''Shadow'' ( pl, Cień) is a 1956

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

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 Jerzy Franciszek Kawalerowicz (19 January 1922 – 27 December 2007) was a Polish film director and politician, having been a member of Polish United Workers' Party from 1954 until its dissolution in 1990 and a deputy in Polish parliament since ...

. 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 is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/ crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as ...

''-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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, 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 Zygmunt Kęstowicz (24 January 1921 – 14 March 2007) was a Polish actor. He appeared in more than 25 films and television shows between 1954 and 1997. Selected filmography * ''Shadow'' (1956) * ''Stawka większa niż życie ''Stawka wi� ...

as Knyszyn * Adolf Chronicki 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 Po ...

as Jasiczka *

Ignacy Machowski Ignacy Machowski (5 July 1920 – 11 January 2001) was a Polish actor. He appeared in more than fifty films from 1954 to 1999. Selected filmography References External links * 1920 births 2001 deaths Burials at Powązki Cemetery P ...

as Shadow *

Tadeusz Jurasz ''Tadeusz'' is a Polish language, Polish first name, derived from Thaddeus, Thaddaeus. Tadeusz may refer to: * Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski (1895–1966), Polish military leader * Tadeusz Borowski (1922–1951), Polish writer and The Holocaust survivo ...

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 Bohdan Ejmont (18 January 1928 – 28 February 2010) was a Polish actor. He appeared in more than 40 films and television shows between 1950 and 2002. Selected filmography * ''Shadow'' (1956) * '' Three Steps on Earth'' (1965) * ''Westerpla ...

as Officer *

Marian Łącz Marian Mikołaj Łącz (5 December 1921 - 2 August 1984) was a former Polish international footballer who played as a forward, and later a theater and film actor. Football Born in Rzeszów, Łącz started his footballing career with his local ...

as Stefan *

Zdzisław Szymański Zdzisław may refer to: People * Zdzisław (given name), a Slavic male given name Places * Zdzisław, Lubusz Voivodeship, a village in Poland * Zdzisław Krzyszkowiak Stadium Zdzisław may refer to: People * Zdzisław (given name), a Slavic ...

as Peasant * Halina Przybylska as Village Woman *

Antoni Jurasz Antoni Stanisław Jurasz (24 November 1847 – 12 August 1923) was a Polish laryngologist who was a native of Spławie ( Posen). He spent most of his life living and working in what was then the German Empire. He was the father of surgeon Anton ...

as Lt. Antoni *

Wiesław Gołas Wiesław Ryszard Gołas (Polish: vʲε.swav 'gɔ.was 9 October 1930 – 9 September 2021) was a Polish actor and Armia Krajowa soldier. He was cast in the role of Tomasz Czereśniak in ''Czterej pancerni i pies'' (Polish: ''Four tank men an ...

as Underground Soldier *

Barbara Połomska Barbara Połomska (9 January 1934 – 28 July 2021) was a Polish actress. She appeared in more than twenty films since 1955. Selected filmography References External links * 1934 births 2021 deaths Polish film actresses Actors fr ...

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 Roman Kłosowski (14 February 1929 – 11 June 2018) was a Polish character actor and stage director. Biography He was born on February 14, 1929, in Biała Podlaska. Graduate of the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art's Facul ...

as Witold

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 {{Poland-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links