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Actors: Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyzewska, Adam Pawlikowski, Bogumil Kobiela
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Ashes and Diamonds |
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ASHES AND DIAMONDS (Popiol i diament) was co-written (with the novelist Jerzy Andrzejewski) and directed by the Polish director Andrzej Wajda in 1958.
On the last day of WWII in Europe, Maciek and Andrzej, two Polish Resistance fighters, are ordered to murder the new communist high commissioner Szczuka who has just arrived from the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, they kill mistakenly two employees of the local cement factory. Maciek realises this tragic mistake just after having rented a room for the night in the same hotel as Szczuka did. Maciek accepts to finish the job by murdering Szczuka during the night.
The movie describes how Maciek will change his mind after having met Krystyna, the beautiful barmaid of the hotel with whom, on the same evening, he spends a few hours in the streets of the town talking about the new life he could start in the postwar Poland and thinking about the meaning of continuing the resistance action. When he sees, in the church, the corpses of the men he killed by mistake in the afternoon, Maciek decides to talk to Andrzej. But his resistance comrade tells him he would be considered as a desertor if he refuses now to kill Szczuka.
--Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Ashes and Diamonds |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about
books by breaking them down into many different literary
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Time/era of movie:
- 1930's-1950's
Inner struggle or disability
Yes
Struggle with
- guilt over actions that lead to death/injury
Crime & Scandal
Yes
Story of
- criminal becomes sensitive
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric:
Yes
- emotionally unstable
- wild
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Unclothed?
- Chest
Events of movie makes character more...
- sensitive
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Eastern European
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair style
- (woman) long straight
Body type
- (woman) average
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Eastern European
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- politician/elected ruler
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 40%
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) fat
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Eastern European
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- missing body parts/abilities
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Poland
Small town?
Yes
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- very explicit references to deaths and torture
Movie makes you feel...
- depressed/sad
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references only
Check here if B&W
Yes
Non-American film?
Yes
Subtitles?
- Yes
If soundtrack VERY NOTICEABLE...
- Folk music
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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