The Peasants | Alone in front of the raging crowd

In rural Poland in the 19th century^e century, a young, free-spirited girl arouses the desire of men and the jealousy of women.

At a time when women are considered market values, where arranged marriages are used to acquire a few acres of land or forest, Jagna (Kamila Urzędowska) shocks decorum. Preferring to devote herself to the art of paper cutting rather than household chores, the young girl has an affair with Antek (Robert Gulaczyk), married and father of two. Jealous of Jagna’s beauty and freedom, the women of the village suggest that her mother (Ewa Kasprzyk) force her to marry old Maciej, the most prosperous farmer in the village and Antek’s father. The marriage will not be the happiest and relations between Antek and his father will deteriorate, which will fuel gossip about Jagna.

Ambitious adaptation of the novel cycle Farmers (1904-1909), by the Polish writer Władysław Reymont, winner of the 1924 Nobel Prize for Literature, The Peasants marks the return of animated filmmakers DK Welchman, also known as Dorota Kobiela, and Hugh Welchman, to whom we owe The Van Gogh passion (2017), breathtaking tribute to the Dutch painter. However, it is the visual style that once again prevails over the story.

In fact, with his real shots reproduced in 80,000 oil paintings, The Peasants turns out to be a luminous work of great beauty. If the directors, who also wrote the screenplay, were inspired by paintings by Gorstkin-Wywiórski, Ruszczyc and Chełmonski, other painters also seem to have influenced them. As soon as she first appears, Jagna evokes The girl with the pearl earringby Vermeer, while the scenes where the women work in the fields refer to the Gleaners, by Millet. In places, the landscapes unfold in vibrant colors that Sisley, Monet and Rosa Bonheur would not have denied.

Taking place from autumn to summer in the 19th century Polish countryside^e century, this drama of manners recalls by its stubborn heroine and by its cruel illustration of the rural world the great novels of the land of Zola (Earth) and Hardy (Tess d’Uberville, Far from the madding crowd). However, the characters are portrayed so summarily and the story is riddled with so many ellipses that the whole thing turns out to be too lacking in consistency and captivating. Remains in this contemplative art gallery the warm homage to the Polish roots of DK Welchman which we discover thanks to its rich soundtrack and its lively folk dances.

In theaters, presented in the original Polish version with English subtitles

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Animation Film

The Peasants (Polish version with English subtitles from Chłopi)

DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman

Kamila Urzęowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Miroslaw Baka

1:54 a.m.

6.5/10