Ashes and Diamonds

Ashes and Diamonds

1958 · 103 min · PL · 7.5 (204 votes)
Dir. Andrzej Wajda · Starring Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyżewska, Wacław Zastrzeżynski, Adam Pawlikowski, Bogumił Kobiela, Jan Ciecierski

Touched with the fire and rebellion of a new generation of Polish film makers

DramaRomanceWar

A young academy soldier, Maciek Chelmicki, is ordered to shoot the secretary of the KW PPR. A coincidence causes him to kill someone else. Meeting face to face with his victim, he gets a shock. He faces the necessity of repeating the assassination. He meets Krystyna, a girl working as a barmaid in the restaurant of the "Monopol" hotel. His affection for her makes him even more aware of the senselessness of killing at the end of the war. Loyalty to the oath he took, and thus the obligation to obey the order, tips the scales.

VIBE

A stark, operatic tragedy of doomed love and political violence. This black and white masterpiece feels like a fever dream of post-war chaos, where every choice carries devastating weight. It's a profound, unforgettable experience.

melancholicintensetragicbroodingsteadyCriterion Collectionblack and whitewartime dramaoperaticdutyloveviolencefate
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polish resistancesoviet militaryblack and whitepost warpost world war iipost-war poland
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