A Generation (1955)
"Pokolenie" (original title)

Story of youths during the German occupation of Poland in the World War II who come to adulthood through love and adversity.

Director:

Andrzej Wajda

Writers:

Bohdan Czeszko (novel), Bohdan Czeszko (screenplay)

Stars:

Tadeusz Lomnicki, Urszula Modrzynska, Tadeusz Janczar

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tadeusz Lomnicki	...	Stach Mazur
Urszula Modrzynska	...	Dorota
Tadeusz Janczar	...	Jasio Krone
Janusz Paluszkiewicz	...	Sekula
Ryszard Kotys	...	Jacek (as Ryszard Kotas)
Roman Polanski	...	Mundek
Ludwik Benoit	...	Grzesio
Zofia Czerwinska	...	Lola
Zbigniew Cybulski	...	Kostek
Tadeusz Fijewski	...	German Guard
Zygmunt Hobot	...	Abram
Cezary Julski	...	Coachman
Bronislaw Kassowski	...	Speculator
August Kowalczyk	...	Priest
Jerzy Krasowski	...	Wladek

Storyline

During the Nazi occupation of Poland, a generation of youth comes of age. Stach and his friends start with spontaneous acts of defiance, which can prove deadly, but have no organized purpose. Then, while at work as an apprentice, Stach learns elementary Marxian economics from a shop steward. When he sees the valiant and beautiful Dorota, a leader of the Youth Underground, he volunteers. He recruits his friends, and they become a cell in the resistance, tasting courage, discipline, and tragedy. In the background lies the potential conflict between the Communists and the partisans, both anti-Nazi, both Polish, and on their own collision course.

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Plot Keywords:

youth | nazi occupation | falling through a staircase | suicide | staircase | 

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Release Date:

26 January 1955 (Poland)

Also Known As:

A Generation

Filming Locations:

Warsaw, Mazowieckie, Poland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zespól Filmowy "Kadr"

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Acclaimed British director Lindsay Anderson considered it his favorite film.

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Connections

Featured in Zbyszek (1969)

User Reviews

Totally unimpressed.

If you have read some of the other reviews, you already have a fair idea of what this is about. Considering the miserable legacy left behind, Marxism is not something that I can consider a positive development. And the growing self-righteousness of the anti-Nazi Marxists is typical of an increasing number of Americans who seem to think that we need to try the Marxist ideas yet again.

The acting in this film is really pretty terrible. All the time I was watching A Generation, I kept thinking I was watching a movie from the 1920s. The story line is flimsy, there is almost no character development, and frankly, I felt as if this was a piece of Soviet propaganda. I'll watch two more Wajda movies, but I'm hoping they will be a marked improvement.