Pearl In The Crown (1971). A real-life story under ethnographical prism
The harsh and dangerous craft of a miner has lost much of its status.
Not that it ever had a strong appeal, but the working class pursued this
profession for several generations, and there were plenty of coal miner
dynasties in the countries with large coal deposits. Poland was amongst
them. Specifically, the region of Silesia, which historically was known
as a center of coal mining and heavy industry.
To become a miner, you had to be strong mentally and physically. The
work was dirty, dangerous, and damaging to the health. Miners were rough
men with great patience and dedication to their work, but the
conditions they had to face occasionally caused a series of strikes and
internal revolts. If the owners of the mine made the miners angry,
something was definitely going wrong there. They never went on a strike
for no reason or to display any whims.
Since the real-life story that inspired the plot of Pearl In The Crown (Perła w koronie in Polish)
happened during the 1930s, it became a great topic to work with during
the Communist era. The working-class struggle was one of the key
elements of the Communism ideology, and a strike of miners fit within
such a concept perfectly.
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Polish film director Kazimierz Kutz took
the task of depicting these events and the life of Silesian miners with
respect and authenticity. The region of Silesia and its population have
always been proud of its heritage, language, and local culture. There
still exists a sentiment among the part of the Silesian population that
considers themselves strictly Silesians and does not want to be
associated with Poland.
To add some extra authenticity, Kutz selected Franciszek Pieczka to depict one of the leading roles in Pearl In The Crown.
A son of a miner who was a participant in the Silesian Uprisings
(1919–1921), Pieczka was well-acquainted with the story and sentiments
of this miner’s strike, depicted in the movie. In one of his interviews,
the famous actor said: “I am a Silesian, and I will die as a Silesian — I always emphasize this”.
For the actor, it was a personal story, and it only strengthened the
performance of Pieczka, depicting the leader of the strike Hubert
Siersza.
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While Pieczka’s character symbolized and displayed the strong spirit of
the miners, who were angered about the possible closure of their mine by
the German owners, other characters in this story had different stories
to tell. The young miner Jas, played by Olgierd Łukaszewicz,
was an example of a traditional head of the family. Old-fashioned
patriarchy. As Jas comes home from work, his wife and two sons greet
him, wash his feet and serve dinner. When the strike at the mine begins,
and miners declare a hunger strike, their families don’t waste any time
and join them outside the mine, dressed up in traditional Silesian
costumes. You can see the unity. Wives stand strongly behind their
husbands.
Kutz’s films involving events in Silesia can be viewed not just as a
pure expression of artistic ideas but also as examples of Silesian
ethnography. The director himself admitted this in one of his
interviews, and it’s not surprising, considering that his biography had
some similarities with Pieczka’s. Kutz also was the son of a Silesian
insurgent, and he saw the ascetic and devoted people around him. Pearl In The Crown is
an ode to Silesia — its hard-working people, traditions, and deep
Catholic faith. It presents that long-lost environment and generation of
people, who held the most simple values in the highest regard.
Probably, the best description of Pearl In The Crown came from another well-known name in Polish cinematography, Krzysztof Zanussi. He described this movie shortly: “After Kutz’s films, everyone wanted to be Silesian”.
Indeed, the movie shows how the character of Jas goes through the
struggle with dignity, showing an example to his sons, and carrying the
courage of his forefathers. Kutz’s cinematic work presents a
heart-warming nod to the local traditions, and modern-day movies
definitely cannot compete with classic works in this regard. Times and
values have changed dramatically.
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