Strajk - Die Heldin von Danzig (2006) Reviews

• Solidarity remembered

  bob9982007-11-06

  Volker Schlondorff has directed a gripping account of the slow progress of the worker's movement in Poland over roughly 20 years, from the discontent of the Sixties to the open rebellion of the Eighties, eventually led by Lech Walesa. The Lenin shipyards in Gdansk are filmed to look appropriately forbidding--the accident that claims the lives of 21 workers in 1970 is very well staged. The cynicism of the Party bosses, the apathy and drunkenness of the workers and the passion of Agnieszka, the crane operator who provides much of the impetus for change: these things are brought out vividly. Katharina Thalbach gives a fine performance as the worker who's not going to take any more, Andrzej Chyra is very good as Walesa and Pope John Paul II puts in an appearance via news footage.

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• A credible account of the founding of Solidarinosc

  eabakkum2010-12-28

  This film, which is based on the true events during the strikes in the shipyards of Dantzig, deserves praise because of its credibility. For although I am not really familiar with the founding of the Solidarinosc trade union, I do know the living conditions in the former Bolshevist countries, and I recognize them in the film. The narrative seems actually quite objective, and she can certainly not be interpreted as a vicious attack on another ideology. It might well be, that the film makers experience some sympathy with the former regime. The film portrays the arrogant behavior of the party officials, but on the other hand it does not deny their good intentions. In order to support my opinion, let us follow the event line of the film. At the start (the sixties, I guess) we are introduced to Agnieszka Kowalska, a straightforward and able worker in the Dantzig dockyard. In the first moments of the film her social background and character are deepened. Kowalska is an unmarried mother, with a boy from a short romance with an organizer of the official trade union. Surprinsingly, she is also a dedicated catholic. Eventually she really falls in love with another man, and marries him. However, their luck is not lasting, since the man dies of a heart attack (he had forgotten his pills!). Agnieszka advances professionally, and becomes a crane driver. Several times she is rewarded with the price of heroine of labor, and even gets a television set in return for her dedication. Basically her life appears to be a fulfilled, she is free of worries and stress. There are complaints about the pace of working, but I am pretty certain it yields to the western exploitation. For the workers in the Bolshevist countries actually enjoyed a generous autonomy. Nevertheless, an explosion occurs at work, leading to the demise of many workers. The workers put the blame on the safety conditions, and thus on the management policy. This I can understand, but was their accusation justified? Usually the state factories had installed workers committees in order to control the safety regulations. Perhaps it was simply the lack of sufficient investment capital? Anyway, the tensions among the workers keep on rising. This is exacerbated by the policy of the Gomulka regime, who guided all of their investment funds into the heavy industry (coal, steel) and forgot the consumer markets. The underlying idea is that you invest first and later pick the fruits. It is understandable, that the workers were averse to delayed consumption, and they revolt. This happens around 1970, and the Gomulka regime, paranoid as ever, used violent means to beat down the resistance. During the riots Kowalska has been arrested, and beaten up by the secret service (anyway, they do not use water-boarding). It is not surprising, that from now on Kowalska distances herself from the regime (and she had never been a party member). She joins a group of dissidents, who have regular meetings. Instances such as these always create great agony within the party, who justifies its existence through the contentment of the workers. Gomulka was deposed, and the more reasonable Jaruzelski came into power. Then, around 1980 once more the protests flare up. The new regime has learned its lesson, reacts in a moderate way, and eventually the free trade union Solidarinosc is founded, with sections on all the dockyards. This is the story, and there is nothing strange about it. It could actually have happened here in the Netherlands, or in the United States. What separates us from the Bolshevist state is a tiny flake of extra energy, and a little bit more freedom. For instance, it is dubious whether the present life in Poland is really that much better. However, now people are allowed to organize themselves, to distribute leaflets, or to leave the country (which they do, in large numbers). This takes just enough steam of the kettle to stabilize society. In conclusion, Straik breathes realism, which creates room for feelings of identification and empathy. A truly enlightening film, worthy of recommendation. If you appreciate this type of film, you can also consider the Polish films "Man of iron" of (slightly more difficult) "Man of marble". Or have a look at my other reviews.

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• Unbelievable movie experience - (loosely) based on historical facts.

  michaelmalak2011-10-27

  An unbelievable movie experience! ...But the film is not, nor does it claim to be, an account of actual historical events. I was born in Poland in 1970, and having lived there until 1988 - I believe (despite the fact I was merely a child at the time); I believe that the movie portraits an accurate picture of life in Poland and prevailing political scene of those years. Being a child of those years - I was surprised how little time was devoted in the movie to the character of Lech Walensa, who for me (living in Poland in the 80s) WAS Solidarity. But in THIS movie Walensa is only a secondary character. Instead, the movie is about "a woman". A woman (or two women) who opened the door for Walensa, a woman who started it all. A woman who, almost singlehandedly, instigated an opposition towards the Establishment. An opposition which subsequently lead to a revolution that eventually changed Central and Eastern Europe. The biggest complaint against the movie comes from those who knew the people and events first hand. The complaints pertain to discrepancies between the movie and historical events. Having seen the movie, and having caught-up (a little) on those historical facts on the internet I believe the director chose to alter several facts for two reasons; 1) to allow himself/herself a freedom of artistic expression---and protect himself/herself from overbearing scrutiny. And 2) to create additional drama and tension in the movie that work very effectively. In support of this opinion I would like to point to two examples where the movie differs from actual events: 1) Agnieszka - the heroine in the movie - is a compilation of lives and actions of two women. And 2) The son of Anna Walentynowicz, in real life never wore a uniform (but in the movie this little alteration strikes gold). Overall - very impressive and very important movie.

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• the Eastern Bloc did not have communism/socialism/Marxism; it had fascism

  lee_eisenberg2007-12-25

  I've heard some about Poland's Labor Solidarity movement that eventually brought down the Soviet puppet government, but Volker Schlondorff's "Strajk - Die Heldin von Danzig" tells the story in detail. The movie focuses on Agnieszka Kowalska, chosen by the union leader as a heroine of labor in 1961 Gdansk. But it soon becomes clear that the people in power have merely done this to pacify her. In 1970, several workers get killed in an accident that the authorities try to whitewash. This leads to a massive strike that the government suppresses with tanks. But by the end of the 1970s, Karol Wojtyla has become Pope John Paul II, and Agnieszka has allied with Lech Walesa to form the country's first independent trade union. A quarter of a century later, Agnieszka wonders how things will turn out. Probably the main thing that I derived from this film was what I derived from the German movie "The Lives of Others": the similarities between the Eastern and Western Blocs easily outweighed the differences. The Soviet Union, under the banner of "Marxism" took over Eastern Europe and installed puppet governments; just like how the US, under the banner of "freedom" took over Latin American and installed puppet governments. Moreover, following the 1970 strike, the authorities show pictures of people on TV and tell viewers to report anyone familiar; much like how Joe McCarthy and his people encouraged Americans to brand people as communists. When the government denies payment to the widows of workers killed in the accident, that reminded me of how the Bush administration used Hurricane Katrina to try and repeal a decades-old labor law in New Orleans. No matter how you look at it, when you look at the policies in any right-wing extremist society (no matter what it claims to be), they all sound exactly the same. But anyway, this is a great movie. Poland has certainly released some good ones.

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• History?

  2jdv2007-12-14

  When a director labels his/her film "inspired" by a true story, watch out! This usually means "I added enough spin to bounce this off the back wall." In this case, Lech Walesa is portrayed as not *really* being the leader of Solidarity (he hardly appears at all, and as nothing more than a prop), but is merely a token figure being given some backbone by the heroine, who in this case is a German, not a Polish actor! Note that the original title is also in German. Hmmm. Our heroine is implausibly super-heroine and played with such tenacious pluck that she achieves near-caricature status. And they changed her name from the original character--to avoid comments from the people who really knew her? If so, it didn't work, for her neighbors weighed in on this film and while she is greatly admired, she did not play the role given her here. Having said that, the film is remarkably even-toned and effective, history aside. Would that they had gone just that little bit further and given the Polish workers their due credit in bringing down the Soviet Union, revisionist historians of the Reagan Right notwithstanding.

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