One day of freedom before the army takes everything — and he spends it losing his mind.
After being drafted into military service, a Polish student spends his last day coming to terms with his estranged wife, visiting old friends, and savoring some last moments of freedom.
Direction
Skolimowski's restless camera never lets you breathe
Editing
71 minutes that feel like a lifetime collapsing
Writing
Dialogue so natural it hurts to watch
Director
Jerzy Skolimowski
Jerzy Skolimowski
Andrzej Leszczyc
Elżbieta Czyżewska
Teresa / Barbara / Leszczyc's wife
Tadeusz Minc
Andrzej Żarnecki
Raymond
Juliusz Lubicz-Lisowski
Man in the phone booth (uncredited)
Czesław Piaskowski
Resistance member picking up bottles (uncredited)
Marek Piwowski
Man at the draft board (uncredited)
Leon Niemczyk
Radio speaker (voice) (uncredited)
Janusz Kłosiński
Resistance member picking up bottles (voice) (uncredited)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Skolimowski was 26 when he made this, still a film student, and cast himself because no actor could capture the specific desperation he wanted.
This kicked off the 'Polish School' movement alongside Wajda — young directors finally telling stories about their own suffocating reality, not state-approved heroics.
PL
