The Peasants: this oil-painted film of Władysław Reymont's novel is a visual masterpiece

By Katarzyna Zechenter, Associate Professor in Polish Literature and Culture, UCL

The Peasants tells the story of a beautiful young Polish girl, Jagna (Kamila Urzędowska), who was sold into a marriage to the richest man in the village – an older widower named Boryna (Mirosław Baka). The price is high – six acres of Boryna’s best land – but then, as Jagna’s mother knows: “Love comes and goes but land stays.” The girl herself, of course, does not matter and has no say.

Jagna’s story is based on Polish author Władysław Reymont’s novel, The Peasants, published in four volumes between…

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