AFTERIMAGE
'The last work of Poland's most revered postwar filmmaker, Andrzej Wajda, is a fiercely committed obituary of Wladyslaw Strzeminski, one of his country's most strikingly visionary contemporary artists.' – Screen Daily
The final film from Polish master Andrzej Wajda (Katyń, MIFF 2007; Land of Promise, MIFF 1975; Kanal, MIFF 1956), who passed away in 2016, Afterimage finds the filmmaker tackling avant-garde artist and compatriot Wladyslaw Strzeminski, a man who fought both Soviet ideology and his own physical condition in pursuit of his art.
In a film of quiet, controlled rage, Wajda follows the embattled Strzeminski (played by the great Boguslaw Linda) as he advocates for artistic progress in an era of Stalinist repression, adding another significant chapter to his chronicle of Polish history – and a fitting coda to a brilliant career in cinema.
'Elicits deep affection for the creative minds that paid for their rebellion with years of humiliation, persecution and isolation.' – Film Comment