A GENERATION

A GENERATION (POKOLENIE), 1955
Poland | HDD, Black & White, 87’ | Polish, German
Director: Andrzej Wajda
Cast: Tadeusz Lomnicki, Urszula Modrzynska, Tadeusz Janczar

This first film of the trilogy about the underground resistance in Poland during World War II is essentially a coming-of-age story. The film is set against the historical backdrop of what came to be known as the “Warsaw Ghetto Uprising” during which the Jewish resistance fought against the German forces who were planning to deport them to the camp at Treblinka in 1943. While our protagonist, Stach, is introduced to love as well as to resistance against oppression, the film presents a merciless portrait of humankind on the cost of war.