Heroism (film)
| Eroica | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Directed by | Andrzej Munk |
| Written by | Jerzy Stefan Stawinski |
| Starring |
Edward Dziewonski Tadeusz Lomnicki Leon Niemczyk |
| Music by | Jan Krenz |
| Cinematography | Jerzy Wójcik |
| Distributed by | KADR |
|
Release date
|
1958 |
|
Running time
|
87 minutes |
| Country | Poland |
| Language | Polish |
Eroica (released in some territories as Heroism) is a 1958 film by Andrzej Munk. It is composed of two separate stories, each featuring the Polish concept of heroism and a role of a hero.
A third segment, Con Bravura, utilizing Polish romantic legend and different in spirit from the first two segments, was meant as the final part of the original film but although completed, was ultimately cut by Munk from the final version. It premiered on Polish Television in 1972 and depicts wartime couriers crossing the Tatra Mountains.
Eroica won the FIPRESCI Award at the 1959 Mar del Plata Film Festival.
The first part is a bitter, tragicomic story of Dzidziuś, a street-wise bon-vivant, drunkard, and coward who unwillingly becomes a soldier in the Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising. Dzidziuś wife Zosia is having an affair with a Hungarian officer stationed nearby, and Dzidziuś is ordered to contact the Hungarian unit and convince the officer to join the battle against the Nazis.
The second novel is set in a POW camp for Polish soldiers. Lt. Zawistowski, one of the interned soldiers, decides to make an attempt to escape from the camp. While none of his fellow inmates are sure whether he succeeded, his absence upsets the guards and provides hope and inspiration for the rest of prisoners. Soon his legend grows, making him a hero within the camp and helping to boost the prisoners' morale. However, it turns out that Lt. Zawistowski didn't actually follow through on his escape plans, but is hiding in the attic of one of the barracks. It turns out that he was hiding from his colleagues, whose ostentatious patriotism he simply could not stand.
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Wikipedia