SpuffyWeb
Sadly Over-hyped
Steineded
How sad is this?
elvircorhodzic
ASHES AND DIAMONDS is a war drama, which describes, in a realistic way, the situation in a small town in Poland on the last day of World War II. The film was based on the 1948 novel by Polish writer Jerzy Andrzejewski.Inhabitants of a provincial town are trying to adjust to peacetime life. However, the conflict between the new communist government and members of the war resistance is inevitable. A young war veteran, who has joined the resistance, has received an order to assassinate a communist official. His enthusiasm for the task starts to weaken, when he meets a young girl and falls in love ....Mr. Wajda has artfully presented symbols of the ruined country and lost youth in the war. These symbols are visible in almost every scene. Glasses of brandy on fire, love in ruins, a vulgar feast, Polonaise in false, a bloody sheet and a young man who dies in spasmodic twitches at the dump are just some of them. The faces of the protagonists are colored with uncertainty. The story, which is tense, cynical, melancholic and shocking, is accompanied by vivid images of lost people and dilapidated buildings. Characterization is very good and it is reflected through greed, self-satisfaction, consistency, serenity and compassion.Zbigniew Cybulski as Maciek is a certain version of James Dean. He is an appealing and sensible young man, who is on the verge of despair. He insights tranquility and love, and yet, his life is only one segment in a nasty political rut. Ewa Krzyżewska as Krystyna is a hotel barmaid. She is perhaps too polite and somewhat insecure in love. War and political psychology rarely accept ordinary life questions.
smiles_poop
For my money, one of the best historical films I've seen. Although I know nothing of Polish history in WW2, I still found a great story on morality and the complex nature of war. The main character, played by Zbigniew Cybulski was fascinating! He was childlike, cynical and violent at the same time. It's no wonder they called him the Polish James Dean, he acted with such subtlety, style and charisma that you could't help liking him. Man He Was Cool!! And the Director too! I give many kudos to him for the excellent directing. The excellent plotting and symbolic imagery throughout the film made it an enigmatic experience. What a great move to open the film with such action! The first scene starts off things with such a bang and never lets you go! You are invested in every character, even the relatively bad ones (ie The Communist Guy). See this movie even if you know nothing about Poland in WW2, it's a great film anyway!
polina-benderskaya-1
A masterpiece for all time. One of those films that one can not watch, which simply can not. Its like any genuine work of art can be seen at different levels: here - and the gunman, and the detective and love story, and the human drama, amounting to tragedy, and this is the existential drama and thinking about the national character, the fate of Poland - all for striking deeper level translation. It is unique in the film work of the operator, as built by frame, as planned, each episode. The game actors, so can we call this game??? Tsibulsky does not play, he just lives in this film! Some episodes ever sink into the mind: machine turn, opens the door to the church, a hapless, drop dead right at the altar ( "Lord Jesus" delivers one of the killers, in my opinion, Drevnovsky), a scene where she sings "Red poppies Monte -Cassini, but Machek and Anzhey Remembers his comrades, burning glasses with vodka, and Christine Machek, reciting poems on the tomb in the tumbledown church, killing Pikes when Helmitsky compresses old man killed in the arms and after shots Graham celebratory fireworks, white sheets, which is the blood Macheka, displaying the colors of the flag when it falls on the scrap-heap agonizing under the sounds of Oginski's polonez, which carries away its Cristina another man ... Sorry, that so much and confused, but on the other, I talk about this film can not, so much he means to me. If you still doubt - to watch or not - brush them: no see, not paying attention to the year of issue, so show your friends. Because it's a REAL MOVIE, but that is now in theaters, that spinning on the box that receives the Oscar - Household soap and odnodnevka (film that you'll forget right after watching it). But this - movies with a capital letter.
Lee Eisenberg
At its most basic, Andrzej Wajda's "Popiol i diament" (called "Ashes and Diamonds" in English) may seem to be a look at where Poland would be going after WWII ended. The plot involves young Maciek Chelmicki (Zbigniew Cybulski), who has helped expel the Nazis from Poland. With the Soviet Union now taking over the country, he is ordered to shift his allegiance to them. Through Maciek's acquaintances with communist leader Szczuka and barmaid Krzystyna (Ewa Krzyzewska), a potentially explosive situation arises.If you know nothing about how the movie got made, this seems to be the whole purpose. But there are other points. In a mini-documentary about the movie, Andrzej Wajda and his collaborators explain how the novel on which the movie is based had Szczuka as the main character. Wajda not only moved the focus to Maciek - and gave him sort of a James Dean look - but also stressed the scene where Maciek talks with the man who fought in the Spanish Civil War. Apparently, fighting like the man did is a Polish tradition. Therefore, the film likely appeals to the Poles in almost every way; the perfect Polish movie, if you will.Although I've never seen any of Andrzej Wajda's other movies - hell, I'd never heard of him until the Academy Awards gave him an honorary Oscar - I staunchly recommend this one. One can clearly see how he used the movie to subtly challenge the Soviet domination of his country (of course, they couldn't openly say anything against the USSR). Poland's pro-Soviet government had approved the movie, but didn't want to let it outside Poland. Wajda got some people to smuggle it out of the country, and it reached much of the world. Probably the most amazing scene is the end. I won't spoil the end, but I'll note that blood on a white sheet looks a bit like Poland's flag (a nationalistic statement).All in all, a great movie. Andrzej Wajda has every reason to be proud of it.
