THE PEASANTS (2023)
aka Chłopi
Label: Sony Pictures Classics
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 114 Minutes 42 Seconds
Audio: Polish or English-dub DTS-HD MA 5.1 Surround with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: DK Welchman & Hugh Welchman
Cast: Kamila Urzedowska, Robert Gulaczyk, Miroslaw Baka, Sonia Mietielica, Ewa Kasprzyk
Synopsis: From the creators of Loving Vincent (2017), Jagna is a young woman determined to forge her own path in a late 19th century Polish village -- a hotbed of gossip, feuds, and deep-rooted patriarchy. When she finds herself caught between the desires of the village's richest farmer, his eldest son, and other men of the village, her resistance puts her on a collision course with the community around her.
Set in the late 19th century uniquely animated film The Peasants (2023) centers around Jagna (Kamila Urzędowska), a free-spirited and quite attractive peasant girl known for the intricately detailed paper cutouts she creates. Her outspoken ways and devil-may-care attitude have made her fodder for gossip among both the women and men of the village, which seems idyllic on the surface, but just below the pastoral veneer lies a venomous pit of snakes ready to pounce with their wagging tongues. She finds herself in love with the brutish Antek (Robert Gulaczyk), the eldest son of the village's wealthiest farmer, the recently widowed Maciej Boryna (Mirosław Baka). Their love is kept a not so well hidden secret because Antek is already married. More trouble brews when the widowed Maciej chooses young Jagna as his new wife, offering her six acres of fertile land as a dowry. She begrudgingly accepts as seems to be the custom in the village, but her affair with her new husband's son continues, again as a not so well kept secret, leading to scorn and tragedy down the line.
The Peasants was animated by using traditional live-action video capture techniques, then over one hundred painters in four studios spanning Poland, Lithuania, Ukraine, and Serbia painted oil paintings over each of the frames, sort of like the rotoscoping process seen in past animation films like Heavy Metal, Fire and Ice, Lord of the Rings, American Pop, and Waking Life. The process too five years to complete, the finished animation looking like a 19th century oil painting come to life. The movements are more fluid than traditional rotoscoping animation, it's really quite something to see, and it looks just beautiful. At times the looking almost photorealistic but also having a surreal shimmer to it, not unlike rotoscope, but still conveying emotion and dramatic depth quite nicely. Once the film gets emotionally darker towards the end the darkness literally creeps into the animation, the tragic end packs quite a punch, the story which to me comes across as a fairly straightforward scarlet letter variety drama, doesn't tread new ground, by the artful animation style is certainly fetching, and lifts the film quite a bit.
The animation style is quite striking and the performances are strong, particularly from lead Kamila Urzędowska who balances her character's innocence and her more against-the-grain qualities, which forecast potential tragedy early on, quite nicely, leading to an old school 'grab the torch and pitchforks' angry mob scenario that brings it to a not unexpected close, but no less thrilling.
Audio/Video: The Peasants (2023) arrives on Blu-ray from Sony Pictures Classics in 1080p HD framed in 1.85:1 widescreen. The painterly animated visuals are truly gorgeous and look wonderful in HD with vibrant colors, deep blacks, and excellent contrast, the oil painting truly come to life with an almost photorealistic veneer, though also quite surreal. Audio options include both original Polish or dubbed-English DTS-HD MA 5.1 with optional English subtitles. The track is buoyant and nicely immersive, both language options sound fantastic, and if you're adverse to reading subtitles the English dub is quite nice, the dubbed dialogue is nuanced and layered throughout. A definite highlight is the Polish folk music that sounds terrific in the mix.
Sadly the only extras i the Theatrical Trailer for the film, I so wanted to see something about the live action footage and unique animation process of this animated film, perhaps some clips from the live-action footage, or a featurette about the inspiration behind the art style. The single-disc release arrives in a standard keepcase with a single-sided sleeve of artwork.
Special Features:
- Trailer (1:51)
Screenshots from the Sony Pictures Classics Blu-ray:
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