Gustaw Holoubek Movies

A lavish historical epic that (on a budget of $8.5 million) was the most expensive Polish film ever at the time of its release, Ogniem I Mieczem/With Fire and Sword is based on a classic Polish novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz concerning political and social turmoil from 1647 to 1649. Cossacks are waiting to strike Poland on the Eastern border that neighbors the Ukraine, the nearby Tartars and Turks are waiting for the opportunity to attack Europe, and the Polish ruling class is busy feuding among themselves. A daring Pole named Jan Skrzetuski (Michal Zebrowski), meanwhile, is vying for the hand of beautiful Helena Kurcewicz (Izabella Scorupco, best known for her role in the James Bond film Goldeneye), against heavy competition from Ukranian Bohun (Alexandr Domogarov), to whom she is already engaged. Helena's aunt and guardian, however, cancels the wedding plans, and an enraged Bohun attempts to kidnap her. One of Jan's associates, Zagloba (Krysztof Kowalewski), foils the plot and whisks her away to the Castle of Bar, but Bohun is not to be denied; he storms the castle, taking Helena and leaving Jan and his men to find her, just as the Cossacks and the Tartars have joined forces to sack the nation. Ogniem I Mieczem/With Fire and Sword was the first in a trilogy of novels by Sienkiewicz, but, ironically, was the last to be filmed by director Jerzy Hoffman. The final book in the series, Colonel Wolodyjowski, was adapted for the screen by Hoffman in 1969, while the second, The Deluge, appeared in 1974. A low-budget Italian version of With Fire and Sword was released in 1961. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This philosophical treatise is visually evocative and probes deeply into dark periods of Polish history and somber aspects of the human psyche, and dominated by symbolism and long monologues. The plot involves a series of encounters between Poles who were once interned in a concentration camp by Lake Constance on the German-Swiss border. One such survivor of those days goes back for a visit and flashbacks illuminate his past and that period in history. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In this strange story, Jurek (F. Robert Herubin) is an unstable young fellow who admits to a gruesome murder while in the confessional and then proceeds to send off one bundle after another through the local post office. Is his aunt now stamped, sealed, and delivered to some person or persons unknown, or are these all scenes from Jurek's fertile, if twisted imagination? Before Jurek's mental images can work out the ending to his fictitious deed, his loving aunt comes home from a trip in great spirits. But now Jurek is determined to carry out his plan... ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Two brothers of German heritage live in the Polish town of Poznan, not that far from the western border with Germany. Michal (Michal Bajor) is the sensitive, artistic brother who likes literature, Andrzej (Piotr Bajor) is the daredevil with no intellectual bent, and between the two of them, they steal the German consul's Daimler-Benz limousine, on a lark. When they are caught by the police, the German consul unexpectedly forgives them their prank -- but in the meantime, the episode has put the brothers in touch with a Nazi underground group who want to prepare the way for the pending German invasion (set to occur within a matter of days). Andrej helps the group kill the German consul and then they blame the death on the Poles -- giving the Germans an excuse to cross the border. Not only the consul, but "artistic" types like Michal are also killed for the same reasons. After these murders, Michal realizes his brother is no better than the group he joined, and decides to set his own course in the face of the rising threat of invasion. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

In 1905 a partitioned Poland was striving for independence from the Russians, Germans, and Austrians, and terrorist, guerrilla squads conducted selective assassinations to further the nationalist cause. A young man in one of these groups, hardly a killer by instinct or inclination, murders a Russian spy and is brought to police headquarters for questioning. When he is suddenly released after a session with a duplicitous judge, he goes back to his underground organization to report on the judge's conduct. Instead of acting on his information, the group sends him out to kill a Polish writer who they say has sold out to the Russians. The young man tracks the writer all the way to Italy, after observing his court trial in Cracow and being pretty much convinced that the writer was innocent of the charges brought against him. When faced with the moment of truth when he must kill the writer, he cannot do it. Once again, he has to return to his organization and bring them information that they will not want to hear. This time, however, his disobedience to their orders weighs heavily against him. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Room with a Sea View is a Polish film predicated on an old Hollywood chestnut. Marek Bargielowski plays a Nietzschean college graduate who rents a hotel room facing the sea, then steps out onto the window ledge, preparing to jump. Bargielowski's one-time professor Piotr Fronczewski shows up to try to talk his former student out of committing suicide. The rest of the film is a "humanism vs. intellect" argument, with humanism winning out. The original title of Room with a Sea View was Pokój z Widokiem na Morze. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Eagle director Leonard Buczkowski takes the helm for this tale of the forbidden love shared between Napoleon Bonaparte and the much-younger countess Marie Walewska. The year was 1807, and Napoleon has become instantly smitten with the enchanting twenty-two year old countess. But Marie Walewska is married, albeit unhappily, to an older man. Realizing the potential to influence Napoleon, however, the blue-eyed beauty attempts to persuade her lover to treat Poland more fairly. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Alfons (Zbigniew Cybulski) is a young army captain who meets two women of Moorish ancestry at what appears to be a deserted inn near Madrid. They tell Alfons he is the descendant of a noble family and that he must undergo a series of challenging missions to prove himself. A magician tries to take his soul, and he is visited by ghosts near the mountains of Madrid. Author Jan Poticki committed suicide a year after the symbolic and allusive book this movie was based on was published. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Based on a incredible true story that could only be a product of the extreme duress suffered under rampant Nazism (or any similar irrational reign of terror), The White Bear chronicles the daring of a Jewish scientist who manages to escape from a train full of Jewish captives being taken to a concentration camp. Knowing that death lies in wait at any corner, the scientist grabs an opportunity to assume the disguise of a performing white bear and it is that ploy that saves him from detection. The attitude and brutal viewpoints of the German official who controls the town in which the scientist is hiding, are contrasted with the Jew's own beliefs, for an added and important dimension to the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This heavy-handed wartime drama scripted by Andrzej Szczyplerski moves along with ponderous deliberation as it spins a tale of injustice. Fram (Adam Hanuszkiewicz) is in a German POW camp where brutal, cold-hearted Gestapo officers like Weber (Henryk Bak) or Von Steinhagen (Gustaw Holoubek) terrorize and execute their Polish prisoners. One day Fram sees a way to escape the camp and he takes it, heading out to find his fellow resistance fighters. Unknown to him, that is just what the Gestapo wanted him to do -- they follow him in order to identify the partisans. Meanwhile, they execute all the other prisoners in the camp. After the war, only Fram and his wife know the truth, everyone else believes he was a collaborator. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The talent of one of Poland's better directors, Wojciech Has shows through in this simple, slice-of-life, literary drama set in Warsaw in the late 1930s. The focus of attention is a rundown boarding house and its residents -- students, poets, and others living in what is euphemistically termed "genteel poverty." Everyone seems to be adrift, looking for something meaningful to anchor their lives on, a sorry state that leads to a general hopelessness and chronic ennui. A young communist seems to hold out some inspiration for awhile, but then he is arrested as the growing Nazi menace looms closer on the horizon. Director Wojciech Has was particularly interested at this time in following a character through his or her life. The impressive film The Noose, 1958, was his first feature-length effort. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide