Synopsis

The story unfolds in Poland, during World War II. Four German soldiers storm an isolated cottage. Intoxicated with violence, they kill Michał’s mother, his wife and son. Only he and his father manage to escape. Since Michał wants to become a member of the resistance movement, while in the city, he meets his friend Olek, who works for the partisans. As a surviving typhoid patient, he makes an outstanding contribution to the occupying force. From lice fed with his blood, a vaccine is designed. Despite being cautious, both Olek and Michał are ambushed by the secret police during a meeting. Fortunately, Michał manages to escape for a second time. His pursuers chase him up to a staircase, but arrest another man who happens to look like Michał. He finds a way to hide in the flat of the detained man’s pregnant wife. At this point, he realises that the woman is the living image of his late beloved Helena. This debut film encompasses both surreal and naturalistic elements. With its symbolic imagery and unconventional camera work, the great apocalypticist Andrzej Żuławski portrays war as a pessimistic parable of deadly chaos and pointless cruelty. Eerie but deeply moving!