Mr.Bongo Films
2009
R2 DVD
Reviewer: Bob Estreich
Polish subtitled in English
Poland, the 1980s. The independent trade
union Solidarity is leading strikes in full force against the entrenched
Communist regime and has ignored the official government trade union. Winkel, a
reporter for the state broadcasting system, has been ordered by the Ministry to
do a slander job on Maciek Tomczyk, a strike leader in the Gdansk shipyards.
The manager of the shipyards confides to Winkel
that they’re going to “nail his arse to the wall” and under no circumstances
will the Party and its police state allow any form of power-sharing with the
workers. They have a dossier on Tomczyk listing such crimes as hooliganism and
violating social rules. The police are well organized even though they admit
that the Comrades at the top have screwed everything up. Things are moving too
fast for Winkel. He has been provided with the dossier on Tomczyk, now he is
expected to make a major propaganda item of it. He has contacts in Gdansk from
the previous general strike in 1970.
Not everyone is happy with the strikers
since the strike is causing hardship, food shortages and transport problems.
Nor are they happy with the State-sponsored union that has given them “ten
years of work without a holiday”. Generally they regard the State union with
the same contempt as they regard the Central Committee. For this reason the
Committee is reluctant to come down too hard on the strikers in case the strike
turns into full revolution. People think the strike will peter out as Walesa’s
Solidarity committee is simply talked to death by the establishment.
Winkel starts investigating the situation
for himself, not sticking to the State line. He is only human and he knows that
if he gets too deeply involved in the strike he could be jailed. He is a borderline alcoholic and the strike
Committee has banned alcohol sales so Winkel is a bit disoriented and uncertain
where his loyalties lie. An old friend shows him an illegal film of the 1970
general strike that was broken up ruthlessly by the Party. It reminds him that
what is happening now is little different to what happened then. The government
could crack down on the strikers at any time and in desperation they could be just
as violent as before. Are they likely to give in?
In Gdansk the shipyard workers are the key
to political power. Winkel is told that in 1970 the shipyard, led by Tomczyk’s
father, did not come out in favour of the strike. Now with his son leading the
workers it will be different. Winkel is reminded of Tomczyk’s early life
through a series of flashbacks, including his hospitalization in a psychiatric
ward when he could not accept the formation of the State union that defused the
strike in 1970. He dropped out of sight for a year and then reappeared with a
job in the shipyard. Winkel knows some of the background but not enough.
As the crisis builds he continues to trace
Tomczyk’s life and finds that he has been a political agitator for many years.
Although many workers agree they are being deprived of decent pay and working
conditions they remember the lessons of the earlier strike and are reluctant to
join with Tomczyk. He is something of an outcast among his own people but this
is changing as more and more workers are affected by the depressed conditions
and rising prices.
Finally the moment Winkel has been waiting
for arrives. The suspicious strikers allow him inside the shipyard to see and
hear their side of the story. The Committee is aware of it too, and wants names
and details. Can Winkel hold out against them if he decides to support the
workers? Will he be caught up in the purge that seems to be coming closer every
day? He is unhappy about being an informer, he is less happy when the strikers do
not believe him about the coming purge. Which way will he turn?
The film is more than just a propaganda
piece and more than a history. As Winkel interviews more people the details of
the police state in the 1970s start to emerge from the point of view of
ordinary people. Genuine news footage is cut into the film to relive those days
and the terror of having tanks in the streets is clearly shown. A young man was
shot in the 1970 troubles. His family picked up his body from the morgue and
buried him, but two weeks later his body had disappeared and the grave was used
for another burial. Police thugs paid regular visits to those they regarded as
dangerous and trashed their homes. Beatings under interrogation were standard
practice. It is against this background of dissatisfaction among the common
people that the Gdansk workers have finally come out on strike, led by Lech
Walesa. This time they want unity of Poland without a Communist hierarchy. This
can only be achieved with free open elections.
To those of us who live in relatively
peaceful democratic countries it is hard to imagine living in a country where
institutionalised hypocrisy is the standard method for keeping the masses under
control. As recent events in the U.S. have shown Governments can and will lie
to their people. This film is a timely reminder of how hard it can be to undo
the damage.
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