Jerzy Trela Movies

Artur Wiecek's comedy Angel in Love, the sequel to Angel in Krakow, concerns Angel Giordano searching for true love so that he can return to his home in heaven. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Director Diana Groó centers her magic realist drama Miracle in Cracow on Peter, a Hungarian Jew who came of age years ago under the guardianship of his grandmother in Budapest. As a child, Peter became acutely aware of the family's rare book collection, stolen by the Nazis during WWII. That collection included a "magic" volume, which his grandmother prized above everything else in the library. Now an adult who sells books for a living, Peter vows to retrieve the enchanted volume at any cost. He indeed finds it, but complications arise when he falls in love with the book's new owner, a mesmerizing young girl. zter Biro, Maceiej Adamczyk and Franciszek Pieczka co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Director Jerzy Hoffman brings one of Poland's most famous legends to the screen with this tale of a cruel prince determined to hold onto power, and a brave young warrior who longs to marry a beautiful princess. The time was the 9th Century, and various Slavic tribes wandered the land that would later be known as Poland. As opposed to praising a single deity that united them all, each tribe worshipped their own distinct god. Popiel was a cruel prince who, along with his scheming wife, nefariously plotted to find a means of passing control of the land to their sun and heir. Recognizing the crimes that he is ordered to carry out in order to make this transition of power possible, the commander of Popiel's army - a noble soul named Piastun - decides to part ways with the corrupted ruler. But Popiel strikes back at Piastun with such ferocity that the prince's former aid nearly loses his life. Nursed back to health by a young hunter and warrior named Ziemowit Pastowic, Piastun ultimately makes a full recover. Ziemowit has only recently returned to his homeland after years of sailing the sea with Vikings, and now he has fallen for a pretty merchant's daughter named Dziwa. Later, as Ziemowit asks for Dziwa's hand in marriage, he is devastated to learn that her controlling father Wisz is determined to ensure that his daughter will become a high priestess in a local temple. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Impotent Roman (Piotr Machalica) encourages his wife to see other men, then becomes jealous when, after much hesitation, she does so. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The labyrinthine plot deals with a group of space researchers who left the Earth to find freedom. Their spaceship crashes and they land on the dark side of the Moon. They all die except one and leave a lot of children who eventually turn to shamanism and fire worship. They call the last survivor the Old Man and simultaneously loathe and revere him. Finally, the Old Man retreats to the mountains, puts his video diary into a small rocket and sends it to Earth. The rocket reaches its destination and the notes fall into the hands of another group of researchers. One of them, Marek, journeys to the Old Man's planet and lands in the mountains. When he emerges from the hills, the aboriginal inhabitants mistake him for the long-awaited reincarnation of the Old Man and look to him to deliver them from the dreaded sherns -- strange, winged mutants. The making of this film in 1978 was brutally interrupted by the Polish Ministry of Culture. When about 80% of the shooting was complete, they ordered the filmmakers to destroy all related materials. This decision caused director Andrzej Zulawski to leave his homeland for France, where he spent the next ten years. During the democratization of the Polish political regime in 1986-1987, Zulawski returned to the country to finish the picture. Having lost the sets, costumes, actors, and momentum, the director chose to complete the film from the spared footage, adding a voiceover for the missing episodes and utilizing other actors to dub the original actors who were no longer available. Even in this mutilated form, the film appears as a highly ambitious, if overwrought, sci-fi epic that draws upon philosophical concepts rather than special effects. ~ Yuri German, Rovi

This meticulously produced 153-minute character study explores the iniquities of class consciousness in contemporary Poland. A teacher of modest means moves in with a wealthy family in order to tutor their good-looking daughter. Love blooms, but the family is convinced that the tutor is merely a fortune hunter -- and besides, how dare he try to emulate his betters? The film is based on a novel by Andrzej Mencwel, who co-wrote the screenplay. Sceny Dzieciece a Zycia Prowincji (Childhood Scenes of Provincial Life) was directed by actor Tomasz Zygaldo, who resists the temptation to appear in the film. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

In a deliberately slow-paced, introverted story with many long periods of total silence, a Jewish industrial advisor, Jacob Rosenberg (Wladyslaw Kowakski) goes through the long process of resigning himself to his eventual deportation to a concentration camp. The setting is World War II in Poland, and Jacob has just been taken out of his job and forced to work cleaning the streets. As he goes the rounds of home and work, his daily encounters seem surreal, and his life is palpably charged with an overriding sense of doom. There is no escape for him, he knows it, and all he can do is prepare for the final ride in the railroad car. Both the intentionally slow pace and restricted dialogue in this film, as well as the subject matter, may leave some viewers feeling frustrated -- perhaps that is the intention of the director, Waldemar Dziki. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Elegantly costumed and well-acted, this tragic story of a wealthy Lithuanian commoner who marries King Zygmunt II of Poland (1520-1572) reveals clashes between kingly duty and personal love. By the time King Zygmunt's wife Elizabeth dies, he has already fallen in love with Barbara Radziwill, a wealthy Lithuanian but not of noble birth. The king marries Barbara, flying in the face of his mother's wishes and those of the Polish parliament -- but his happiness was not destined to last for long. Parallel to his personal love for this Lithuanian woman, Zygmunt II would officially unite Lithuania and Poland as one country during his reign. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

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, Rovi

This is psychological drama by Tomasz Zygadlo begins as a straightforward story. Jan (Roman Wilhelmi) is the host of a nightly talk show in which he counsels people who call in with their problems. He is dedicated to helping these lonely souls but becomes increasingly disturbed when his co-workers and supervisors at the radio station do not appreciate his program; they seem unable to grasp the importance of what he is doing. Aside from that, Jan's private life is frayed around the edges. His wife is a heavy drinker and his mistress has no comprehension about who he is or what he is doing. Jan's frustration over this lack of recognition builds to an explosive level, threatening to upset the balance of his daily life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi