The “Peasants” paradox. I went for the animation, I stayed until the end of the credits for the music

they are painted really beautifully and I am delighted, for example, with how the creators managed to harmoniously weave “Indian Summer” and “Partridges in the Snow” by Józef Chełmoński into the world presented in the film – it’s really exciting how beautifully these classic paintings combine with the plot and its enrich. But I didn’t expect that the soundtrack would be the element that would delight me the most.

“The Peasants” deserves an Oscar nomination

It is known that there is no good film without a decent soundtrack, but the hand-painted “Peasants” needed unique music. How to find someone who will be able to adapt to the unusual medium of painting animation, and also gracefully immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the Nobel Prize-winning novel? The filmmakers, including director DK Welchman and producers Hugh Welchman and Sean Bobitt, simply announced a competition. Those willing to take up the challenge had to compose music for a concept trailer. He reported, among others: Łukasz LUC Rostkowski and won.

He pursued this path for almost three years as part of the Rebel Babel orchestra. It is an inter-genre and inter-generational band that connects artists from different corners of the world, creating in different musical styles and often using different languages. The project manager is Rostkowski, who put particular emphasis on Slavic culture, and not only the native Polish culture, because he also invited musicians from e.g. the Balkans, Belarus and Ukraine. In an interview with Gazeta.pl, before the premiere of “Peasants”, he assured that it was the greatest project of his life on an “incomprehensible scale”. Why? Because it is “a combination of choreography, costumes, music, Nobel literature, painting, graphics, film.” Well, he wasn’t exaggerating.

Łukasz LUC Rostkowski did something truly impressive with “Chłopy”. His music for the film sounds folk and modern at the same time. It doesn’t look like an open-air museum attraction for tourists, but it gives an atmosphere and is lively. It takes into account tradition and at the same time is original. It captivates and draws the viewer into the narrative, even intensifying its message. It doesn’t dominate the image, but it stands out for its independence. And who would expect this from a rapper making his film debut?

“Peasants”. Not just pretty pictures

There’s something about “Cheasants” that makes the more I think about them, the more I praise them to myself. Because although there is plenty of panache here, nothing is cliched or exaggerated, just right. Directed by DK Welchman, the adaptation really neatly combines various artistic forms. The picturesque frames convey the charm of the natural world described so colorfully by the Nobel Prize winner, and the plot itself has been cleverly condensed by the scriptwriters. As Mirosław Baka told me on the set of the film, what was left was “acting meat”. Because even if the visual layer were not so impressive thanks to the efforts of painters and animators, this film would defend itself as a neat adaptation with captivating music and, above all, wisely selected plot accents. I also saw the “raw” film set and I can assure you that even with a green screen it looked impressive enough, as did the actors in costumes.

It seems to me that the plot threads selected for the script have a universal tone and show that in his novel Reymont described not only the Polish countryside, but also behaviors that could equally well appear in any other part of the world. But at the same time, I do not claim to proclaim any revealed truths, only the desire to show the most real emotions possible – this story remains as human as it can be for Welchman. She is “ordinary” in this respect, and this, in turn, has a chance to translate well to foreign audiences. I don’t want to write that it’s not an “outstanding” film, because that’s not the point – it’s as real as it needs to be.

Much of this is due to the well-chosen cast. Kamila Urzędowska as Jagna has childlike naivety, captivating dreaminess and longing for freedom, and at the same time self-confidence, growing strength and the features of a rebel or even an individualist. The animators may have even overdone it with painting her long eyelashes, because the girl looks like a picture even without a picture. But she is not inferior to Sonia Mietielica, who played the role of Hanka – she leads the heroine in a pleasantly nuanced way and her motivations can be completely understood, even if you mainly support Jagna. Robert Gulaczyk, in turn, in the role of Antek Boryna, is like an element – you can feel from the screen how he is torn by various and really strong emotions: anger, jealousy, desire and shame. I will also add that the scene in which Antek helps Jagna push the cart out of the mud in the rain and lifts her in his arms after she falls has the vibrant atmosphere of a fiery romance straight from “Wuthering Heights”. A very Hollywood take.

Robert Gulaczyk as Antek and Kamila Urzędowska as Jagna in the film ‘Chłopi’ Next Movie

I won’t deny that I was simply delighted with Dorota Stalińska as Jagustynka – expressive, sassy, ​​painfully honest, but also empathetic and helpful when needed. I noticed with some amusement that Małgorzata Kożuchowska returned to the roots and attitude of the “evil Hanka Mostowiak” – but her performance here is such that it is really impossible to like her heroine. What’s even funnier is that, just like in “Rodzinka.pl”, here Maciej Musiał plays her son. Well, you can understand why Jagna felt so much sympathy for Master Jaś. Julia Wieniawa was also very well cast and I really appreciate the humor of the scene in which the peasants shout at her Marysia because she sings instead of working in the fields. Considering that the actress recently recorded an album, the coincidence is too great.

The mayor played by Sonia Bohosiewicz is also demonic and vindictively cruel. I also swear that during the scene in which Andrzej Konopka (the mayor) and Mirosław Baka (Boryna) are debating about marrying Jagna over vodka and snacks, my ears were hurting – they were clicking so convincingly and repulsively. Apparently because of the food, but it was obvious that they salivated just thinking about this unfortunate girl. However, the blacksmith Wojtek is irritating. The beautiful cross-section of personalities in the background really deserves to be appreciated, because the acting is not lost under a layer of paint.

I especially like the fact that the implementation technique chosen by the creators, i.e. painting animation, does not cover the content, but serves it. The same goes for the music – it was created for the film and was born from it, but it does not distract from the plot or the animation. Vision and sound are in symbiosis, which gives the story an additional dimension and makes you fall into the same trance as Reymont’s characters. Overall, it is worth experiencing, although of course the production has its shortcomings. In my opinion, however, they were covered by the multimedia and interdisciplinary values ​​of the production, so it is worth checking it out “for yourself”. I’m not saying that this film will immediately convince reluctant school students to read Reymont’s prose, but it will certainly help them look at it from a new perspective.