Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski

Struggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski is a documentary produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and his father George DiCaprio; George DiCaprio was a real friend of the forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, part of a circle that included artists like R. Crumb and Robert Williams. Leonardo DiCaprio has described Szukalski as a grandfather figure in his life. The sculptor's life was genuinely tragic: in September 1939 a Nazi bombing reduced his Warsaw studio to rubble, destroying nearly his entire life's work, and he himself was pulled from the wreckage alive two days later. The documentary also addresses Szukalski's prewar association with fascist circles and his antisemitic statements. Who it's for: anyone curious about a tragic and controversial artist biography that grew out of a real friendship with the DiCaprio family. Who it's not for: viewers wanting only a heroic portrait of the artist, since the documentary doesn't hide Szukalski's troubling past.