One of the passengers on a ship carrying Poles on a cruise in December 1981 is a dissident high school teacher sent abroad by Solidarity. He is under surveillance of the secret police, anxious to get their hands on the info that he is carrying. When the ship is in the middle of the Baltic sea, martial law is declared and the ship is militarized. The captain announces he will turn and return the home port. Many anguished passengers put the life vests on and jump into the sea, where they are picked up by two German ships. The teacher, however, decides to return to Poland and continue the struggle for freedom.
Direction
Krzystek traps you on deck with no escape—geography as prison.
Acting
Kolberger's stillness screams louder than any protest chant.
Production
Shot on a real ship during Poland's actual martial law anniversary.
Director
Waldemar Krzystek
Krzysztof Kolberger
Marek Ziarno
Agnieszka Kowalska
Renata
Dorota Segda
Kasia Trelkowska
Ewa Wencel
Ewa
Artur Barciś
Rysiek
Jerzy Zelnik
Andrzej
Aleksander Bednarz
Stefan
Mirosław Konarowski
Michał Walewski
Maciej Robakiewicz
Steward - SB Agent
Feliks Szajnert
SB Agent Staliński "Stalowy"
Anna Ciepielewska
Marecka
Barbara Grabowska
Jola
Leonard Andrzejewski
Zdzisław Marecki
Leon Niemczyk
Ferry Captain
Igor Przegrodzki
Ferry Doctor
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Shot December 1988, exactly seven years after Wojciech Jaruzelski's real martial law declaration that trapped Solidarity underground.
The German rescue ships were real vessels the production contacted; their captains agreed to participate without knowing the full political context.
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