Popiól i diament (1958)

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Writers:

Jerzy Andrzejewski (novel)
Jerzy Andrzejewski (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 May 1961 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

Maciek, a young Resistance fighter, is ordered to kill Szczuka, a Communist district leader, on the last day of World War II...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Killing | Resistance Fighter | Communist | Communist Party

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win

Cast

Zbigniew Cybulski	...	Maciek Chelmicki
Ewa Krzyzewska	...	Krystyna
Waclaw Zastrzezynski	...	Szczuka
Adam Pawlikowski	...	Andrzej
Bogumil Kobiela	...	Drewnowski
Jan Ciecierski	...	Portier
Stanislaw Milski	...	Pieniazek
Artur Mlodnicki	...	Kotowicz
Halina Kwiatkowska	...	Staniewiczowa
Ignacy Machowski	...	Waga
Zbigniew Skowronski	...	Slomka
Barbara Krafftówna	...	Stefka (as Barbara Kraftówna)
Aleksander Sewruk	...	Swiecki
Zofia Czerwinska	...	Barmaid Lili
Wiktor Grotowicz	...	Franek Pawlicki (as W. Grotowicz)

Also Known As:

Ashes and Diamonds (USA)
Popiół i diament (Poland)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Argentina:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Zespól Filmowy "Kadr"

Trivia:

The entire film takes place over two days, May 8th and 9th 1945.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Maciek is running away from Drewnowski and then the Russian soldiers, a train above them passes by. In one shot it is going to the left of the screen. Then in the next shot it is going to the right, then to the left again.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Charming Billy (1999)

Post -war Poland

I have seen this film several times and often I asked myself how the director Andrzej Wajda was allowed to film something that clearly shows the corruption of the new governing bodies in post-war Poland. This is a film of 1958, i.e. Poland well occupied by the Soviet troops and only 2 years after the Hungarian massacre. The acting of already disappeared Zbigniew Cybulski as Maciek is really impressive and reminds me to some extent James Dean playing "Rebel without a Cause". The personality of Maciek is difficult to understand if one ignores the suffering of Polish people during the war. Once this bloody confrontation finishes the Soviet came over and put their loyal people in the important posts of the government. The fact is that those soviet loyalists were not the appropriate ones, often corrupted and looking to climb for better position. The presence of the Soviet officers in the official parties and ceremonies was very common and this can also be well seen. Ewa Krzyzewska plays the role of a young lady working in a restaurant,she wants to live and to love, but even her dreams cannot become a reality. The film draws what was then wrong in Poland and how wrong the people felt and behave. Maciek is used by an anticommunist violent movement, in fact he wants to live differently, to stop fighting, to live and to love too. This film is really one of the classic of the filmography of Eastern Europe under the domination of the Soviets.