Krystyna Zachwatowicz Movies

The futility of war was one of Polish director Andrzej Wajda's major themes, and he explored it from nearly every perspective imaginable, using storytelling styles which range from the strictly commercial to those focusing more on symbolic imagery. As this film opens it is 1939, and war seems to be only a distant possibility to a group of vacationing young Polish Lithuanians who are seen greeting their Lithuanian Catholic and Jewish neighbors respectfully. In particular, Witek, a young man hoping to pass his final exams so as to begin university study, is having a bit of a lark, attempting to woo a lovely fellow student, and braving a shotgun blast from her protective father. He and his fellows are full of foolhardy and pompous talk about war and death. Meanwhile, Polish troops are mobilizing to fight the Germans, and the impending storm of war overshadows everything. One of the most idyllic scenes of young love ever committed to film (in the opinion of one reviewer) graces this film, and the story closes just as the war is beginning in earnest. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The first of Polish director Andrzej Wajda's two "Solidarity" films, Man of Marble (originally Czlowiek z Marmuru) concerns bricklayer Mateusz Birkut (Jerzy Radziwilowicz). Lauded as a national hero in the 1950s due to his skills at his trade, Birkut has inexplicably fallen into obscurity. In making a film of the bricklayer's life, documentary director Agnieszka (Krystyna Janda) discovers that the bricklayer used his sudden fame to become involved in labor politics -- whereupon the repressive government did its best to wipe out all traces of his accomplishments. This climactic revelation was, ironically, excised by the Polish censors when Man of Marble was first released. Director Wajda followed this film with Man of Iron, which traced the further political exploits of director Agnieszka and her husband, the son of the unfortunate bricklayer -- also played by Jerzy Radziwilowicz. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 1976 Polish Film Festival, this drama from director Andrzej Wajda was based on the short story The Shadow Line by Joseph Conrad. The film tells the story of a young man who tries his best to helm a foundering boat bound for Singapore. Not only is the boat itself in rough shape, but many of the passengers are suffering from a highly contagious disease. A 28-year-old Tom Wilkinson of The Full Monty and In the Bedroom appears in his first onscreen role. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

One of the most important figures in the Polish cinema, director Andrzej Wajda, teams up with the nation's most famous filmmaking expatriate, Roman Polanski, in this light comedy based on a perennially popular stage farce by Aleksandr Fredo. Czesnik (Janusz Gajos) and Rejent (Andrzej Seweryn) are the combative scions of two prominent families fallen on hard times, both of whom have the poor fortune of having homes which share a common courtyard. Czesnik's niece Klara (Agata Buzek) has fallen in love with Waclaw (Rafal Krolikowski), Rejent's son. However, Rejent has promised his son to Podstolina (Katarzyna Figura), a beautiful widow who has attracted Czesnik's eye. Meanwhile, Papkin (Roman Polanski), a former nobleman short on both cash and courage, hopes to wed Klara, but as a neutral party in the feud between the two clans, Klara thinks she might be able to use Papkin for her own purposes to bring her together with Waclaw. A major box-office hit in Poland, Zemsta marked the first time Wajda and Polanski had worked together since Pokolenie in 1952. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi