"Matka krolow" calls to mind Wajda's "Man of Marble" in that it incriminates the communist system of government only in an earlier period beginning in pre-war Poland and continuing to just after Stalin's death. The absurdity of official propaganda is made obvious and the nastiness of officials in a power play of who is in and out of favor, the Stalin period games within the ruling mob, which is deadly to at least one of the Krol brothers, is a major part of the story. The mother works and suffers hard through it all with head raised high. She is a survivor like Solzhenitsyn's Matriona ("Matriona's House"). Politics is beyond her. Family and friends is what matters even though one of her sons and and long time friend fail her in the end.
7.2Plot summary
Made in 1982, shelved for five years. Story opens with Lucja Krol's husband under the tram. She gives birth to her fourth son on the floor of their new apartment. Neighbor Wiktor, a communist intellectual, befriends the poverty-stricken family but is soon arrested and sent to jail. During the war Lucja narrowly escapes a Nazi roundup at the black market. Her sons hold ardent Communist meetings in their apartment, with her blessing. Lucja works hard, but without complaint. After the war, Klemens is inexplicably arrested, accused by the new regime of being a collaborator. Wiktor, now a high-ranking party member, trying to defend him, himself falls into disgrace. Klemens is tortured to "confess" and dies in jail, a Communist to the end. Lucja is never told about his fate.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN