The Peasants (15)
Directed by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman

 
BRUTAL yet visually stunning, the creators of Loving Vincent bring to captivating realisation Wlaydslaw Reymont’s Nobel Prize-winning epic tale about the hardship of peasant life in Poland in the late 19th century.
 
Using an advanced oil painting animation technique and drawing on the works of over 30 painters, from Michal Gorstkin-Wywiorski to Ferdynand Ruszczyc, filmmakers DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman create another work of art, frame by frame. 
 
Yet, once you become accustomed to the breathtaking animation, this is the gripping story of Jagna, a young woman who decides to live life on her terms rather than those of a patriarchal Polish society, that keeps you hooked. 
 
Unfolding over four seasons in Lipce, Jagna (a phenomenal Kamila Urzedowska) is married off by her mother to the village’s richest farmer Maciej Boryna (Miroslaw Baka), a middle-aged widower, in exchange for land. The situation becomes complicated when his eldest son Antek (Robert Gulaczyk), who is married with children, becomes besotted with her. 
 
The film explores the hypocrisy and the politics of rural life, along with the power dynamics between the rich, the poor and the Church. Plus, the way peasants protect their rights with great passion and defend their freedom. It also shows the discrimination women face in this male-dominated society. 
 
The village is a hotbed of gossip and ongoing feuds. Being beautiful and smart, Jagna is at first envied and misunderstood. The villagers make up lies about her being promiscuous and she is mistreated, bullied, shamed and preyed upon by men. Finally she is ostracised for her looks, for being artistic and passionate, and more importantly for questioning the patriarchy. Unlike everyone else around her who is obsessed with land and possessions, she doesn’t care about material things. 
 
While her selfish lover Antek treats his wife and kids horrendously, putting his own pride above their needs, the community understands who he is and accepts him. Yet they cannot accept or forgive Jagna, who has done nothing wrong. She just doesn’t fit in.  
 
Though it is an animated feature it still makes for difficult viewing, but the Welchmans have done an extraordinary job in bringing Reymont’s 1,000-page work to the big screen in such a poignant, compelling and visually thrilling way.  

Out in cinemas today