Synopsis
A nearly illiterate woman becomes one of the founders of Poland's Solidarity union.
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Cast
- Katharina ThalbachAgnieszka Kowalska
- Andrzej Chyraelektryk Leszek
- Dominique HorwitzKazimierz
- Wojciech Solarz
- Ewa Telega
- Barbara Jonak
- Maria Maj
- Krzysztof Kiersznowski
- Andrzej Grabowski
- Wojciech Pszoniak
Recommendations
- 80
Village Voice
This is Iron Curtain porn at its most shameless--a rousing industrial rock song plays in the background every time Schlöndorff wants to invoke the Spirit of Labor--but Thalbach's Agnieszka is irresistible. - 80
The New York Times
Schlöndorff calls the film "a ballad inspired by true events," and its occasional bouts of clumsiness and sentimentality are inseparable from its power. - 80
Los Angeles Times
Despite the grim Cold War environment, Schlöndorff blends, mostly successfully, goofiness and melodrama into the overall social realist tone. - 75
TV Guide Magazine
Thalbach's passionate performance is the film's center, but she's aided by a strong supporting cast, Jarre's propulsive score and the gritty locations: It was shot at the very shipyard where real-life history was made. - 75
New York Daily News
The dubbing from German to Polish is off-putting, but it is Schlondorff's best film since his classic "The Tin Drum." - 70
Variety
Continuing the late-career renaissance of historically urgent, politically engaged fiction filmmaking that began with 1999's "The Legend of Rita" and 2004's "The Ninth Day" German vet Volker Schloendorff stumbles slightly, but doesn't fall, with Poland-set Solidarity saga Strike. - 70
Salon
If Thalbach's fiery performance is the heart of Strike, her costar is the vast and impressive Gdansk shipyard itself. - 67
Christian Science Monitor
It's all a lot closer to melodrama than drama, but Thalbach is a dynamo.
