The Peasants (2023 film)

The Peasants (Polish: Chłopi) is a 2023 adult animated historical drama film directed and written by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman. An adaptation of Władysław Reymont's Nobel Prize-winning novel of the same name, the film was produced using the painted animation technique, similar to Loving Vincent. The film stars an ensemble cast which includes Kamila Urzędowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Mirosław Baka, Sonia Mietielica, Ewa Kasprzyk, Cezary Łukaszewicz, Małgorzata Kożuchowska, Sonia Bohosiewicz, Dorota Stalińska, Andrzej Konopka, Marcin Rusin and Maciej Musiał. It is a co-production between Poland, Serbia and Lithuania.

For the original novel, see The Peasants. For the 1973 adaptation, see The Peasants (1973 film). For similar titles, see Peasant (disambiguation).

Chłopi
Promotional release poster
Directed byDK Welchman
Hugh Welchman
Screenplay byDK Welchman
Hugh Welchman
Based onThe Peasants
by Władysław Reymont
Produced byHugh Welchman
Sean M. Bobbitt
StarringKamila Urzędowska
Robert Gulaczyk
Mirosław Baka
Sonia Mietielica
Ewa Kasprzyk
Cezary Łukaszewicz
Małgorzata Kożuchowska
Sonia Bohosiewicz
Dorota Stalińska
Andrzej Konopka
Marcin Rusin
Maciej Musiał
CinematographyRadosław Ładczuk
Kamil Polak
Szymon Kuriata
Edited byDK Welchman
Patrycja Piróg
Miki Węcel
Music byŁukasz "L.U.C." Rostkowski
Production
companies
BreakThru Films
DigitalKraft
Art Shot
Distributed byNext Film
Release date
  • 13 September 2023 (2023-09-13) (TIFF)
Running time
114 minutes
CountriesPoland
Serbia
Lithuania
LanguagePolish

The world premiere took place at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Premise

The Peasants is an historical drama adapted from Reymont's famous novel of the same name,[1] focusing on the fate of a rural community. The plot revolves around Jagna, who is being coerced into marrying a rich farmer, Boryna, who is much older than her. However, she loves his son Antek.[2]

Cast
  • Kamila Urzędowska as Jagna
  • Robert Gulaczyk as Antek Boryna
  • Mirosław Baka as Maciej Boryna
  • Sonia Mietielica as Hanka Borynowa
  • Ewa Kasprzyk as Dominikowa
  • Cezary Łukaszewicz as Michał, Maciej Boryna's son in law
  • Małgorzata Kożuchowska as The Organist's Wife
  • Sonia Bohosiewicz as The Mayor's Wife
  • Dorota Stalińska as Jagustynka
  • Andrzej Konopka as The Mayor
  • Mateusz Rusin as Mateusz
  • Maciej Musiał as Jasio

Production

The film was produced using the painted animation technique over the production of five years, similar to the Welchman duo's previous film, Loving Vincent.[3] Initially the film was shot with the actors, and then more than a hundred painters in four studios in Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Serbia painted oil paintings based on the shots, which became frames in the film. Animators then worked to supplement the paintings to make the whole film seamless. The artists spent over 200,000 hours in total working on the project.[1]

The film features works from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, with an emphasis on Young Poland artists. It includes interpretations of works by artists such as Józef Chełmoński, Ferdynand Ruszczyc and Leon Wyczółkowski.[3] Józef Chełmoński's works used in a film include the following:

The film is a co-production by BreakThru Films in Poland, Art Shot in Lithuania, and Digitalkraft in Serbia)[2]

Music

The score is by Łukasz Rostkowski[1] (aka "L.U.C."), a Polish MC, rapper, activist, and music producer based in Wrocław.[4] As founder of the international Rebel Babel Ensemble[5] (aka Rebel Babel Film Orchestra), he has created a "Multimedia concert" with Rebel Babel for the film.[6] The score will be released on November 3, 2023.[7]

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine impact

When the MOREFILM animation studio in Kyiv which run by two producers Olga Zhurzhenko and Desniana Rozhkova was closed down overnight in February 2022, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the film's producers launched a rapid response to help the Ukrainian artists and their families, moving as many as possible to Poland to continue working. As not all Ukrainian artists were able to leave, in August 2022 BreakThru Films helped to relaunch the MOREFILM animation studio in Kyiv, providing work for fifteen painters and staff.[3]

From October 2022, another wave of bombings and associated power cuts began in Ukraine. However, the painters wanted to continue to create, and arranged their schedule to the rhythm of the power cuts, waiting in the cold when that electricity was out. In late autumn, BreakThru Films launched a campaign on a crowdfunding website to urgently raise funds to purchase a power generator that would restore the artists' ability to work.[3]

Release

The world premiere took place at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2023, in the Special Presentations section.[8][2] It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Flash Forward' section and was screened on 8 October 2023.[9]

The film was released in Polish cinemas on October 13, 2023[10] by distributor Next Film.[11]

As of July 2023, the film had been sold to over 40 countries.[12] In September 2023, Sony Pictures Classics acquired distribution rights to the film for North and Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.[13]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 78% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10.[14] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 84 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[15]

In Poland the movie has enjoyed a critical acclaim. On the review aggregator Mediakrytyk, which uses a weighted average, film holds rating of 8.2 based on 9 reviews, indicating "very positively rated by the critics".[16]

Accolades
Award / Film Festival Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Polish Film Festival 23 September 2023 Best Film The Peasants Nominated [17]
Special Jury Prize Won
Audience Award Won
22 September 2022 Crystal Star Elle Award Kamila Urzędowska Won [18]
Chopard Loves Cinema - Chopard & W. Kruk Award Won
Busan International Film Festival 13 October 2023 Flash Forward Award The Peasants Pending [19]
Valladolid International Film Festival 28 October 2023 Alquimias Award Pending [20]

References
  1. Michalak, Ada (30 June 2023). "Jest pierwszy zwiastun filmu "Chłopi". Tworzą go twórcy "Twojego Vincenta"". Rzeczpospolita (in Polish). Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  2. "The Peasants world premiere on Toronto International Film Festival". Film in Serbia. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  3. Gzyl, Paweł (23 December 2022). "W Polsce i w Ukrainie powstaje aktorska animacja według "Chłopów". Artyści w Kijowie pracują mimo rosyjskiej inwazji". Gazeta Krakowska (in Polish). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. Weiner, Yitzi (18 January 2023). "Music stars making a social impact: Why & how Łukasz LUC Rostkowski of Rebel Babel Ensemble is helping to change our world". Medium. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  5. "Rebel Babel Ensemble". Gallatin Street Records. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  6. Rebel Babel Film Orchestra; BreakThru Films; L.U.C. "The Peasants" (PDF).
  7. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  8. "The Peasants". TIFF. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  9. "The 28th Busan International Film Festival: Selection List". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
  10. Dalton, Ben. "Polish animation and awards hopeful 'The Peasants' scores UK deal (exclusive)". Screen. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  11. Goodfellow, Melanie (28 June 2023). "'The Peasants' Teaser: Makers Of Oscar-Nominated 'Loving Vincent' Return With "More Spectacular" 19th Century Epic Drama". Deadline. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  12. ""Peasants". The film's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival". Polish News. 31 July 2023. Retrieved 1 August 2023.
  13. Grobar, Matt (29 September 2023). "Sony Pictures Classics Acquires Polish Oscar Entry 'The Peasants' From 'Loving Vincent' Filmmakers". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 29 September 2023.
  14. "The Peasants - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  15. "The Peasants". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  16. "Chłopi (2023) - Mediakrytyk". mediakrytyk.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  17. Nussen, Greg (28 September 2023). "Polish Film Festival 2023: Kos, Next to Nothing, The Peasants, Imago, Anxiety, & More". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  18. "Young Gala | Winners of the 48th PFF - Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych". 22 September 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  19. "Busan International Film Festival". Busan International Film Festival. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  20. "Seminci premieres the Alquimias section, the main novelty of the program, a space for the discovery of vibrant and original cinema". Valladolid International Film Festival (in Spanish). 3 October 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
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