Ashes and Diamonds
Short description
Ashes and Diamonds is set in Poland in the spring of 1945, in the final days of the Second World War. Maciek Chełmicki, a young soldier in the resistance, is assigned to assassinate a communist party official. When the attack goes wrong and kills the wrong people, he is ordered to try again. While waiting, he meets Krystyna, a barmaid at the Monopol hotel, and their brief romance sharpens his growing doubts about killing now that the war is ending. He must choose between his feelings for her and the oath that binds him to carry out the order.
Andrzej Wajda directed and co-wrote the film with Jerzy Andrzejewski, adapting Andrzejewski's novel. It followed Wajda's A Generation and Kanal, completing the trilogy those films began, and it came long before the later features listed for him, among them Danton and Katyn. Zbigniew Cybulski plays Maciek, with Ewa Krzyżewska as Krystyna, Wacław Zastrzeżynski as Szczuka, Adam Pawlikowski as Andrzej Kossecki, Bogumił Kobiela as Drewnowski and Jan Ciecierski as the porter. Thirty-one performers are credited.
On IMDb the film holds 7.7 out of 10 from about 15,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.4 from 289 votes, indicating a widely seen title with durable approval. A critics' rating of 8.6 from 27 reviews places it above both audience scores. Released in 1958, it runs 103 minutes and is a Polish drama blending war and romance.
What's left behind the scenes
- Zbigniew Cybulski played in his everyday clothes and dark sunglasses, which did not match the historical realities of 1945.
- The film was shot in Trzebnica and Wrocław.
- The film is based on Jerzy Andrzejewski's novel "Ashes and Diamonds" (Popiól i diament, 1948).
- "Ashes and Diamonds" faced significant censorship difficulties. Those responsible for ideology were disturbed by the fact that the anti-communist character, played by Tsibulsky, did not lose his romantic aura even after killing a party official. The film made it to the Venice Film Festival on the initiative of a minor official, despite a decision by the party leadership. Although the film was shown out of competition, it was noticed and received international recognition. It was only allowed to be shown in the USSR in 1965.
- The last film in Andrzej Wajda's war trilogy about World War II, which also includes "Generation" and "Kanał."
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
