Wałęsa: Man of Hope, Wałęsa: Człowiek z Nadziei 2013, 127 min.
Thursday, November 6, 7:00 pm
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Screenwriter: Janusz Głowacki
Principal Cast: Robert Więckiewicz, Agnieszka Grochowska, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Cezary Kosiński, Maria Rosario Omaggio
Walesa: Man of Hope rounds out Mr. Wajda’s trilogy, which includes Man of Marble and Man of Iron, on the Polish worker’s journey from Stalinism to freedom. The film shows how Lech Wałęsa, a worker with limited formal education, founded the independent trade union Solidarity in August 1980, then guided millions through upheaval, martial law, and ground-breaking negotiations with the Communists, to free elections in June 1989, later winning the Nobel Peace Prize and Poland’s presidency. Given the daunting task of impersonating one of the most famous and arguably influential men of the late 20th century, Wieckiewicz completely throws himself into the role, capturing how Walesa’s growing cockiness came to overwhelm even his private persona. And playing Wałęsa’s wife Danuta, Agnieszka Grochowska is just great, delivering a simple, unaffected