Cinema
Ashes and Diamonds
Popiół i diament
Andrzej Wajda · 1958
Synopsis
On 8 May 1945, the day of the German capitulation, in a small provincial town, Maciek and Andrzej, fighters of the underground army, must kill Szczuka, the new Communist district secretary. Their ambush mistakenly kills two workers from a cement plant, and they are ordered to try again. While the victory banquet is being prepared at the Hotel Monopol, Maciek takes a room next to his target's and falls in love with Krystyna, the barmaid, who makes him doubt his mission.
Context
Adapted from the novel by Jerzy Andrzejewski, who wrote the screenplay with the director, the film shifts the centre of the book from the Communist secretary to the young killer, and cuts the plot of Judge Kossecki. It was photographed by Jerzy Wójcik; the assistant Janusz Morgenstern devised the glasses of burning alcohol in memory of the dead comrades. Released on 3 October 1958, it was kept out of the Cannes competition and then shown at Venice. It closes the director's war trilogy.
Who it is for
About a hundred minutes, in black and white, in Polish; a single night of celebration and violence, without it being necessary to know the Polish history of 1945.
Prizes and reception
Its author's masterpiece, which made Zbigniew Cybulski the emblem of his generation; International Critics' Prize at Venice.
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