WINTER TWILIGHT [1956]
year:
- 1956
release date:
- 1 II 1957
runtime:
- 87 min
directed by:
- Stanisław Lenartowicz
written by:
- Tadeusz Konwicki, Jerzy Andrzejewski
director of photography:
- Mieczysław Jahoda
cast:
- Włodzisław Ziembiński [Michał Rumsza], Ligia Borowczyk [Celinka], Maria Kierzkowa [Rumszowa], Zygmunt Zintel [Krywka, Celinka’s father], Bogusz Bilewski [Józek Rumsza, Michał’s son], Maria Ciesielska [Zosia, Józek’s wife], Zbigniew Stokowski [Olek], Marian Nowak [J. Jackowski, tailor], Janina Niczewska [Natasza], Tamara Pasławska [Lola], Stanisław Bareja [an assistant of operator Malinowski]
edited by:
- Lidia Pacewicz
music by:
- Adam Walaciński
production design:
- Jan Grandys
produced by:
- Zespół Filmowy „Rytm”
executive producer:
- Jerzy Nitecki
About the film
The 1950s. A small provincial town enveloped in a sleepy, lazy atmosphere. The absence of any prospects for a change in the fate of the inhabitants causes their chronic blues. Men spend their time mostly in the pub. The only entertainment is listening to gramophone records and the memories of the oldest residents. When Józek Rumsza − the son of an old railwayman − returns from the army, it becomes a real event; he brings along his wife, Zosia, even though faithful Celinka had been waiting for him. It is a violation of a local law, but no one can bring themselves to condemn him. For old Rumszy, his son has committed an act of inexplicable meanness, which at the same time marks an end of a certain morality.
Feeling guilty, the railwayman withdraws into himself, reduces social contacts, and goes to the cemetery more often. Józek, unable to come to terms with his father, leaves town along with the pregnant Zosia. Celinka follows in their wake.
At the premiere, only the cinematographer was praised for the painterly quality of the picture; the director was attacked for excessive symbolism and "Baroque instrumentarium" in his portrayal of the province.
Jan Słodowski, Leksykon polskich filmów fabularnych, Warszawa 1996
