Jan Orsza-Łukasiewicz

A man meets a childhood friend who does not recognize him.

A young doctor has been assigned to a hospital in the provinces, in the lakes district of northern Poland. The area is a playground with hunting lodges for the priviledged, the local politicians cover up any leaks to the public. The doctor discovers a case of drunken driving but is silenced by blackmail in the court. He tries to fight back but has a love affair with the unfaithful wife of the town's Mayor.

A school teacher from a small town in Poland comes to Warsaw to see his estranged wife, a window dresser, in the hope that she will return to him rather than give him a divorce.

Set in 1918, this World War I drama follows a group of Austro-Hungarian soldiers—Czechs, Jews, Italians, and others—confined in a provincial barracks under German officers. Subjected to the cruelty of a sadistic lieutenant, they rebel, humiliate him, and later attempt escape. Disguised as guards for veterinary surgeons in Budapest, the deserters are eventually recaptured and returned for court-martial, forced once more to face their tormentor.

Warsaw, September 1944. On the eastern bank of the Vistula, a group of civilians live in a house cut off from the fighting across the river. Tadeusz, a young poet who has lost both legs, struggles with his helplessness as the Warsaw Uprising continues. His younger brother Witek dreams of crossing the river to join the fight, while Tadeusz grows closer to Katarzyna. As soldiers, refugees and resistance fighters pass through the house, its inhabitants confront the devastation of war and the uncertain future of a country caught between two worlds.

A young factory worker takes up on boxing as a way to find himself and advance his chances for the future. But the difficulties of sorting himself out in the crooked boxing environment hold him back in the beginning, until he arrives for tournament in Chicago, where he can prove himself. In the end, he wins over his Yank opponent, an amateur below his ranking, and is back in the factory.

Fall 1925. Six hundred officers demonstrate in front of Józef Piłsudski’s country house in Sulejówek, demanding the Marshal’s return to active political life. May 1926—a government crisis; Wincenty Witos forms a new government. Piłsudski’s move sparks clashes between supporters and opponents of the ousted government. Piłsudski appoints Kazimierz Bartel as prime minister. The beginning of the “moral reform.” Ignacy Mościcki becomes president. Summer 1930. A joint platform of opponents to the Sanacja government is formed. “Centrolew” is established.

Two young men from a town near Łódź attack and rob a taxi driver. Unsatisfied with the loot, they make their escape from the authorities across Poland.