The Peasants

In 1924, writer Władysław Reymont was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his four-volume epic Chłopi, which depicted rural Polish customs and traditions to the point it was – and still is – considered a cultural artefact. Now, virtually 100 years later, the classic sees its latest adaptation: this time as an animation, co-directed by Hugh and DK Welchman. The team behind the groundbreaking Loving Vincent revisited their oil painting rotoscope technique to bring new life to early 20^th century’s quotidian struggles. Where the former was first and foremost a love letter, The Peasants exposes the spaces between the paintings one would find in a museum, revealing the pain easily overlooked in an unmoving frame.

As each tome represents one of the seasons, the film, too, is split into four chapters, remarkable transitions acknowledging the changes brought onto the fertile plains surrounding the village of Lipce.

Perhaps the worst that can be said about the film’s protagonist, Jagna, is that she, by tendency, has her head in the clouds, preferring the creation of paper cutouts to agricultural labour and dreaming of a future with married farmer Antek. Still, neighbouring women viciously begrudge her youth and beauty, and even as they covet her, men display contempt towards her. Because of his wealth and influence, Jagna is to wed landholder Maciej Boryna – none other than the father of her beloved Antek.

Even as the painting’s intricate style ensures a given respect for heritage a live-action feature may not have immediately implied, the film tries its best to view the gender-based power dynamics through a modern lens. Jagna is not shamed for her desires, but perhaps as a result of the makers wanting to stay true to the novels without compromising the audience’s sympathy, her character comes across as passive, locked in a stalemate. The brutality she is faced with is depicted with the most gorgeous visuals: a crack running through the viewer’s rose-tinted glasses until they burst, warning of an overly simplified romanticisation of the past.

Selina Sondermann

The Peasants is released in select cinemas on 8^th December 2023.

Watch the trailer for The Peasants here: