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Strike

Play trailer Poster for Strike Released Jun 15, 2007 1h 51m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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87% Tomatometer 15 Reviews 69% Popcornmeter 500+ Ratings
Agnieszka Kowalska (Katharina Thalbach) is a barely educated single mother working as a welder in a drab shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. She overcomes adversity and moves her way up through the factory hierarchy, becoming a leader among her coworkers. Despite being fired and then arrested, the determined Agnieszka teams with another disgruntled worker (Andrzej Chyra) to help form a union that will eventually lead to the fall of communism in her country and the rest of Eastern Europe in the 1980s.

Critics Reviews

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Joshua Land Time Out Rated: 3/5 Nov 17, 2011 Full Review Kevin Crust Los Angeles Times An inspiring tale of a small woman who stands tall in the face of injustice. Rated: 3.5/5 Jun 28, 2007 Full Review Peter Rainer Christian Science Monitor It's all a lot closer to melodrama than drama, but Thalbach is a dynamo. Rated: B- Jun 28, 2007 Full Review Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice A cinematic tribute to a genuine working-class hero whose courage and zeal for justice fueled the Solidarity Movement in Poland. Rated: 4/5 Jul 9, 2007 Full Review 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. Rated: C+ Jun 27, 2007 Full Review Maria Garcia Film Journal International Kudos to Schlndorff for celebrating the woman who sacrificed that glory for the greater good--and who continues to fight. Jun 25, 2007 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member If you like films centered around strong female leads who push for social justice and can't be quelled this is for you. It also does a fantastic job of showing an example of an ordinary person changing the world.Agnieszka Kowalska is proof that Fred Ross's observation that "an organizer is a social arsonist who goes around setting other people on fire," is true Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member If you are interested in the history of Polish shipyard workers who gave rise to the 1980s Solidarity movement, you want to watch this -- starting in 1961, the movie follows a female welder and the way she becomes disillusioned with the Socialist leadership, up to the 1980s strikes. In Polish, with subtitles, at times slow going. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Polish woman lauded as a worker's hero increasingly conflicts with the management where she works at the shipyards in Gdansk. Bio-pic outlines events for the decade leading up to the founding of Solidarity. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Jul 09 - I certainly expect more than a flat, shallow political drama from Schlondorff. It is an incredible story but making things into black and white only antagonizes me as a viewer. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Audience Member Good and interesting dramatic portrayal of the woman who's actions as a laborer at the shipyards in Poland helped launch the Solidarity movement, changing the face of the country and ultimately Eastern Europe. Decent acting and nice personal touches to fill in more of who the heroine really was. Worthwhile to watch if you are a fighter for social justice, a card carrying member of a union, inspired by women, or interested in the personal side of political movements. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/15/23 Full Review Audience Member Inspirational true account (but dramatized) about the heroine that started the shipyard strike that led the way to revolution. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Strike

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Movie Info

Synopsis Agnieszka Kowalska (Katharina Thalbach) is a barely educated single mother working as a welder in a drab shipyard in Gdansk, Poland. She overcomes adversity and moves her way up through the factory hierarchy, becoming a leader among her coworkers. Despite being fired and then arrested, the determined Agnieszka teams with another disgruntled worker (Andrzej Chyra) to help form a union that will eventually lead to the fall of communism in her country and the rest of Eastern Europe in the 1980s.
Director
Volker Schlöndorff
Producer
Jurgen Haase
Screenwriter
Andreas Pflueger, Sylke Rene Meyer
Genre
Drama
Original Language
German
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 15, 2007, Limited
Release Date (DVD)
Jul 1, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.9K
Runtime
1h 51m