Rent Man of Marble (1977)
3.9 of 5 from 89 ratings
2h 34min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
Andrzej Wajda's dazzling Man of Marble is one of the key films of the 1970s. Often described as the 'Polish Citizen Kane', Wajda's epic masterwork operates as both an electrifying political saga and a compelling analysis of the nature of cinema itself. Mateusz Birkut, a bricklayer, glorified as a State-promoted 'Worker's Hero' is subsequently removed from all official mention in 1952. In 1976 a young filmmaker, Agnieszka, obsessively pursues his story. Birkut's rise and fall and disappearance into obscurity provides Wajda with a framework for a brave reassessment of the period. Although suppressed by the authorities, Man of Marble became a milestone in Polish cinema and an undoubted influence in the dismantling of the totalitarian system in Poland. - Actors:
- Krystyna Janda, Jerzy Radziwilowicz, Tadeusz Lomnicki, Jacek Lomnicki, Michal Tarkowski, Piotr Cieslak, Wieslaw Wójcik, Krystyna Zachwatowicz, Magda Teresa Wójcik, Boguslaw Sobczuk, Leonard Zajaczkowski, Jacek Domanski, Irena Laskowska, Zdzislaw Kozien, Wieslaw Drzewicz
- Directors:
- Andrzej Wajda
- Producers:
- Andrzej Wajda
- Voiced By:
- Andrzej Seweryn, Mieczyslaw Grabka
- Writers:
- Aleksander Scibor-Rylski
- Aka:
- Czlowiek Z Marmuru
- Studio:
- Second Run
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like Citizen Kane, Films to Watch If You Like..., New waves of Polish Cinema, Top 10 Best Last Films: World Cinema, Top 10 Cannes Palme d'Or Winners, Top Films, What to watch by country
- Countries:
- Poland
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Reviews (1) of Man of Marble
Party Line - Man of Marble review by Steve
This gets called the Polish Citizen Kane (1941) because it uses a similar narrative framework of flashbacks. And not because it is a masterpiece of visual style! The lighting is awfully flat and the locations/interiors are depressingly derelict. This is Poland in the economic doldrums, under occupation; Andrzej Wajda's film is a historic document.
The marble statues of the old Communist proletarian heroes are now locked away in the basements of museums. A student film maker (Krystyna Janda) stirs up official resistance when she researches one of the star workers of the 1950s for a tv documentary. Her investigation uncovers some suppressed, awkward national memories...
Besides the Soviets are still in control; Stalin is dead but there is no freedom of expression. Wajda's picture itself was a provocation of state censorship... Jerzy Radziwilowicz stars as the exploitable bricklayer made into a celebrity by the Party propaganda machine but then humiliated when he falls from favour. And then he disappears...
Wajda had a gift for positioning himself in the way of history and the themes of his dissident politics got tangled up in the Polish Solidarity movement over the following decade. The documentary approach is downbeat, which feels authentic and- after a slow first hour- eventually becomes mesmerising. This is a landmark in political cinema.
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