It is 1970, Gdansk. The communist authorities bloodily repress workers’ protest. Lech Walesa, an ordinary shipyard worker, tries to deal with daily problems with his wife Danuta. Opposing the rules, soon he starts to lead a revolution that will end up not only toppling a dictatorship in Poland, but will eat away the crumbling edifice of the Soviet empire too.
Festivals:
Venice Film Festival – out of competition; presented in Toronto Film Festival.
Andrzejus Wajda was born in Suwalki (Poland) in 1926. He is one of the most prominent polish filmmakers. He directed over fifty features including Kanal (1957), Ashes and Diamonds (1958),Ashes (1965), The Promised Land (1975), Man of Iron (1981),Korczak (1990), Katyn (2007). He received an honorary Lifetime Achievement Award at the Academy Awards in 2000.