MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for Wałesa: Man of Hope

Wałesa: Man of Hope

2013 · 127 min

A sweeping, earnest historical drama that immerses you in the grit and hope of a workers' uprising, anchored by a charismatic central performance.

Directed by
Andrzej Wajda
Genres
Drama, History
Starring
Robert Więckiewicz, Agnieszka Grochowska, Maria Rosaria Omaggio
Overview
How was it possible that a single man influenced contemporary world so significantly? This film is an attempt to capture the phenomenon of a common man’s metamorphosis into a charismatic leader — an attempt to see how a Gdansk shipyard electrician fighting for workers’ rights awakened a hidden desire for freedom in millions of people.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Rent in the UK
  • Amazon Video
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Andrzej Wajda
Genres
Drama, History
Starring
Robert Więckiewicz, Agnieszka Grochowska, Maria Rosaria Omaggio
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • upliftingstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 1 of 3
  • tensestrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • power
  • freedom
  • class
  • politics
  • betrayal
Places
  • workplace
  • big city
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action3
Horror1
Humour2
Realism8
Romance2
Tension5
Darkness5
Complexity6
Emotional weight7

More like this

Titles like Wałesa: Man of Hope

Movie

Danton

1983

A somber, talk-heavy historical drama that builds quiet dread through political maneuvering and the looming threat of the guillotine.

Same director: Andrzej Wajda · About power and betrayal · true story

Also
Same director: Andrzej Wajda
Via
  • power
  • betrayal
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
demanding
Runtime
136 min
Details
DantonHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Afterimage

2016

A somber, slow-burn portrait of artistic integrity under oppression, watching a proud man endure bureaucratic cruelty with quiet defiance.

Same writer: Andrzej Wajda · Earnest · about power and politics · true story

Also
Same writer: Andrzej Wajda
Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • politics
  • true story
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
98 min
Details
AfterimageHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Possible Love

2026

A slow, quietly devastating watch that sits with you, full of raw emotion and uncomfortable truths.

Earnest · about power and class

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • class
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
165 min
Details
Possible LoveHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

No

2012

A wry, low-lit procedural about selling hope under a dictatorship, tense yet oddly buoyant, shot to look like grainy 1980s videotape.

Earnest · about power and freedom · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • freedom
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
118 min
Details
NoHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Red Beast

2026

A sober, talk-heavy historical drama of ideals and infighting, carrying the weight of a movement tearing itself apart.

Earnest · about power and class · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • class
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
111 min
Details
Red BeastHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Kapodistrias: The Governor

2025

A stately, serious historical chronicle that asks patience and rewards it with weighty conviction.

Earnest · about power and freedom · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • freedom
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
128 min
Details
Kapodistrias: The GovernorHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

De Gaulle: Résistance

2026

A tense, weighty historical drama that immerses you in the desperate resolve of one man against the collapse of his nation.

Earnest · about power and freedom · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • freedom
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
160 min
Details
De Gaulle: RésistanceHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Young Karl Marx

2017

A talky, earnest historical drama that immerses you in the intellectual ferment and political repression of the 1840s.

Earnest · about power and class · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • class
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
118 min
Details
The Young Karl MarxHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

A solemn, slow-moving historical drama that feels like a staged lesson in political conviction, with moments of genuine tension and loss.

Earnest · about power and class · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • class
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
124 min
Details
Ernst Thälmann – Son of the Working ClassHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Der Aufstand

2003

A sober, earnest historical reconstruction that builds quiet tension as ordinary workers confront a state that answers with tanks.

About power and freedom · true story

Via
  • power
  • freedom
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Details
Der AufstandHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Penn sardines

2004

A grounded, quietly stirring period drama that immerses you in the grit and solidarity of working-class struggle.

Earnest · about power and class · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • class
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
100 min
Details
Penn sardinesHidden from your suggestions.
Short film

Tank Man

2019

A tense, earnest short that plays like a solemn tribute, carrying the weight of a single act of defiance.

Earnest · about power and freedom · true story

Via
  • earnest
  • power
  • freedom
  • true story
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
14 min
Details
Tank ManHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Rent
  • Amazon Video
Buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history
Directed by
Andrzej Wajda
Written by
Janusz Głowacki
Starring
Robert Więckiewicz, Agnieszka Grochowska, Maria Rosaria Omaggio, Katarzyna Ankudowicz, Barbara Babilińska, Mirosław Baka, Waldemar Barwiński, Iwona Bielska
Music
Paweł Mykietyn
Cinematography
Paweł Edelman
Runtime
127 min
Country
Poland
Languages
Italian, Polish

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata