Ashes and Diamonds

The last day of war, the last day of captivity. And the morning of the first day of peace, 8^th May 1945. During those several hours, a young soldier of the Country Army (Armia Krajowa, AK), Maciek Chełmnicki, who got an order to kill a Soviet activist, will fight a battle against himself. Until now, he was prepared for heroic death in the name of ideals; now, he will meet his first love and for the first time, he will face doubts. Will he remain faithful to the soldier’s oath – or to a woman? Will he keep killing although he wants to live so much now? An image of political and moral conflicts of the post-war period. The world around is changing – the old is violently combining with the new. The film, recognised as belonging to the world cinema masterpieces and awarded at the International Film Festival in Venice in 1959, is an apotheosis of the Polish Film School.

Guests of the 42^nd PFF: Jerzy Wójcik, Witold Sobociński

written by Jerzy Andrzejewski, Andrzej Wajda based on the novel by Jerzy Andrzejewski
director of photography Jerzy Wójcik
music Jan Krenz
production design Roman Mann
costume design Katarzyna Chodorowicz
make-up Halina Sieńska
sound Bohdan Bieńkowski
edited by Halina Nawrocka
cast Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyżewska, Wacław Zastrzeżyński, Adam Pawlikowski, Bogumił Kobiela
production Zespół Filmowy Kadr
production manager Stanisław Adler

Cyfrowe Repozytorium Filmowe (CRF) is the partner of the “Pure Classics – In Memoriam” section at the 42nd Polish Film Festival.