Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski
2018 · 104 min · Director: Ireneusz Dobrowolski, Irek Dobrowolski
Show plot summary (may contain spoilers)
In old Betamax footage, the Polish-American artist Stanislav Szukalski (1893-1987) speaks animatedly about his life and work. Art aficionado Glenn Bray filmed his elderly friend in the last years of his life to document his remarkable career and personality before it was too late. In this wide-ranging portrait, Bray explains how he met Szukalski by chance in 1971 when he came across one of his expressionist drawings and discovered that its maker lived only a few miles away from him. The man leading a modest, anonymous life in Burbank, California turned out to have been a well-known avant-garde artist in Chicago and pre-war Poland. Szukalski created a mythology entirely of his own in his drawings and paintings, as well as an extensive manuscript. After his return to the United States, a group of artists and art lovers gathered around Szukalski, among them George DiCaprio and his son Leonardo, who jointly produced this documentary. The interviews and archive footage tell the extraordinary life story of a man who seemed to have been born for great things, but who lost virtually all his artwork in the Second World War. His past also includes a dark chapter that the filmmakers didn't discover until their documentary was in production.
Emotional fingerprint
Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018) — Movie. Top emotional signals: Awe 30%, Inspiration 25%, Curiosity 20%. Source: AI estimate. Shares describe emotional signal, not percentages of people. Your experience may differ. How we measure
- Awe30%
- Inspiration25%
- Curiosity20%
- Empathy15%
- Nostalgia10%
AI estimate · no viewer votes yet
How we measure
AI estimate
Share of emotional signal, not the percentage of people or a probability of enjoyment.
Each viewer contributes one response, split equally across their selected emotions. When available, an automated estimate supplies a prior that is blended with those responses. Counts include distinct viewers, not automated estimates or archived anonymous votes. Fewer than 3 viewers is an early estimate; more responses do not guarantee certainty.
Why it feels this way
The strongest emotional signals are Awe, Inspiration, Curiosity. Genres: Documentary, Biography. AI estimate.
Is it worth watching?
Consider this title if you are looking for Awe, Inspiration and Curiosity. Its IMDb rating of 7.9/10 suggests a generally positive audience reception. For these leading emotions, its Feel Score is 73/100.
How did it make you feel?
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Pick up to three · 0/3
Emotional journey
- Sadness
- Empathy
- Curiosity
Not enough subtitle evidence
No dominant emotion
Dominant emotion: Curiosity
Dominant emotion: Sadness
Dominant emotion: Disturbing
Dominant emotion: Empathy
Dominant emotion
| % | Approximate minute | Dominant emotion | Overall intensity | Sadness | Empathy | Curiosity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5 % | ≈ 3′ | Curiosity | 52 % | 13 % | 20 % | 58 % |
| 7.5 % | ≈ 8′ | Curiosity | 53 % | 13 % | 23 % | 59 % |
| 12.5 % | ≈ 13′ | Curiosity | 51 % | 9 % | 22 % | 56 % |
| 17.5 % | ≈ 18′ | Curiosity | 52 % | 14 % | 26 % | 52 % |
| 22.5 % | ≈ 23′ | Sadness | 54 % | 24 % | 34 % | 51 % |
| 27.5 % | ≈ 29′ | Curiosity | 51 % | 24 % | 37 % | 50 % |
| 32.5 % | ≈ 34′ | Curiosity | 49 % | 23 % | 38 % | 47 % |
| 37.5 % | ≈ 39′ | Curiosity | 49 % | 18 % | 32 % | 47 % |
| 42.5 % | ≈ 44′ | Curiosity | 50 % | 14 % | 22 % | 51 % |
| 47.5 % | ≈ 49′ | Curiosity | 49 % | 17 % | 21 % | 50 % |
| 52.5 % | ≈ 55′ | Curiosity | 53 % | 18 % | 20 % | 48 % |
| 57.5 % | ≈ 60′ | Disturbing | 66 % | 34 % | 29 % | 42 % |
| 62.5 % | ≈ 65′ | Disturbing | 80 % | 64 % | 55 % | 31 % |
| 67.5 % | ≈ 70′ | Sadness | 83 % | 79 % | 72 % | 27 % |
| 72.5 % | ≈ 75′ | Sadness | 75 % | 66 % | 61 % | 36 % |
| 77.5 % | ≈ 81′ | Curiosity | 69 % | 52 % | 46 % | 46 % |
| 82.5 % | ≈ 86′ | Sadness | 69 % | 54 % | 52 % | 40 % |
| 87.5 % | ≈ 91′ | Empathy | 72 % | 61 % | 67 % | 30 % |
| 92.5 % | ≈ 96′ | Sadness | 80 % | 73 % | 77 % | 21 % |
| 97.5 % | ≈ 101′ | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence | Not enough subtitle evidence |
Riches to rags
Rags to riches: The emotional tone rises from negative to positive.
Riches to rags: The emotional tone falls from positive to negative.
Man in a hole: The tone falls, then recovers.
Icarus: The tone rises, then falls.
Cinderella: The tone rises, falls, then rises again.
Oedipus: The tone falls, rises, then falls again.
AI reading of the film’s English subtitles (dialogue and sound cues) — not viewer votes. How we measure ↗
Kadri — your film companion
AIAsk anything about Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski. From the film’s own dialogue and FeelDB data, at your spoiler level.
Afterward Reveal viewer responses · may contain spoilers
Viewer responses about feelings after the title ended, separate from feelings while watching. No AI estimates.
0 responses so far
Feeling details appear after at least 3 viewers respond, to protect privacy.
Cast
Self (archive footage)
Self - Artist
Self - Artist, Writer, Distributor
Self - Painter (archive footage)
Self - Sculptor
Self - Sculptor
Self - Director, National Museum in Warsaw
Self - Art Collector
Self - Actress
Self - Artist
Self - Artist and Musician
Self - Sculptor
Self - Sculptor
Self - Writer
Self - Artist
Self - Professor of History
Self - Szukalski Biographer
Self - Art Historian
Details
- Directed by
- Ireneusz Dobrowolski, Irek Dobrowolski
- Written by
- Ireneusz Dobrowolski, Stephen Cooper
- Type
- Movies
- Released
- 2018
- Runtime
- 104 min
- Country
- Poland, United States
- Genres
- Documentary, Biography
- Ratings
- Feels mostly
- Awe
- Data updated
Where to watch
Feels similar
More like this →Emotion overlap shows mood similarity, not a prediction of enjoyment.
