STRIKE

I offer three good reasons to see Volker Schlöndorff's movie Strike. One is to acquaint oneself (or reacquaint oneself) with the story of the Polish workers union Solidarity. Another is to acquaint oneself (or reacquaint oneself) with the concept--thoroughly subverted in this country since the Reagan era--that workers can (and ought to) organize to counterbalance the influence of their bosses, for the good of all concerned.

The third reason to see Strike: Katharina Thalbach, the veteran actress who previously appeared in Schlöndorff's (very different) The Tin Drum. Thalbach's screen presence made me wonder if she had somehow become possessed by the spirit of Giulietta Masina. Her character Agnieszka, based on the real-life figure Anna Walentynowicz, is thoroughly earnest, thoroughly unglamorous, and thoroughly captivating.