The Peasants – talonpoikia

Hugh Welchman and DK Welchman (Dorota Kobiela), the directors of Loving Vincent, return to a confusingly fine technique of combining painting and theatrical film in their new film The Peasants. Each frame of the film – and there are 24 in each second – is individually painted by hand on top of the shot film. More than a hundred artists have done a huge amount of work. The end result is impressive and comes to life best on the big screen.

The film, which was widely awarded in Poland and nominated for an Oscar, is based on a Nobel Prize-winning novel. Its story takes place in the Polish countryside of the 19th century and tells of the independent and headstrong Jagna (Kamila Urzędowska), who confuses the heads of the men in the village. The traditional village community is not used to women deciding their own affairs, so Jagna finds herself surrounded by the richest man in the village as well as his son, and the target of women's gossip and slander.

Timo Kuismin