A stubborn idealist burns his life down rather than bend—and still somehow loses at winning.
The story begins in March of 1968, the days of students protests. A hot- headed student protests the Dean's decision to expell a fellow student on fake accusation charges, upon which he drops out of university rather than make a compromise. He loses everything in the process: his girlfriend, housing privileges - he becomes a coal deliverer. On the job he witnesses an accident that causes death of a fellow worker. He decides to write a story, which is good and a publishing house wants to print it, but only after some corrections are made. He refuses again and the story is not printed. Finally, a story is commercialized and made into a succesful film and brings fame to the original author.
Direction
Kijowski's unflinching long takes on hollow victory.
Writing
The cruel circular structure—rebellion commodified.
Director
Janusz Kijowski
Ewa Żukowska
Maria
Wiesława Mazurkiewicz
Matka Marii
Jan Machulski
Ojciec Andrzeja
Marian Opania
Redaktor naczelny
Jerzy Duszyński
Stryj Karol
Krzysztof Zaleski
Józef Moneta
Małgorzata Wiśniewska-Niemirska
Anna, żona stryja Karola
Tadeusz Bogucki
ojciec Monety
Włodzimierz Gołaszewski
student
Ryszard Ronczewski
wozak Wiktor
Juliusz Machulski
uczeń Monety
Maria Zbyszewska
matka Monety
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during Poland's 'cinema of moral concern' movement, using 1968 student protests as coded commentary on 1976 worker strikes the censors couldn't touch.
PL
