Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
Director: Irek Dobrowolski
Year Released: 2018
Rating: 2.0
Collector/publisher Glenn Bray just happens to discover a rare book of sculptures by Polish-born artist Stanisław Szukalski and then finds out he lives near him in California (!), so he goes to meet him and they become friends ... and then he finds out about Szukalski's early days in the Chicago art scene ... and the man's troubled history in his own homeland, where he was involved with anti-Semitic writings. While I think his sculptures and paintings are interesting - he definitely was talented - the documentary gets a tad too close to idol worship for my liking: the camera examines the works of Szukalski that still exist (many were destroyed in the war) by swooping around them fetishistically and the interviewees are all-too eager to say he's as good as Rodin (or are they trying to increase the value of the pieces they own?). It gets a little vague when it comes to exactly what its subject was doing in Poland pre-WWII, and it humors his crazy interest in what he called "Zermatism," some L. Ron Hubbard-ish 'belief' about Yetis impregnating women on Easter Island. Feel free to consult the DSM.
