POLISH FILM ACADEMY

The most famous Polish film abroad, counted among world classics; its main character and symbolism refer to the tradition of the great Romantics. The most outstanding work of the Polish Film School, addressing, for the first time, the problem of the moral choices of Home Army soldiers after the war.

May 1945, the first day after victory. Young Home Army soldiers: Maciek, Andrzej and Drewnowski, receive orders to shoot Szczuka, Secretary of the Polish Workers’ Party, who is to visit the city. In an ambush, they shoot at a military car, but their bullets hit accidental workers and Szczuka safely reaches his destination.

In the evening, the Monopol hotel is prepared for a banquet to celebrate the end of the war. Maciek and Andrzej reawaken their memories of fallen colleagues from the conspiracy. Chełmicki meets the barmaid, Krystyna; before he can spend the night with her, Andrzej hands him another order to kill Szczuka. Both call its sense into question, but the military oath frees Maciek from any doubts. Drewnowski, who was appointed private secretary of the mayor, gets drunk before the banquet even begins and causes a scandal. Maciek spends the last hours before dawn with Krystyna. He promises the girl − in the name of love − to break with the conspiracy and return to normal life. Szczuka is informed that his son was caught in Wilk’s  Home Army unit. He leaves the ball, heading for the Security Service building alone. Maciek follows him. The bullets hit the Secretary just as fireworks in honour of the victory are fired into the sky. Returning, Maciek meets a military patrol. He does not respond to the calls of the soldiers, who start to shoot. A boy dies at the city landfill. In the Monopol hotel, couples begin dancing a polonaise.

Jan Słodowski, Leksykon polskich filmów fabularnych, Warszawa 1996