Popiół i diament – Ashes and Diamonds (1958) dir. Andrzej Wajda
Ashes and Diamonds is the only example of the ‘Polish Film School’ I’ve seen so far. The Khrushchev Thaw and the rise in Polish nationalism and liberalization of society created sort of a mess of the political situation. The mess is recreated in Ashes and Diamonds as Zbigniew Cybulski wanders through the ruins of churches and factories, the rubble still left over from World War II.
Cybulski is a rebel who wishes he were without a cause. He’s a hit man for the Home Army, taking down communists. But he doesn’t understand how killing his target will change anything, and his commanding officer doesn’t seem to either.
He gets the wrong man and sees the unfortunate’s fiance mourn. He falls for a pretty bar maid named Krystyna. Can he leave the aimless war of the past and live his own life?
Perhaps three decades later he’d have a different ending.
Ashes and Diamonds is #126 on the Top 1000 Films list I’m working on. I’ve now seen 371.
