Lech J. Majewski managed to find a niche for his artistic cinema in the West, which does not shy away from commercial projects. As the director admitted himself in a conversation with Tadeusz Sobolewski (Kino, no 12/1992), Prisoner of Rio is the sole exception, or rather concession to popular cinema. And yet, Majewski's own vision of poetic and metaphysical cinema has gained him popularity among audiences. Wojaczek, Angelus, and The Garden of Earthly Delights were met with enthusiastic reception. In an interview by Dagmara Romanowska, (Kino, November 5, 2001) Majewski claimed:
I am only trying to make films in line with my desires… Some of my films, e.g. The Gospel According to Harry, have not found their own audience, while others, like 'Wojaczek' have enjoyed great popularity all over the world.
His next production was entitled The Mill and the Cross. It is a film adaptation of a book by the same title written by art critic Michael Gibson, which is devoted to Peter Bruegel's painting Procession to Calvary. However, the film is more than an adaptation. It is a precise and detailed reconstruction of the painting itself which literally revives before the viewers' very eyes. The film, starring such acclaimed actors as Michael York and Rutger Hauer, is set in the director's hometown, Katowice, Kraków-Częstochowa Upland and Wieliczka. The production has already been completed. The computer technology made it possible for clouds filmed in New Zealand to roll over the Polish landscape, which imitates Flanders from Bruegel's painting. The Mill and the Cross has been a challenge for Lech Majewski in terms of technology. The film requires the usage of complex computer technologies and 3D animation. Dagmara Drzazga's documentary film Lech Majewski świat według Bruegla (Lech Majewski's World According to Bruegel) (2009) unveils part of the mystery behind the film's production. In the documentary, Majewski also discusses the motive for his work: it is an attempt to reinterpret the painting from the contemporary perspective. The suffering of crucified Christ is juxtaposed with the suffering of Flanders oppressed by Spain in the 16th century. (A few years earlier, in 2006, Drzazga devoted her other documentary to Lech Majewski entitled Lecha Majewskiego podróże w głąb siebie / Lech Majewski's Inner Journeys).
Majewski’s next film is an attempt at a dialogue with an age-old masterpiece, too. His Onirica, inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, is the story of a thirty-year-old man trying to come to terms with the death of his best friend and beloved girlfriend. As the only survivor of the accident, Adam uses every opportunity to fall asleep, even for a little while. Dreams are his way of escaping – they’re a cure for his psyche damaged by the accident and the only possibility for Adam to meet his deceased loved ones – his girlfriend, father and friend.
This film, woven with oneiric visions, is a narrative about searching for meaning in a world bereft of hope. When Onirica was first presented on Gdynia Film Festival, the critics appreciated the power of the vivid imagery, but reproved Majewski for pretentious dialogues and intellectual kitschiness. The director created highly metaphorical and multifaceted images, bringing the classics of painting and philosophy to mind. The Biblical motifs and references to Heidegger’s works became a part of the story about getting accustomed to despair, and among the historic events the director alludes to, the viewer can find the Smoleńsk tragedy of 2010.
In 2016 Majewski will start shooting another film – Valley of the Gods, which is going to tell the story of the richest man in the world. In an interview for Gazeta Wyborcza Majewski said:
I call this film a contemporary fairy tale for grown-ups. Everything started with the Hittite legend about Ullikummi, according to which two mountains begot a rock – half man, half god. This legend’s paraphrase occurs in many cultures, including the beliefs of the Navajo Indians. But there’s also another thread to this film, namely the story of the richest man in the world, for whom money is an abstraction. In some sense it’s a contemporary version of 'Citizen Kane'.
Filming will take place in Poland, the US, and Italy. The international cast involves many great cinema stars and actors known from outstanding films, including Charlotte Rampling, the British actress shortlisted for an Oscar for a leading role in Andrew Haigh’s 45 Years, Josh Hartnett (known from Pearl Harbor), John Rhys-Davies (who starred in Lord of the Rings), Keir Dullea – the unforgettable David Bowman in Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Bérénice Marlohe (known from Skyfall directed by Sam Mendes).
Having made the exuberant The Eccentrics…, Majewski moved on to a more low-key project – the documentary Ostatni Klezmer (2017, The Last Klezmer, trans. NS) about the life and work of Leopold Kozłowski, a Jewish musician who died in 2019. In his long and fruitful career Kozłowski worked as the musical director of the Jewish Theatre in Warsaw, organised and gave Jewish music concerts, composed the music to Jerzy Kawalerowicz's classic film Austeria, performed in Spielberg's Schindler's List as well as consulted music for the film, and prepared a Polish version of Fiddler on the Roof. Kozłowski, a survivor of the Shoah, tirelessly cultivated the musical traditions of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe, giving his audiences an opportunity to discover a mesmerising heritage that was nearly annihilated.
Majewski shot another feature film in 2019. He decided to bring to life his own novel – the 2016 crime book Black Mercedes. The plot story is set during World War II. As the director explained in an interview for the web portal Onet, he strived to tell a story that would not be anything like the tales of martyrdom. Black Mercedes tells a completely fictional story about murder. Majewski added:
Even during the war, life is not limited to fear and hunger. To survive, people had to do everything it took to make life seem at least a little bit normal. People loved, hated and committed crimes, including impulsive murders completely unrelated to the war. Regardless of the millions dying on fronts, such events simply must have happened.
A versatile artist, Majewski also started to write in his later years. He began with two volumes of memoirs, then went on to write fiction. Some of his novels are either based on scripts or were later adapted to scripts by the director himself.