The Peasants

Jagna grows up in a tight knit peasant community where love is limited by duty and fortune. When her circumstances push her into an arranged marriage with the prosperous but much older Boryna, she begins a life she did not choose, torn between the man she adores, Antek, and the security his family offers. As years pass, her assertive streak and refusal to be reduced to a mere wife draw whispers and scorn from neighbors who watch every move. The story follows Jagna as she steadfastly seeks space to decide her own path, balancing loyalty, family duty, and a stubborn hunger for independence within a world that prizes tradition above personal freedom.

An animated historical drama directed by Hugh Welchman and DK Welchman, it adapts Władysław Reymont's The Peasants with scripts by Kacper Lipiński and Paweł Mossakowski. The production brings Kamila Urzędowska as Jagna and Robert Gulaczyk as Antek to life, pairing studio craft with period detail and strong performances.

It grossed 10,064,347 worldwide against a budget of 7,475,000, signaling a solid reception for an European animated drama with a broad art house appeal. The numbers point to a healthy return on a clearly ambitious adaptation that drew cinephiles and fans of classic literature.

Critics have praised the film for its restrained, character driven storytelling that marries intimate emotion with a sweeping social panorama. The themes center on a woman's struggle for autonomy in a rigid peasant society, the cost of tradition, and the tension between personal longing and family duty. The animation's tactile textures and careful pacing help convey the era's hardships and the fragile balance between desire and responsibility.

This adaptation signals a growing appetite for filmic versions of classic literature rendered in contemporary animation. By foregrounding a female lead within a historical setting, it invites discussions about representation, gender, and peasant life on screen. Its visual language, blending realism with stylized sequences, may influence future adaptations and festival circuits seeking mature, thought provoking animation.