I found this Polish film in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, alongside its predecessor Man of Marble which came five years before, I hoped this near sequel would be as interesting as the original, from director Andrzej Wajda (Ashes and Diamonds). Basically the story continues where it left off, Maciej Tomczyk (Jerzy Radziwilowicz), the son of Mateusz Birkut (also Radziwilowicz), is the young, charismatic and articulate leader of striking Gdansk shipyard workers, and he is married to the filmmaker who found him previously, Agnieszka (Krystyna Janda). Winkiel (Marian Opania) is a burned-out, alcoholic journalist and youthful radical assigned to look into Tomczyk's activities, she uses her reputation to her advantage, forming an understanding with him, while at the same time searching for something to slander him. However as she interviews Tomczyk's associates and his detained wife, hears about his painfully difficult times and the death of his father, killed in the December 1970 protests, she feels sympathy towards him and is forced to reconsider her actions, even siding with the strikers and putting her career at risk. Also starring Wieslawa Kosmalska as Wieslawa Hulewicz (or Anna), Irena Byrska as Anna Hulewicz's mother, Matka Hulrwicz and Boguslaw Linda as Dzidek. To be honest, I found the previous film much more interesting, especially because it was much easier to understand, it is not the subtitles that cause most problems, the film feels too political and that is not something I am always keen to watch occurring, there were bits and pieces that were alright, it's not something I can see myself watching again, but I know it's not a bad drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Good!
Review of Man of Iron
