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Andrzej Wajda’s film follows a filmmaker investigating how a bricklayer became a state-sponsored symbol. Its documentary-like methods make the act of telling Birkut’s story part of the story itself.
All times are local to the venue · America/Chicago
The filmmaker at the center of Man of Marble is trying to uncover what happened to Matuesz Birkut, a bricklayer promoted as a worker hero in the Soviet-controlled 1950s. But her investigation takes place in the 1970s, amid government censorship, and the film keeps its own camera-work in view: the search for a public figure becomes a study of how public memory is made.
In the 1970s, a woman making a documentary tries to trace the fate of Matuesz Birkut, the bricklayer whose public profile was fashioned in the Soviet-controlled 1950s. Because the inquiry is itself being filmed, the search unfolds alongside the process of assembling its evidence, making the film’s account of the past part of what viewers assess.
Wajda blends documentary presentation, documentary-like construction and fiction. The event listing invokes Citizen Kane as a comparison; the mix also draws attention to the choices by which cinema gives shape to a nation’s history, its myths and its stories about itself.
Further reading: Man of Marble in Chicago at Music Box Theatre ↗
The story sets Birkut’s celebrated image against the forces that produced it, inviting scrutiny of how a bricklayer came to stand for an official ideal of labor. The listing also connects the film to the worker strikes of 1980 and Solidarity’s emergence, developments it says the film anticipated.
Credits list Andrzej Wajda as director and Aleksander Scibor-Rylski as writer; the listed cast includes Krystyna Janda, Jerzy Radziwilowicz and Tadeusz Lomnicki.
Further reading: Man of Marble in Chicago at Music Box Theatre ↗
The listing offers a single screening of Wajda’s Man of Marble. Its focus is not only Birkut’s story, but also the filmmaker’s attempt to investigate it under censorship.
Man of Marble is listed for Saturday, November 21, 2026, at 11:15 a.m. The event listing gives no runtime or end time.
The event page lists tickets at $10, $11 and $13 but does not explain what determines the price or whether fees apply. It directs ticket buyers to the Music Box booking page.
The screening is listed at Music Box Theatre, 3733 North Southport, Chicago, IL.
Man of Marble in Chicago at Music Box Theatre ↗ · Music Box Theatre, Upcoming Events in Chicago on Do312 ↗
The CTA Brown Line’s Southport station is about 0.3 miles from the theater. Nearby bus corridors include the #152 Addison and #77 Belmont; the #9 Ashland runs a few blocks west.
Metered street parking is available on Southport. The venue profile says additional free street parking is typically available on and west of Ashland Avenue and north of Irving Park Road. Music Box Theatre has no dedicated parking lot.
The listed start time is 11:15 a.m. on Saturday, November 21, 2026. No runtime or end time is provided.
The event page lists $10, $11 and $13 tickets but does not say what determines the price or whether fees apply.
The Brown Line’s Southport station is about 0.3 miles away. Nearby bus routes listed by the venue profile are #152 Addison and #77 Belmont; #9 Ashland runs a few blocks west.
There is no dedicated theater lot. Metered street parking is available on Southport, with additional free street parking typically available on and west of Ashland Avenue and north of Irving Park Road.
3733 North Southport, Chicago, IL
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Images from the linked sources. Each caption identifies the context of the image.
Event, planning and background information checked 2026-11-02 against the linked sources.