''Prawo i pięść'' ("The Law and the Fist") is a 1964 Polish post-war

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

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. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Jerzy Hoffman Jerzy Julian Hoffman (; born 15 March 1932) is a Polish director, screenwriter, and producer. He received the Polish Academy Life Achievement Award in February 2006. Hoffman is best known for his works in ''The Deluge (film), The Deluge'' (1974) ...

and Edward Skórzewski. Based on a 1964 novel of the same name (originally published as ''Toast'') by Józef Hen, the film achieved

cult status A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The latter is often called a cult classic. A film, book ...

in the history of Polish cinema.

Synopsis

Set in 1945, immediately after the end of

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 ...

, it tells the story of Andrzej Kenig, a former fighter of the Polish resistance and survivor of a German concentration camp. He is sent with a small group of men as government representatives to the fictional town of Siwowo/Graustadt in the so-called

Recovered Territories The Recovered Territories or Regained Lands () are the lands east of the Oder–Neisse line, Oder-Neisse line that over the centuries were gradually lost by Poland and colonized by the Germans, and that returned to Poland after World War II. T ...

, the new western territories of Poland. Their task is to secure the property left there by the retreating Germans. The small town is mostly abandoned and the only remaining inhabitants are four women and a drunken waiter at the hotel. Upon reaching the town, Kenig discovers that the other members of the government delegation are not who they claim to be, and that their only task is to loot as much of the property as they can for themselves. Kenig decides to fight against the gang of bandits alone, which leads to a shootout on the rooftops and in the streets of the deserted town.

Background

The motif of a lone hero fighting against a group of villains resulted in the film being described as a "Polish

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

". The film is also remembered for its original score, written by

Krzysztof Komeda Krzysztof Trzciński (27 April 1931 – 23 April 1969), known professionally as Krzysztof Komeda, was a Polish film score composer and jazz pianist widely regarded as one of the most influential Polish jazz musicians. He is best known for writin ...

, and especially the popular song ''Nim wstanie dzień'' ("before the day breaks"), with music by Komeda, lyrics by

Agnieszka Osiecka Agnieszka Osiecka (Polish pronunciation: ; 9 October 1936 – 7 March 1997) was a Polish poet, writer, author of theatre and television screenplays, film director and journalist. She was a prominent Polish songwriter, having authored the lyrics to ...

, and performed by Edmund Fetting.

Cast

Gustaw Holoubek Gustaw Teofil Holoubek (21 April 1923 – 6 March 2008) was a Polish actor, director, member of the Polish Sejm, and a senator. Holoubek participated in the September Campaign and was a prisoner of war during the Nazi German Occupation of Pol ...

as Andrzej Kenig * Zofia Mrozowska as Anna * Hanna Skarzanka as Barbara Dubikowska *

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 Antoni Smólka * Zdzisław Maklakiewicz as Czesiek Wróbel * Ryszard Pietruski as Wijas * Jerzy Przybylski as Doctor Mielecki * Wiesława Kwaśniewska as Zoska *

Ewa Wiśniewska Ewa Maria Wiśniewska (born 25 April 1942) is a Polish actress. During her career, she won several awards, include two Polish Film Awards, Gdynia Film Festival, Polish Film Festival Awards, and Złota Kaczka. She is also recipient of Order of Pol ...

as Janka * Zbigniew Dobrzynski as Rudlowski * Józef Nowak as Lieutenant Wrzesinski * Adam Perzyk as Maitre d'hotel Schaffer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Prawo i piesc 1964 films 1960s Polish-language films 1964 drama films Polish black-and-white films Films directed by Jerzy Hoffman Films scored by Krzysztof Komeda Films set in 1945 Films set in Poland Ostern films Polish Western (genre) films