By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: DK Welchman | Hugh Welchman
Starring: Ewa Kasprzyk | Kamila Urzedowska | Miroslaw Baka | Robert Gulaczyk | Sonia Mietielica
Original language title: Chlopi
Year: 2024
Running time: 114
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10651230/reference/
Diane says: “THE PEASANTS is by the creators of the award-winning LOVING VINCENT. Directors Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman (a married couple) adapted a 4-volume, 1,000-page Polish novel—a story of 19th century rural life: farm, mill, church, tavern.
“Like VINCENT, this is a hand-painted film. It is developed first as a live-action film, then the footage is painted with oils onto canvas, frame by frame (56,000 of them in this case, supplemented by 16,000 digital in-between frames). But PEASANTS takes the process to another level. I was amazed to learn that each scene had as its visual key a different Polish painting—“a wide repertoire of realist and pre-Impressionist paintings,” according to the directors. The levels of painterliness vary by section, and there is a spectrum of abstraction and photorealism.
“The story is grim: think Lars von Trier’s misogyny and scapegoat themes, or “Tess of the Durbervilles.” Village life over four seasons is marked by gossip, lust, matchmaking, piety, friendship, greed—all taken to a hyperbolized level of perversity. That contrasts strongly with the beauty of the paintings, and the thematic emphasis on nature. I particularly loved the scenes of dancing and singing—they were wild and exciting. It is a film of high emotion.
“PEASANTS had the best director’s introduction of the films I saw at TIFF. The film’s production was affected first by Covid shutdowns, then by inflation, and then by the Ukraine-Russia war. Some of the crew of 90 animators had to be evacuated from Ukraine; a Kickstarter campaign made their studio useable again. Welchman noted that government funds were critical for this movie.
“I recommend PEASANTS as a thrillingly different experience from the norm, but gird your loins. And it is best seen on the big screen. 4 cats.
“(seen at Toronto IFF, September 2023)”