Man of Marble

Plot

In 1976, a young woman in Krakow is making her diploma film, looking behind the scenes at the life of a 1950s bricklayer, Birkut, who was briefly a proletariat hero, at how that heroism was created, and what became of him. She gets hold of outtakes and censored footage and interviews the man's friends, ex-wife, and the filmmaker who made him a hero. A portrait of Birkut emerges: he believed in the workers' revolution, in building housing for all, and his very virtues were his undoing. Her hard-driving style and the content of the film unnerve her supervisor, who kills the project with the excuse she's over budget. Is there any way she can push the film to completion?

Why watch

A young woman in Krakow is determined to complete her diploma film about Birkut, a once-revered bricklayer turned forgotten hero of the proletariat. As she interviews those who knew him and uncovers censored footage, the film reveals the complexities of memory and the burdens of historical narrative. Watching it feels like peeling back layers of time, where each revelation invites reflection on the nature of heroism and the cost of artistic integrity.

Talking points

• the nature of heroism
• the impact of censorship on art
• the role of documentary in narrative cinema
• the evolution of class identity in post-war societies

Cultural context

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