'Walesa' is an inspiring account of the life of the charismatic Polish union activist who helped to bring down communism.
As a Gdansk shipyard worker in the 1970s, Lech Walesa takes part in union protests that are brutally suppressed by the authorities. Ten years later, this humble electrician emerges unexpectedly as the most important politician in post-war Poland. He co-founds the Solidarity trade union movement, whose brave resistance inspires workers across Eastern Europe – becoming a vital component in the undoing of Poland’s Communist government and, eventually, the Soviet Bloc.
'Walesa's incredible story finally comes to the screen courtesy of Poland's greatest living filmmaker, Andrzej Wajda, whose Cannes-winning ‘Man of Iron’ (1981) offered a brave portrait of the movement as its support was taking root throughout Poland.
★★★★ "Like a biopic fed through warm fuzzbox, spiky and defiant" - William Thomas, Empire
★★★★ "A movie with terrific gusto and a first-rate lead performance from Robert Więckiewicz" - Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
12
127 minutes
2013
Drama
Poland
Italian, Polish
English
Metrodome