid performance. He had previously appeared in Man of Marble (1977) for Wajda. Krystyna Janda ably played Maciej’s love interest and wife. I wasn’t impressed when she first appeared but she grew on me as the film progressed and had fully won me over by the end. Her other work has included Man of Marble (1977), Mephisto (1981), and A Short Film about Killing (1987). Marian Opania had, in my opinion, the most demanding part in this film, as Winkiel. He managed the ambivalence of the part quite skillfully and leaves us a bit torn between hatred and genuine sympathy for his character. Boguslaw Linda, who was very strong in the role of Dzidek, later worked in Danton (1982). Together, the cast represents some of the best of Polish acting talent. The irrepressible Lech Walesa had a cameo appearance in this film as himself.

Bottom-Line: The dramatic elements of the film are adequate but not fully engrossing. The historical content is much stronger but lacks sufficient context to render it comprehensible for most international viewers. For people who lived in Poland during the time period depicted, I have to believe that this film would be a five-star film all the way, but for most Western viewers, it’s probably closer to a 3-star film. The historical significance of this film is 5-star, but the strictly dramatic value is again about 3-stars. I’m going to split the difference between those various values and rate it at 4-stars. Man of Iron is in Polish with English subtitles and has a running time of about 2.5 hours.


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You might want to check out these other excellent films from Poland:

Ashes and Diamonds
Knife in the Water
A Year in the Quiet Sun

Recommended:
Yes

Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older