Karen Han

The bulk of “Struggle” is built upon a series of interviews with Szukalski, filmed in the 1980s by collector Glenn Bray. Bray had come across a book of Szukalski’s sculptures and paintings and, by happy coincidence, discovered that the artist actually lived nearby. As they became acquainted, it became clear that Szukalski’s situation at the time — living anonymously in California — obscured the fame he had achieved in his youth, as well as his view of himself as something of a genius.

But with the good came the bad, including evidence of past bigotry and anti-Semitism. Some protest — as Szukalski himself does — that he reformed. Others, including his one-time friend George DiCaprio (who with his son, Leonardo, is a producer on the film), came to find his past actions unforgivable.

The interviews are largely with those who would still count Szukalski as a friend, but Dobrowolski’s opinions on his subject aren’t obvious, even if he is helping to rescue the artist from oblivion. (Szukalski’s works were mostly destroyed in World War II.) Still, for Bray, George DiCaprio and others who knew Szukalski in his final years, their struggle with his past is deeply personal. They effectively become subjects themselves, grappling with how he ought to be remembered. The viewer is left to decide.

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‘Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski’ is not rated. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes.

This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/26/movies/struggle-the-life-and-lost-art-of-szukalski-review.html" id="14aa5740-e19a-35ec-a6a0-9148e6db4bf6">The New York Times</a>.

A title like “Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski” suggests a breadth and depth that’s difficult to live up to, which makes it all the more remarkable that this Netflix documentary by Irek Dobrowolski manages to deliver. In addition to painting a comprehensive (and startlingly intimate) portrait of Polish artist Stanislav Szukalski, who died in 1987, the film wrestles with questions about whether and how art can be separated from the artist.

'Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski' Review: A Sharp Look at a Tangled Legacy

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Karen Han

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'Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski' Review: A Sharp Look at a Tangled Legacy