Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski

You sometimes come by a curious documentary where you wonder: Who is that? What is this about? Do I want to watch it? Will it be worth my time? Or maybe you just take a look here on imdb and you're like, let's give it a shot. And you discover a man who's quite out there. Very crazy, very discomforting and someone you will most likely hate too ... but that's the deal, right? Whatever you think of him, he did it his way.

And it couldn't have been that wrong, having a documentary out now. And a really insightful and good one at that. Many interviews, many soundbites and a lot of fun with quite a bit of controversy mixed in for good measure. Not everything he said will play well with audiences ... but that's just how it is

Holiday means binge #netflixing :) highly recommend the documentary about Stanislav Szukalski, who reminds me of Howard Roark in Fountainhead. Now I have to see his work.

Who knew? I definitely did not. A hidden gem of a man. A mind free of influence. One who was allowed to do whatever he wanted. He followed his heart and passion. He learned as he went along in art and life. Big thank you to DiCaprio Sr. and Jr. Perhaps movie about Enigma/Rejewski next? Hint.

Loved this documentary. I always like seeing the hidden messages in movies and documentaries and this was full of gems. If you can go beyond some of the subtle dogma in the film (where it gets into the whole anti-Semitic stuff that got brought up from a judgmental point of view, showing the film-maker's bias rather than just reporting on what happened as a slice of life and letting the viewers form their own opinions about it - which really wasn't necessary and probably the only thing that took away from the film), perhaps one of the best things that can be learned from watching came from what Szulalski had to say about sourcing your own unique genius in the world. . . don't listen to anyone else or model your life off of what someone else has already done, but rather discover the answers inside of yourself. The guy was a brilliant thinker . . .kind of reminded me a little of Buckminster Fuller in a way. We can see it led to a very challenging life as portrayed in the film (but then again, whose life isn't challenging in this regard and considering this - why not go for making the biggest bold statement as possible in the world). Definitely worth a watch.

This is a multilayered documentary; it's a story of a brilliant artist but also of complexity of human nature and how it transforms if exposed to different events. Szukalski is no doubt a great artist but he is a human foremost with all the vices and virtues, a very interesting human with amazing imagination and very unusual outlook on life and all its aspects. I like the way the focus shifted from lighthearted narrating in the beginning to more serious aspects of life and its meanders in later stages of the movie followed by a very moving end. It is definitely worth watching.