Man Of Marble (1977). Wajda's Controversial & Monumental Anti-Communist Movie

 One of the most powerful anti-communist movies, made in Communist Poland.

Jerzy Radziwilowicz played the role of Stakhanovets bricklayer Mateusz Birkut in the Man of Marble. Source: NYFF.

Man Of Marble (Czlowiek z marmuru in Polish) is definitely a must-see cinematic experience that gives the viewer an insight into the history of Communism and its impact on Polish history. The movie was directed by Andrzej Wajda and is both — an artistic and documentary work.

The storyline of this movie revolves around the young student Agnieszka. She is working on her diploma work and doing research about a once-famous, but long-forgotten hero of socialist labor — Mateusz Birkut. He earned fame as a record-setting bricklayer in the process of building the new industrial city of Nowa Huta. Birkut enjoyed his rise during the Stalinist era in Poland, but eventually, he faded into oblivion and became a mysterious figure of the past.

The documentary side of Man Of Marble was based on many aspects. One of the main is the building of the Nowa Huta district, which was centered around the enormous steel plant, built in 1954. It employed more than 40 000 people at its peak and was a fine example of the socialist industrial ambitions. During the Communism era, this steel plant was known as Vladimir Lenin Steelworks.

At the time of its building, Nowa Huta became a living symbol of the might of the Communism ideology. It was one of the most impressive socialist realism examples in the world. The building of this utopian Communist society went full steam in Poland, but the shift in the direction came up soon. Joseph Stalin died in 1953, and the 1956 Poznan Protests of workers fueled internal changes in Poland. People were fed up with the harsh policies imposed during the Stalinism era and wanted to see changes. At the time, Poland was tightly controlled by the Soviet Union, but the Polish October of 1956 allowed it to see a change in power. After Bolesław Bierut’s death, Władysław Gomułka became the First Secretary of the Polish United Workers’ Party, which meant that he was the new leader of Poland.

Wajda adds a very authentic figure to the character of Mateusz Birkut. There were many such characters in the Communist countries. Birkut’s naive, hard-working character is no exaggeration. Many of the working-class people had humble rural upbringings and were taught to work hard since the early days. It was a part of their identity, and they ideally fit the narratives of the Communist ideology.

Birkut was a true Stakhanovets — a person who was able to set records of productivity, especially in all the toughest industries, such as mining, metallurgy, construction, agriculture, and others. He was honestly proud and willing to work as hard as he could to bring the best results possible. It was not for fame or monetary reasons, it was generally the mentality of the working-class people back then. They never shied away from the most challenging tasks.

However, becoming a Stakhanovets, meant becoming a tool of propaganda. Man Of Marble shows how Birkut becomes a celebrity, makes speeches at the worker’s meetings and congresses (scripted and censored speeches, of course), and gets awarded with a new apartment for his achievements at work. And here comes the tricky part about the relationships between the workers and the state in the Communist realities.

Propaganda is a very loud term, and it instantly raises some negative sentiments. But if you think of the praise of the working class, is such kind of propaganda also something bad? These hard-working people were held as an example for others because they always did their work in a good faith. And this is where Wajda presents his vision on this. The character of Birkut is initially, just one of many naive workers — he lacks the understanding of becoming a nameless tool in the hands of the Party. One step in the wrong direction and a labor hero with large posters on the streets can fade into oblivion within days. Communist propaganda often praised the right things and values, but the worst thing about it was the hypocrisy and full control of the person they were seemingly holding in high regard. It was just an illusion. An individual had zero value unless he did everything as scripted.

Krystyna Janda played the role of Agnieszka in the Man of Marble. Source: Interia Film.

Birkut becomes a victim of this propaganda, but not in a negative way. Propaganda does not convert him into a bad person, and he does not pursue the goal of imposing any ill-advised values on the people around him. Birkut remains an honest man, no matter what happens in his life. However, being a hero for a while gives him a stroke of bad luck and the lack of understanding that those people in power are far from being crystal clear, makes him suffer.

Man Of Marble gives a great insight into all the things that were hidden from the Western audience during the era of the Cold War and Iron Curtain. All the hypocrisy and double standards of the leading figures of these Communist regimes. The movie shows how the lives of honest and hard-working people were often destroyed for nothing, and decades later, everyone pretended that such atrocities never happened. Good-hearted characters like Birkut became mythical and forgotten figures.

To get permission to make the Man Of Marble, Wajda had to be very patient. The idea to make this movie first came up in 1962, when he heard the story of Piotr Ozanski, a real-life Stakhanovets who became a prototype of Birkut’s character. However, at the time, it was impossible to display such criticism toward the government. Wajda earned some favor from the Ministry of Culture only after the release of The Promised Land — a movie that showed all the evils of capitalism.

The wait was worth it. Man Of Marble earned great recognition and gained a lot of attention from film critics. The Polish authorities did not have much sympathy toward this movie at the time, and it is understandable why. Wajda made a statement and displayed his negative attitude toward the Communist regime. As the winds of change were approaching and internal tensions were slowly increasing, Wajda continued this story, and in 1981, the Man of Marble saw a transformation into the Man of Iron. Another exciting story for another review.

If you want to see this movie online for free, legally, and in good quality, there was launched a great project by the Polish Film Institute, called 35mm.online. On the website of this project, you can watch the Man of Marble in good quality with English subtitles.

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