HISTORY IN CINEMA/HISTORY OF CINEMA – VERSUS: THE PEASANTS I
HISTORY IN CINEMA/HISTORY OF CINEMA – VERSUS: THE PEASANTS I
In December 2025, we mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Władysław Reymont, one of Poland’s greatest writers. His work has been adapted for the screen many times. Here, we focus on the novel for which Reymont received the Nobel Prize in Literature — “The Peasants”, a richly layered portrayal of Polish rural life at the time. We present two film adaptations side by side: “The Peasants” by Jan Rybkowski (1973) and “The Peasants” by DK Welchman and Hugh Welchman (2023). Both screenings will be preceded by introductory lectures.
The Peasants pt 1: Boryna, dir. Jan Rybkowski (Poland) 1973, 87’, 15+
A feature film version of the television series based on the epic depicting life in a Polish village at the end of the 19th century. Fifty-six-year-old wealthy farmer Maciej Boryna marries the young and beautiful Jagna. She is loved by his son Antek, who neglects his wife Hanka and their children. Antek and Jagna meet in secret, but when his father catches them and sets fire to a haystack, they barely escape with their lives.
