In their follow-up to the first-ever film entirely animated in oil paintings, D.K Welchman and Hugh Welchman return to the style with a more unknown period piece. The Peasants takes a look at a 19th-century Polish farming village and, more specifically, a young woman named Jagna. Sought after by the men in the village, Jagna finds herself at the mercy of those who hold power over her, leading to dire consequences.
Based on Wladslaw Reymont’s Nobel prize-winning novel, The Peasants takes place through four different seasons. Each shows a different side of this quaint, farming village whose strong personalities from mistresses, wives, gossips, farmhands, mayors, mothers, and rich farmers all have a say over what happens in Jagna’s life, even when she wants to have autonomy in her quest for love and happiness.
The film is still stunning. While I can understand not being a fan of this rotoscoped animation, it’s clear that they shot most of this in live action and painted over it. (In fact, one scene is basically shot in a stylized form of live action.) Still, there’s no denying the hard work put into it and how breathtaking some of the shots in the movies are in the end. Many kinetic sequences play out alongside some really well-composed and energetic folk music, creating some stunning scenes that display the passion and joy being felt by the characters. The story also has a solid set which wraps up very well. The conflict is not unfamiliar but it is layered, creating some interesting character choices that keep you invested. The characters do feel a little stilted and you don’t get a greater sense of who they’re as people.
Admittedly, Jagna feels very familiar as a beautiful young woman who has little agency over her life and, therefore, feels like a very passive protagonist. Any choices that she does make are always done–and then undone–by the people in her life. Now, this may be on purpose to show how little control she has over her life and reveal the tragedy of that but it makes her struggles as a protagonist harder to connect with, stillting many scenes of the film that sometimes seem to drag on too long. Some of the conflicts feel repetitive (and this may be due to the book it’s based on) but it’s important to recognize what you need to edit when it comes to adapting.
The Peasants is now playing at TIFF ’23. For more information, click here.
