''Shadow'' () is a 1956

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

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

directed by

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

. It was entered into the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.

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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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 totalitarian means of governing and Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from 1927 to 1953 by dictator Joseph Stalin and in Soviet satellite states between 1944 and 1953. Stalinism in ...

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 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 Pol ...

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. Filmography References External links * 1920 births 2001 deaths Burials at Powązki Cemetery Polish mal ...

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 A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light ...

as Railwayman * Bohdan Ejmont as Officer * Marian Łącz as Stefan * Zdzisław Szymański as Peasant * Halina Przybylska as Village Woman * Antoni Jurasz 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 ...

as Underground Soldier * Barbara Połomska as Stefan's Friend * Stanisław Mikulski 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 14 February 1929 in Biała Podlaska. Graduate of the Aleksander Zelwerowicz National Academy of Dramatic Art's Faculty ...

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 KADR films {{Poland-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links