''Shadow'' ( pl, Cień) is a 1956
Polish film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
directed by
Jerzy Kawalerowicz. It was entered into the
1956 Cannes Film Festival
The 9th Cannes Film Festival was held from 23 April to 10 May 1956. The Palme d'Or went to ''The Silent World'' by Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle. The festival opened with ''Marie-Antoinette reine de France'', directed by Jean Delannoy and ...
.
Plot
The plot involves a ''
Rashōmon''-like investigation into the life of a man who has been found dead after having been hurled from a train. As security agents, police and a medical examiner piece together his identity, three accounts emerge: one set during
World War II, one in the immediate aftermath of the war, and one in contemporary Poland. In each account, the victim seems to have been a mysterious, ambiguous presence, of shifting loyalties and suspicious connections, who set himself against the powers that be.
Critics attacked the film for its depiction of a world rife with secret agents and hidden enemies—a favorite
Stalinist
Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
theme—while the film seems, rather, to demonstrate how heroism and villainy are often matters of point of view and timing.
Cast
*
Zygmunt Kęstowicz as Knyszyn
*
Adolf Chronicki
Adolf (also spelt Adolph or Adolphe, Adolfo and when Latinised Adolphus) is a given name used in German-speaking countries, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Flanders, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Latin America and to a lesser extent in var ...
as Karbowski
*
Emil Karewicz
Emil Karewicz (13 March 1923 – 18 March 2020) was a Polish actor.
Early life
His acting career began in Wilno, at the local theatre, where he played the role of a monkey in the "Quartet" by Ivan Krylov. During World War II he served in the ...
as Jasiczka
*
Ignacy Machowski as Shadow
*
Tadeusz Jurasz as Mikuła
*
Bolesław Płotnicki
Bolesław Płotnicki (17 June 1913 – 7 September 1988) was a Polish actor. He appeared in more than 80 films and television shows between 1953 and 1983.
Selected filmography
* ''Shadow'' (1956)
* '' Kwiecień'' (1961)
* ''The Impossible G ...
as Railwayman
*
Bohdan Ejmont as Officer
*
Marian Łącz as Stefan
*
Zdzisław Szymański as Peasant
*
Halina Przybylska
Halina is a given name. Notable people with the name include:
*Halina Łukomska (born 1929), Polish soprano
*Halina Aszkiełowicz (born 1947), Polish former volleyball player and 1968 Olympic medallist
* Halina Balon (born 1948), Polish fencer
* ...
as Village Woman
*
Antoni Jurasz as Lt. Antoni
*
Wiesław Gołas as Underground Soldier
*
Barbara Połomska as Stefan's Friend
*
Stanisław Mikulski
Stanisław Mikulski (1 May 1929 – 27 November 2014) was a Polish theatre, television and film actor, and host of ''Koło Fortuny'' (the Polish version of ''Wheel of Fortune'').
Mikulski gained fame for his leading role in the 1967–68 televi ...
as Blonde
*
Roman Kłosowski as Witold
See also
*
Cinema of Poland
The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as the history of cinematography, and it has universally recognized achievements, even though Polish films tend to be less commercially available than films from several other European nations.
Af ...
*
List of Polish language films
References
External links
*
1956 films
1950s Polish-language films
Films directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz
1956 crime films
Polish black-and-white films
Polish crime films
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