Landscape After Battle

The opening scenes are pure cinematic ballet as the War prisoners celebrate their freedom from the German camps with the arrival of the Americans. The story then bogs down as we follow one of the prisoners, Taeusz, (Olbrychski), a poet who has emotionally cut himself off from the mayhem around him by dwelling into books and food. The Americans decide to keep the Polish prisoners caged until they know what to do with them. Nina enters the camp and edges Taeusz on to open his eyes but he refuses to take any risks. Only later does he become aware but by this stage it is too late. There are important topics brought up here via Taeusz but never in any cinematic brilliance. Instead we get a lot of talk and the occasional visual brilliance but not enough to keep the viewer interested.

I think I would probably not hate this movie if I spoke Polish. I selected the English version at the first menu, but it gave me Polish dialogue with English subtitles, just as the Polish version did. Maybe the dialogue was so disjointed because the person that did the subtitles could not translate it into English very well. To exacerbate the issue, some of the dialogue had no subtitles at all. The acting was pretty bad, especially the female lead, who was melodramatic about everything! One scene that bothered me was when a German woman was caught stealing and as the mob was jostling her around, her shirt opened and the director showed close-ups of her naked breast for the next 15-20 seconds. I couldn't see how her breast added to the drama of the scene or the film. Maybe the director was trying to increase the numbers of teenage boys in the audience. Much of the film takes place in an extermination camp liberated by the Americans. First, the "American" uniforms did not look anything like U.S. Army uniforms. Second, none of the extermination camps in Poland were liberated by the Americans. I would think that a Polish film director who turned 19 in 1945 would know better than an American born in 1966 that all six extermination camps were liberated by the Russians. All in all, it's just not a very good film if you don't speak Polish.

Aside from the fact that the women in the film are stunningly beautiful and all the camp prisoners are too fat, this film rings true on the chaos of the post-war.

Beautiful photography, and a powerful national expression of the Polish national character.

It's very slow at points, but its entire pacing is so different from American and Western European films that it's quite refreshing.

Both lead actors do a very good job. On the DVD version, you can see interviews with the principal actors and crew, and the lead actress Stanislawa Celinska has gained about 50 lbs and lost all of her beauty. But in 1970, she was a stunner.

there is one of the best movies directed by andrzej wajda,that story told about young writer who is seekin' his place after a second war(he's survive german camp).excellent true atmosphere(action goes in camp for displaced placed),main hero(played by one of the best polish actor daniel olbrychski) finally fall in love ,but unfortunately his lady has been killed .there was beautiful scene,when he is talking with american soldier and says (about death his girl)"nothing is happen,simply you're shootin' to us now... he's condition of soul has been destroyed. 10/10

All songs are about love. All songs are about this hidden treasure. But this movie won't save us too.

And, of course, have been changed during translation on one Ukrainian channel. On repeat the beginning is not the same that have been during translation.

But the movie is still the same that is been around. Like in 1970. Like now.

A moey zhenoy nakormili tolpu.

And my wife has been fed to the crowd.