Stanisław Jaskułka

Anthropology professor Michal develops two overwhelming obsessions. The first one is a mummified, 3,000 year-old, perfectly preserved body of a shaman he and his colleagues have recently dragged out of a swamp. The second is an enigmatic student he meets by chance at a railway station.

A female photographer from Western Europe drives through Poland and stops in a village. By chance, her eye is caught by the arrival of a wedding party. This marks the point of departure for several stories which unfold during the course of the wedding.

During the German occupation of a small Polish town, Franciszek Kłos, a lowly local policeman, will stop at nothing to become a Volksdeutsche. Eager to prove his loyalty, he zealously carries out the occupiers' orders. What begins as administrative compliance soon escalates when he commits his first murder of a fellow Pole. Condemned to death by the Polish underground, Kłos outwardly shrugs off the sentence while quietly drowning his growing fear in alcohol. As his inhibitions crumble, he descends deeper into violence—participating in the roundup and execution of hidden Jews, and earning a reputation for brutality even among the SS.

The action of the film takes place in the 17th century. Piotr Wolski returns to the country and is appointed juridic governor. A man tries to rule fairly and restore order. He soon falls in love with Konstancja, but his background causes problems.

The film deals with the a clandestine Olympiade held in a German POW camp during WW II, housing many Poles, but also French and Brits. A spit and a Polish German lieutenant is added to the staff of a prison camp. He sees a Pole, the acknowledged leader of the Polish prisoners, against whom he had competed during the Berlin Olympics in 1936. He asks the Pole to train with him but is refused; the Pole points out out that he is a prisoner and nothing more. But that plants the seed and the Pole proposes and Olympics 40 to be held among the prisoners. They ingeniously make a flag and medals, set up a number of races; a croaching hop race is unwittingly organized by a German prison guard who uses it as a torture. The German lieutenant knows that something is going on but cannot find out. Finally the Germans realize the idea and the Polish chief is sent to concentration camp but the others disobey the orders.

Sławek Wiśnik, a young, ambitious musician and graduate of the conservatory's organ class, wants to escape from Kaliszewo, a small town near Suwałki, and pursue a career in music. Unfortunately, he does not receive the expected scholarship to study in Heidelberg and has to start a new life in his hometown. His girlfriend, Agnieszka, plans to get married soon, especially since her father, Zenon Nowak, offers Sławek a job running his business. However, this does not suit Sławek, who prefers to play as a substitute organist, and even... as a disco-polo musician.

The film tells the story of two Highlander brothers – Maciek and Andrzej. After the death of their father, which Andrzej contributed to, and the loss of his beloved Bronka, Andrzej leaves the family home. On his way, he meets the mysterious Wolfram, an anthropologist and climber. He shares with him his mountaineering technique and knowledge about the Prague origins of the highlanders. Andrzej returns to Zakopane, war breaks out. To protect the Highlanders from wartime destruction, he wants to persuade them to cooperate with the Germans. Andrzej and Maciek are standing on opposite sides of the barricade. The brothers' confrontation is bloody and painful.

Bartłomiej, community elder and orator, must choose an appropriate successor, but finds difficulty in the aftermath of a local girl's tragic hit-and-run death. A community's pain reverberates through fractured relationships and the burden of funereal responsibility.