The Promised Land (1975 film)
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''The Promised Land'' ( pl, Ziemia obiecana) is a 1975 Polish
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by
Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the ...
, based on a
novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...
by
Władysław Reymont Władysław Stanisław Reymont (, born Rejment; 7 May 1867 – 5 December 1925) was a Polish novelist and the 1924 laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature. His best-known work is the award-winning four-volume novel '' Chłopi'' (''The Peasants ...
. Set in the industrial city of
Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
, ''The Promised Land'' tells the story of a Pole, a German, and a Jew struggling to build a factory in the raw world of 19th-century
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
. Wajda presents a shocking image of the city, with its dirty and dangerous factories and ostentatiously opulent residences devoid of taste and culture. The film follows in the footsteps of
Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...
,
Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...
and
Maxim Gorky Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в;  – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
, as well as
German expressionists German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...
such as Knopf, Meidner and Grosz, who gave testimony of social protest. In the 2015 poll conducted by the Polish Museum of Cinematography in
Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
, ''The Promised Land'' was ranked first on the list of the greatest Polish films of all time.


Plot

Karol Borowiecki (
Daniel Olbrychski Daniel Marcel Olbrychski (; born 27 February 1945) is a Polish film and theatre actor who is widely considered one of the greatest Polish actors of his generation. He appeared in 180 films and TV productions and is best known for leading roles ...
), a young Polish nobleman, is the managing engineer at the Bucholz textile factory. He is ruthless in his career pursuits, and unconcerned with the long tradition of his financially declined family. He plans to set up his own factory with the help of his friends Max Baum (
Andrzej Seweryn Andrzej Teodor Seweryn (born 25 April 1946) is a Polish actor and director. One of the most successful Polish theatre actors, he starred in over 50 films, mostly in Poland, France and Germany. He is also one of only three non-French actors to b ...
), a German and heir to an old handloom factory, and Moritz Welt (
Wojciech Pszoniak Wojciech Zygmunt Pszoniak (2 May 1942 – 19 October 2020) was a Polish film and theatre actor. Biography and career Pszoniak was born in Lwów, Nazi occupied Poland, now in Ukraine. He gained international visibility following Andrzej Wajda's 19 ...
), an independent Jewish businessman. Borowiecki's affair with Lucy Zucker (
Kalina Jędrusik Kalina Jędrusik (5 February 1930 in Częstochowa – 7 August 1991 in Warsaw) was a Polish singer and actress. She performed in more than thirty films from 1953 to 1991. Jędrusik was married to writer Stanisław Dygat. Biography Kalina ...
), the wife of another textile magnate, gives him advance notice of a change in cotton
tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
s and helps Welt to make a killing on the Hamburg
futures market A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts defined by the exchange. Futures contracts are derivatives contracts to buy or sell specific quantities of a commodity or fi ...
. However, more money has to be found so all three characters cast aside their pride to raise the necessary capital. On the day of the factory opening, Borowiecki has to deny his affair with Zucker's wife to a jealous husband who, himself a Jew, makes him swear on a sacred Catholic object. Borowiecki then accompanies Lucy on her exile to Berlin. However, Zucker sends an associate to spy on his wife; he confirms the affair and informs Zucker, who takes his revenge on Borowiecki by burning down his brand new, uninsured factory. Borowiecki and his friends lose all that they had worked for. The film fast forwards a few years. Borowiecki recovered financially by marrying Mada Müller, a rich heiress, and he owns his own factory. His factory is threatened by a workers' strike. Borowiecki is forced to decide whether or not to open fire on the striking and demonstrating workers, who throw a rock into the room where Borowiecki and others are gathered. He is reminded by an associate that it is never too late to change his ways. Borowiecki, who has never shown human compassion toward his subordinates, authorizes the police to open fire nevertheless.


Selected cast


Production

The orgy scene in the garden of Kessler's palace featured female textile workers as extras. And because it was cold, they were 'warmed up' with a little alcohol. "They were so into the atmosphere that they undressed more than they should have," recalled Andrzej Halinski, 2nd stage designer. Parts of the film were filmed at the Villa of "Cotton King"
Karl Wilhelm Scheibler Karl Wilhelm Scheibler ( pl, Karol Scheibler, 1 September 1820 – 13 April 1881) was a German-born Polish industrialist, businessman and textile manufacturer. Biography Scheibler was born in Montjoie (today Monschau) in the Prussian Provinc ...
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Awards

At the
9th Moscow International Film Festival The 9th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 10 to 23 July 1975. The Golden Prizes were awarded to the Polish film '' The Promised Land'' directed by Andrzej Wajda, the Soviet-Japanese film ''Dersu Uzala'' directed by Akira Kurosawa a ...
in 1975, the film won the Golden Prize. It was also nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...
.


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 There are two lists of Polish language films: # Alphabetical by Polish title # Alphabetical by title of English release Alphabetical by Polish title * ''Austeria'' * '' Bilans kwartalny'' * '' Człowiek na torze'' * '' Człowiek z Marmuru'' * ...
*
List of submissions to the 48th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of submissions to the 48th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film was created in 1956 by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to honour non-English-speaking films ...
*
List of Polish submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Poland has submitted films for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film on a regular basis since 1963. The Oscar is handed out annually by the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to a feature-length motion pictu ...


Footnotes


Sources

*Niemitz, Dorota. 2014. ''The legacy of postwar Polish filmmaker Andrzej Munk.'' World Socialist Web Site. 13 October, 2014. https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2014/10/13/munk-o13.html Retrieved 08 July, 2022.


Further reading

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Promised Land 1975 films 1975 drama films Polish drama films 1970s Polish-language films Films about businesspeople Films based on Polish novels Films set in factories Films set in Łódź Films directed by Andrzej Wajda Films scored by Wojciech Kilar