Poland has a rich cinematic history, with a number of influential and groundbreaking films dating back to the early 20th century. Here are some of the oldest and most significant national (traditional) Polish films.
Ida – (co-production poland and denmark,polish director)
„Ida” is a film set in Poland in 1962, the main character of which is Anna, a postulant in a Catholic convent who does not know her past. She learns that she is actually Jewish, and her only relative is her aunt Wanda. Together they embark on a journey to find the graves of Anna’s parents. During the journey, Wanda tries to question Anna’s faith in God and reveals that she was a Stalinist prosecutor. Eventually, Anna leaves the convent and has an affair with a saxophonist, but due to remorse, she puts on a robe and leaves for an unknown place. The film deals with the subject of Polish history, war and religion.
Pianista – The Pianist (French-German-Polish-British co-production, polish director)
The film „The Pianist” begins in September 1939 in Warsaw, where the young pianist Szpilman plays during the bombing of the city. After the Germans entered, the Jewish Szpilman family gradually loses their possessions and end up in the Warsaw ghetto. Szpilman, as the only one in the family, escapes from the ghetto thanks to the help of a Jewish policeman. During the war, after losing his family and hiding from the Germans, Szpilman helps the resistance movement and hides on the Aryan side. Eventually, he is rescued by a German officer and, after the liberation of Warsaw, he returns to work at the Polish Radio.
Photo taken from wikipedia.org
seksmisja – sex mission
The film begins in 1991 when two men, Max and Albert, undergo a hibernation experiment and wake up in 2044 to discover that a war has broken out on Earth and that all men have been destroyed by the M-bomb. Women, thanks to parthenogenesis, produce only girls and Max and Albert become the only males on the planet. The women decide to naturalize or liquidate the males, but Max and Albert escape
Photo taken from wikipedia.org
Bogowie – gods
Gods” is a Polish biographical film from 2014, which tells the story of the beginnings of Polish heart transplantation and the life of doctor Zbigniew Religa, who was the first to perform a successful heart transplant in Poland. The action of the film begins in 1980, when doctor Religa (played by Tomasz Kot) returns from the USA and starts working at the Institute of Cardiology in Zabrze. Together with his team, he tries to introduce modern methods of heart disease treatment to Poland, including heart transplantation.
Photo taken from wikipedia.org
Dzień Świra – Day of the Freak
Adaś Miauczyński, a Polish language teacher, suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder and frustration with his surroundings, career and personal life. His unlucky day includes failed classes, family reunions, and a low paycheck. To rest, Adaś goes to the seaside, but he is still haunted by the sounds of his surroundings and cannot relax. On the beach, he imagines his dream first love, Ela, who seems too perfect for his dreary life.
Chłopaki nie płaczą – Boys Do not Cry
A young violinist, Kuba, tries to help his shy friend, Oskar, but gets into trouble with the escort girls and their guardian. Rookie gangster Bolec struggles with the conflict between his peaceful life and the expectations of his father, who rules the underworld. A couple of gangsters from the coast invited to Bolca’s club causes a shootout, and Kuba becomes a random participant. A briefcase with a large amount of money disappears, and everyone thinks that Kuba has stolen it.
Miś – Bear
Ryszard Ochódzki, president of the „Tęcza” sports club, conducts fraudulent business and plans to extort money to build a giant bear. Looking for a doppelgänger to get a passport, he finds a coal worker, Stanisław Paluch. Ochódzki arranges Paluch’s relationship with simple-minded Aleksandra, who helps make Paluch look like Ochódzki. Ochódzki obtains Paluch’s passport, leaves for London, empties a joint account with his ex-wife Irena and returns to Poland. At the end, a giant teddy bear effigy is dropped from a helicopter into a frozen lake, splashing the charcoal workers.
Photo taken from wikipedia.org