Ashes and Diamonds
Set at the moment when Poland escaped the Nazis only to fall into the hands of the Soviets, 1958’s Ashes and Diamonds (Popiół i diament) is a philosophical, even existential, take on the recent history of director and co-writer Andrzej Wajda’s country. Really, it’s a day in the life of some Polish partisans, and of Poland itself, at the point where one enemy is being swapped out for another. But not without some psychological adjustment en route. In the opening sequence an assassination attempt against some communist party officials goes wrong – the partisans shoot the wrong men – and here is where the wrangling with conscience begins, particularly for Maciek (Zbigniew Cybulski) … Read more