Fall 2026—Thursday, October 29, 7:30 p.m.
Ashes and Diamonds
Popiół i diament
Poland, 1958, 103 minutes
Directed by: Andrzej Wajda
Written by: Jerzy Andrzejewski and Andrzej Wajda, based on Andrzejewski’s novel
Starring: Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyżewska, Wacław Zastrzeżyński, and Bogumił Kobiela
Screened to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Andrzej Wajda’s birth.
Description
Wajda’s first true masterpiece and the conclusion of his war trilogy takes place on the day World War II ends in Europe. Maciek, a young former Home Army soldier played by Zbigniew Cybulski, is ordered to assassinate a communist party official arriving in a small town. During one long night in a provincial hotel, he falls in love with the barmaid Krystyna and begins to doubt the fight he has given his life to.
Rather than a simple thriller, Wajda made a film noir and a portrait of a lost generation, often compared to Rebel Without a Cause. Cybulski, in his dark glasses, became an icon and was called the Polish James Dean. The film depicts with remarkable courage the uneasy political reality of postwar Poland and remains one of the greatest Polish films ever made. Screened from a 35mm print from the George Eastman Museum collection.