Ash and diamond

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Movie
German title Ash and diamond
Original title Popiół i diament
Country of production Poland
original language Polish
Publishing year 1958
length 97 minutes
Rod
Director Andrzej Wajda
script Jerzy Andrzejewski
Andrzej Wajda
production Film studio Kadr
music Filip Nowak
Michał Kleofas Ogiński
camera Jerzy Wójcik
cut Halina Nawrocka
occupation

Ashes and Diamond is a Polish feature film by Andrzej Wajda from 1958. The film was based on the novel of the same name by Jerzy Andrzejewski .

action

The film is set on May 8, 1945 in a small town in Poland. Germany capitulated that day and the Second World War ended in Europe. Maciek and Andrzej are soldiers of the Polish Home Army . After the fight against the German occupiers, they are now fighting against the communists who are seizing rule in Poland. They are given the job of killing the communist party secretary Szczuka. The first attack fails. Instead of Szczuka, two civilians are killed. The two get a second chance. This time they are supposed to kill Szczuka in the leading hotel in town. A big celebration for the future minister and current mayor of the town is being organized in this Hotel Monopol. Drewnowski's secretary is responsible for this task. He was there when the first attack occurred, and it turns out he's a double agent. Maciek hooks up with the barmaid Krystyna in the hotel. You spend a night of love and walk through the place. Eventually they come to a bombed-out church, where Krystyna discovers a poem by Norwid . The place is badly damaged by an act of revenge by the Germans after the Warsaw uprising . Maciek discovers the bodies of the civilians he killed in a crypt. He remembers his assignment and sets out to do it. In the city he meets Szczuka and shoots him. When Szczuka falls dead, fireworks begin in honor of the war that has ended.

The next day Maciek meets his friend Andrzej. They want to leave town with a truck. When they see Drewnowski, Maciek suspects treason. Drewnowski lost his position as secretary that night and wants to warn them. Maciek, however, flees and runs into the arms of a patrol. He is shot and dies in a garbage dump.

Reviews

"Andrzej Wajda depicts the national tragedy of Poland full of bitterness and tragic irony in a masterful cinematic design."

Awards

Andrzej Wajda and his leading actor Zbigniew Cybulski also received a nomination for the British Film Academy Award in 1960 . Wajda in the Best Film category and Cybulski in the Best Foreign Actor category. Also in 1960, the leading actress Ewa Krzyżewska was awarded the Étoile de Cristal in France for best foreign actress.

literature

  • Muzaffer Kirgiz (comp.): Asche und Diamant, in film locations VSETH & VSU Ed .: Science Fiction. - Andrzej Wajda. Documentation. Association of Students at the University of VSU, Zurich 1990, without ISBN, pp. 30–33 (further references)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Ashes and Diamond. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used