Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema

As World War II and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Soviet forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland.

During a pogrom in Poland on the eve of World War I, a group of Jews seek refuge from the Cossacks. The fugitives hide out in a rural inn, terrified that they may be given away at any moment.

In the 15th century the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth is facing a hard struggle against the neighboring Teutonic Order.Frequent clashes between the two powers finally culminate in 1410 with the Battle of Grunwald.

Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.

A group of students are spending the summer vacation at a university camp studying the science of linguistics. One of the camp directors, Jaroslaw, is a young professor who prefers the straightforward, intimate approach to students. He is opposed in his liberal views by Jakub, who likes to manipulate people. There is a confrontation from the beginning when Jaroslaw allows to attend the seminar a student who presents the views not according to the official line. In the end, a jury prize is given to mediocre paper, while the suspected school of thought still draws a recommendation. Finally the deputy rector arrives for the closing ceremonies, and since he disfavors the line of thought awarded by the recommendation the tensions rise. They climax when student in question bites the rector in the ear while receiving recommendation. The confrontation results in a scandal and the police is called in.

A young man is facing death of his mother. A petty corruption at his job leads to him being framed and robbed of his only desire to climb mountains in Himalayas, as his father did and where he died.

Two sketches covering episodes from the World War II. In the first novel, "Scherzo alla polacca", a shrewd son, trying to preserve his skin, ultimately becomes a hero and finds a reason for fighting. He initially tries to avoid underground training to avoid the Warsaw uprising. His drunkenness, disregard for safety and cowardice when sober stated with humorous effect come out as something sane in the world gone mad. His will to survive is more acceptable than any desire for heroic death. The second novel, "Ostinato lugubre", details a hopeless attempt at escape from a prison camp by a man who can no longer stand the confinement and idiocy of the professional soldiers trying to keep up the military preneses in prison. Nevertheless, his escape boosts the morale of his fellow prisoners, while the "escapee" lies hidden from Germans and comrades alike."

Józef visits his dying father at a remote mental institution, where time itself doesn't seem to exist, and the line between dreams and memories becomes indistinguishable.

Tabloid life of a physicist; his work, his love life and his quest for the meaning beyond.

A womanizer is tired of being sought by women. One night he meets a young girl who all but forces herself into his room, where they talk of morals and love.

A man hops off a train by the small town where he claims he was before. His presence allows to bring out the inner feelings and beliefs of the inhabitants. A man who has hidden through all of the war because he looked Jewish, even if he is not, took on a fame of a dead Jewish actor he resembles. The visitor's wife shows up to claim his and indicate that he is always running off. He escapes in the end for another town.

A young man meets a middle-aged woman at a deserted beach. Will they overcome their personal and wartime traumas and find a way to stay together?

A few years after the events of Man of Marble (1977), a journalist investigates Mateusz Birkut's son Maciek Tomczyk, now an activist leading a shipyard strike.

A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.

Jerzy enters a train set for the Baltic coast. He seems to be on the run from something, as does the strange woman with whom he must share a sleeping compartment.

Young Pharaoh Ramses XIII clashes with Egypt's clergy over influence on the affairs of the state and its coffers.

Three friends hope to build a factory but their plans are quickly jeopardized by local politics and one of the partner's dangerous love affair.

Upon finding a book that relates his grandfather's story, an officer ventures through Spain meeting a wide array of characters, most of whom have a story of their own to tell.

A soon-to-be lawyer crosses his path with a taxi driver and a young sinister man.

The young couple love each other. The boy is in constant work which will fit him, and in the end becomes a petty thief who cannot pay his debts anymore and decides to steal from homes where he pays scheduled visits to lonely housewifes. The girl works a nurse but is too sensitive in extreme cases. Running parallel to their story is a metaphor involving a castaway on a junkyard, who tries every means possible to get rid of the dog which becomes attached to him. In the end he attaches sticks of dynamite to the dog, but he breaks loose and the explosion wipes them both.

Set at the turn of the century, the story concerns a Polish poet living in Cracow who has decided to marry a peasant girl. The wedding is attended by a heterogenous group of people from all strata of Polish society, who dance, get drunk and lament Poland's 100-year-long division of Poland under Russia, Prussia, and Austria. The bridegroom, a painter friend, and a journalist each in turn is confronted with spectres of Polish past. In the end a call to arms is called but turns out to be a hoax.

A couple pick up a hitchhiker on the way to their yacht. The husband invites the young man to come along for their day's sailing. As the voyage progresses, the antagonism between the two men grows. A violent confrontation is inevitable.

The film is set in a small town near Warsaw, to which a young up-and-coming director comes to produce a classic play (Wyspianski "Wyzwolenie") in a modern vein. Everyone in the production gets his usual stereotypical role, but the aging idol of the ensemble senses the opportunity to give the performance of his life. For the young director everything is already set. The leading man, however, is not giving up and is trying to restore the role according to his view. His wife listens to his fears, complaints and frustrations, while resigning herself to a fading career in a puppet theatre.

A young boxer Andrzej Leszczyc not only has to face a tough boxing opponent but needs to make some serious personal and professional choices.