Strike (Strajk - Die Heldin von Danzig) (2006)

88% of critics liked it
(16 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(511 ratings)

An ordinary working woman helps to spark a revolution in this historical drama inspired by a true story. Agnieszka Kowalska (Katharina Thalbach) has been working as a welder in the shipyards of Gdansk, Poland, since 1950, struggling to support her son since divorcing her husband. Working conditions… More An ordinary working woman helps to spark a revolution in this historical drama inspired by a true story. Agnieszka Kowalska (Katharina Thalbach) has been working as a welder in the shipyards of Gdansk, Poland, since 1950, struggling to support her son since divorcing her husband. Working conditions at the shipyard have always been difficult and dangerous, and in 1961 Agnieszka begins speaking out, confronting her bosses about the rights of the workers; her fellow employees are at once grateful to her and worried about what might happen if she rocks the boat too hard. Agnieszka's personal life takes a turn for the better when she meets and marries Kazimierz Walczak (Dominique Horwitz), a kind man who moves into her neighborhood. However, after a serious accident at the shipyard claims the lives of several employees and their families are denied pension benefits, Agnieszka takes the bosses to task and begins organizing a union to protect the rights of the workers, an effort that slowly evolves into Poland's rebellious Solidarity movement. Directed by Volker Schlöndorff, Strike (aka Strajk -- Die Heldin von Danzig) was based on the true story of Polish labor advocate Anna Walentynowicz, though Walentynowicz has publicly criticized the film for certain historical inaccuracies. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 51 min.
Directed By: Volker Schlöndorff
Written By: Sylke Rene Meyer, Andreas Pfluger
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: Jun 29, 2007 Limited
On DVD: Sep 25, 2007
Studio: Laemmle/Zeller Films/Red Envelope

Critic Reviews

Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times
An inspiring tale of a small woman who stands tall in the face of injustice.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
It's all a lot closer to melodrama than drama, but Thalbach is a dynamo.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
Rough-hewn and modest, stirring but rarely grandiose. This seems fitting, since part of what made Solidarity so inspiring was its gritty, determined refusal of ideological grandstanding or political melodrama.
V.A. Musetto, New York Post
The script plays fast and loose with the facts and adds soap-operaish touches, but [Katharina] Thalbach is a feisty delight. Strike is no Tin Drum, but her performance makes the melodrama worthwhile.
Jan Stuart, Newsday
It has a pumping dynamism that keeps you with it.
Julia Wallace, Village Voice
This is Iron Curtain porn at its most shameless -- a rousing industrial rock song plays in the background every time [director] Schlöndorff wants to invoke the Spirit of Labor -- but [actress] Thalbach's Agnieszka is irresistible.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A cinematic tribute to a genuine working-class hero whose courage and zeal for justice fueled the Solidarity Movement in Poland.
Joshua Land, Time Out New York
Te movie picks up in the final act as Agnieszka's political activities begin to eclipse her personal drama, culminating in the historic 1980 strike that would lead to the creation of free labor unions in Poland.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
An unabashedly sentimental, old-fashioned drama of the woman who inspired Poland's Solidarity that by comparison makes the celebration of American working-class heroines--in Norma Rae, Silkwood, North Country--subtle and complex.
Maria Garcia, Film Journal International
Kudos to Schlöndorff for celebrating the woman who sacrificed that glory for the greater good--and who continues to fight.
Prairie Miller, WBAI Web Radio
The only genuine moment in Strike, is when a skeptical worker asks the protesters, is your solution to let the West march in? The filmmaker, regrettably, never has the courage to respond.
Donald J. Levit, ReelTalk Movie Reviews
Debatable as history, 'Strike' sets its camera eye on the underplayed "secular saints" who contribute to that history.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
It's a deeply affecting drama that pays tribute to a woman who's little known outside of Poland.
Ed Gonzalez, Slant Magazine
Schlöndorff settles for a rather passive-aggressive account of a resistance fighter's life, made up of strung-together vignettes that lack for specificity and motivating example.

Read all 14 critic reviews

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Cast

Katharina Thalbach
as Agnieszka Kowalska
Dominique Horwitz
as Kazimierz Walczak
Andrzej Chyra

See full cast

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