POLISH FILM ACADEMY

A study of loneliness. Staszek is trying in vain to connect with his former lover. Jerzy cannot respond to Marta’s need of love. An accidental killer provokes the lowest instincts in people and no one sees his personal tragedy. Everyone is doomed to loneliness.

The heat of summer. A fast train departs from Warsaw train station. Jerzy is among the passengers. He forgot his ticket for the sleeping compartment. A bribed ticket inspector directs him to the last available compartment. Once there, the hero is surprised to find a beautiful blonde, Marta.

In the absence of vacancies, Jerzy and Marta must travel together.

Also on the train is Staszek, Marta’s ex-boyfriend. He is still trying to convince her that she should stay with him, but she clearly does not want to. Jerzy and Marta gradually get to know and like each other. Both have had unpleasant experiences and they connect through that. Marta’s rough, unconventional behavior begins to fascinate Jerzy. Watching her, he forgets about his troubles. At night, they cannot sleep. Jerzy sits down on the girl’s bed and it seems that they might begin an intimate conversation. Suddenly, the train stops at a small station. The police arrive seeking a murderer who killed his wife − a crime of passion. The officers are guided directly to the compartment of Marta and Jerzy. After making sure that Jerzy has seat number 16, they arrest him. The excited passengers see him as the dangerous criminal that all the newspapers have been writing about.

Marta tells the officers that seat 16 actually belongs to her, and the man who sold her his seat is on the train. She had seen him in the hallway. The police start searching. Fleeing in panic, the killer grabs the brakes and jumps off. The police and a crowd of passengers chase him. Finally, Staszek grabs the criminal and calmly hands him over to the police. The train moves on. Jerzy confesses to Marta that he is a doctor and that his patient died that day during surgery. In the morning, the train reaches its final station by the sea.

Staszek is waiting on the platform, anxiously looking through the window of Marta’s compartment. Seeing a strange man, he leaves disappointed. Meanwhile, the girl is dressing, telling Jerzy that she has come to the sea to meet a former lover of hers. Now, however, she is free of any love she had for him. Jerzy says that his wife is expecting him at the platform. This confession is a shock for Marta. She goes to the beach, carrying a heavy suitcase.

Joanna Piątek, Leksykon polskich filmów fabularnych, Warszawa 1996