Popieluszko. Wolnosc jest w nas (2009)

Director:

Rafal Wieczynski

Writer:

Rafal Wieczynski (written by)

Release Date:

27 February 2009 (Poland)

Genre:

Biography | History

Plot:

Story of life of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the priest called "The Solidarity Chaplain", murdered by communist secret police. |

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Artur Balczynski	...	Young Wladyslaw Popieluszko - Jerzy's Father
Adam Biedrzycki	...	Father Adam
Teresa Bielinska	...	Nun
Witold Bielinski	...	Army Officer
Katarzyna Boguslawska	...	Ambulance Dispatcher
Grzegorz Bonski	...	Cleric
Kazimierz Borowiec	...	Wladyslaw Popieluszko - Jerzy's father
Filip Budweil	...	Corporal
Dorota Calek	...	Sister Gertruda
Szymon Cempura	...	Father Lewandowski
Lukasz Chojeta	...	Cleric
Ryszard Czarnecki	...	'Ursus' Manager
Robert Czebotar	...	SB Agent
Karolina Demianiuk	...	Grandmother
Ryszard Dolinski	...	Older
Sebastian Domagala	...	Leszek Pekala
Joanna Drozda	...	Jola
Piotr Duda	...	Waldemar Chmielewski
Jan Englert	...	Professor
Andrzej Fedorowicz	...	Actor
Beata Fido	...	Sister Krystyna
Marek Frackowiak	...	Father Teofil Bogucki
Józef Glemp	...	Himself
Bartosz Glogowski	...	Political Officer
Grzegorz Golaszewski	...	Boy
Mateusz Grydlik	...	Franek
Sebastian Grzelak	...	Cleric
Anna Gzyra	...	Medicine student
Klaudia Halejcio	...	Kaska
Jan Hencz	...	Man in Coat
Jan Jakubowski	...	Steelworks Manager
Agnieszka Jaworska	...	Young Marianna Popieluszko - Jerzy's Mother
Joanna Jezewska	...	Barbara Sadowska
Magdalena Kacprzak	...	Dorota
Kazimierz Kaczor	...	Laniecki
Krzysztof Kalczynski	...	Old Man
Kryspin Karbownik	...	Boy in the Camera
Michal Kepinski	...	ZOMO Commander
Marcin Klejno	...	Jerzy Popieluszko (child)
Krzysztof Kolberger	...	Father Chancellor
Maja Komorowska	...	Maja
Adam Konowalski	...	Cleric Nowak
Andrzej Kosowski	...	'Ursus' Worker
Slawomir Kostrzewa	...	Bishop's Secretary
Anna Kotanska	...	Franciscan Nun
Janusz Kotanski	...	Primate's Committee Member
Michal Kowalczyk	...	Cleric
Pawel Kowalski	...	SB Agent
Robert Kowalski	...	Orderly
Wladyslaw Kowalski	...	Professor of Physics
Jan Kozaczuk	...	Vicar
Jerzy Kozak	...	French TV Sound Engineer
Miroslawa Krajewska	...	Doctor Irena
Marian Krawczyk	...	Man
Dominika Krecinska	...	Baby
Antoni Królikowski	...	Grzegorz Przemyk
Boguslaw Kudlek	...	Father Waclaw
Kacper Kuniawka	...	Józef Popieluszko - Jerzy's Brother
Jan Kuszneruk	...	Host
Stanislawa Kuszneruk	...	Hostess
Dariusz Kwasnik	...	Jarek
Halina Labonarska	...	Actress
Andrzej Lelito	...	Correspondent
Marta Lewandowska	...	Anna
Piotr Ligienza	...	Witek
Marta Lipinska	...	Janina
Katarzyna Lochowska	...	Young Actress
Anna Lopatowska	...	Urszulanka
Wojciech Luszczynski	...	'Robotnik' Journalist
Wojciech Machnicki	...	Judge
Kazimierz Mazur	...	Kaska's friend
Agata Meilute	...	Nurse
Jacek Mieczkowski	...	'Ursus' Worker
Aleksander Mikolajczak	...	Father Georg
Wojciech Niemczyk	...	Cleric
Dominika Nikoniuk	...	Teresa Popieluszko - Jerzy's Sister
Karolina Nolbrzak	...	Krystyna
Rafal Nowak	...	Photographer
Bartlomiej Nowosielski	...	Steelworker Olek
Slawomir Orman	...	BBC Cameraman
Jacek Pasternak	...	Przemyk's Friend
Eugeniusz Paszkowski	...	Soldier
Radoslaw Pazura	...	Piotr
Martyna Peszko	...	Marysia
Maciej Pietrzyk	...	Janina's husband
Agata Piotrowska	...	Prosecutor (as Agata Piotrowska-Mastalerz)
Leszek Piskorz	...	Attorney Edward Wende
Anna Plazewska	...	Girl
Krzysztof Pluskota	...	Lieutenant
Wlodzimierz Press	...	Stanislaw Suchowolec - priest
Andrzej Przygodzki	...	Steelworker with Guitar
Robert Rogalski	...	Father Kazimierz Jancarz
Michal Rolnicki	...	Medicine Student
Halina Rowicka	...	Old Lady
Jacek Rozenek	...	Grzegorz Piotrowski
Cezary Rybinski	...	Mieczyslaw
Bogdan Sadowski	...	Juror
Marek Sawicki	...	Steelworker Florian
Wieslaw Schreyer	...	Army Officer
Marek Sioma	...	Priest in Seminary
Slawomir Skalowski	...	French TV Cameraman
Katarzyna Skolimowska	...	Marysia's Neighbour
Magdalena Smalara	...	Nurse
Tomasz Sniegocki	...	Steelworker
Wojciech Solarz	...	Florian
Maciej Sosnowski	...	Steelworker
Andrzej Srodzinski	...	Militiaman
Joanna Sydor-Klepacka	...	Interpreter
Joanna Szczepkowska	...	Roma Parandowska-Szczepkowska
Michal Szewczyk	...	Zbigniew Herbert
Jan Urbanski	...	Maciek
Christopher Voise	...	Cameraman
Tomasz Wasik	...	Cleric
Marcin Wawrzyniak	...	SB Agent
Wojciech Wojtowicz	...	Photographer
Adam Woronowicz	...	Jerzy Popieluszko
Maciej Wyczanski	...	Cleric
Artur Wyrzykowski	...	Student
Sylwia Wysocka	...	Lopatka's secretary
Jacek Zablocki	...	Cleric Stanislaw
Sylwester Zaboklicki	...	Sacristan
Zbigniew Zamachowski	...	Ireneusz
Slawomir Zapala	...	Young Policeman
Tomasz Zaród	...	Russian Officer
Mateusz Zielinski	...	Marysia's Child

Also Known As:

Popieluszko: Freedom Is Within Us (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

180 min | Poland:150 min

Country:

Poland

Language:

Polish

Color:

Color

Company:

Focus Producers Co

Freedom Within Self, Freedom Within Nation, Freedom Within Humanity

"They can beat me, torture me, and even kill me. Then they will have my dead body, but not my obedience." The shocking sentence has occurred so accurate in the lives of many people, particularly in a life of a simple priest Jerzy Popieluszko (1947-1984)...

Okopy, Poland on a sunny day filled with breezes that move tree branches, beautiful forests and such a peaceful atmosphere. Among these views of nature, we notice a young boy, Jurek, on the mushroom tour with his dad, a boy with a deeply religious upbringing where YES means YES and NO means NO and the lecture is THE KNIGHT OF THE IMMACULATA, a monthly magazine initiated by Maximilian Maria Kolbe. But who could then predict that soon, the peaceful life of this "boy" will be known in the whole country? Who could then predict that the "boy" will once shake the very foundations of communist ideology, who will become an object of fear even to the most "faithful wealthy comrades"? Indeed, no one could anticipate that this BOY will become one of the most genuine witnesses of Truth in the 1980s who will make the slaves of the red plague tremble...

Having seen this movie on the big screen, I felt I was watching something really significant. It was felt, from the very beginning, that this movie is no simple entertainment that you see and soon forget, but a biopic that addresses the very essence of human psychology and the very core of latest history alike. All can be defined in one simple word: FREEDOM!

POPIELUSZKO depicts the struggle for Freedom on two bases: the outer struggle within the nation and the inner struggle within oneself. While the former one represents all the background of Polish history including Solidarnosc movement and Wojciech Jaruzelski's policy, the latter one is universal. It is the struggle with all dangers against spirit, something people of good will know very well. Here, I should mention the powerful scene when Priest Jerzy leaves the trial hall and says a meaningful sentence: "It is hatred I fight against." "With what weapon?" someone could ask sardonically...with the "weapon" of goodness to people he meets around, he meets on his way of life. That's his scale of living: to fight, as he once says, not merely against the victims of evil but against evil itself. In this, he wins the battle with all wickedness that is meant to destroy his upright heart. This innate experience leads us to the depiction of Popieluszko as a social phenomenon of the time as well as an extraordinarily spiritual figure...

He is truly the one who is ready to give his own shoes to someone in need, the one who has a word of advice to a desperate wife, the one who has a deed of consolation to a mourning mother, who offers understanding for regretting prisoner; finally, the one who pardons his own murderers... That is what we see in the process of his personal growth, the growth to BE more, to SACRIFICE more, to LOVE more, so to say, to FOLLOW his Master to the very horror of Cross. In this aspect, what touches most is the plot of Grzegorz Przemyk (Antoni Krolikowski) who, thanks to priest Jerzy's love, finds meaning in his short life.

The aspect I particularly loved about the movie was the accurate combination of two JPs of the time...Jerzy Popieluszko and John Paul II. Although John Paul II preaches the good news from the heights, as the bishop accurately points out, it does not mean simple people are not beckoned to do the same. That's what Priest Jerzy realized and brought to reality.

The intense psychology in the movie does not mean the film lacks humor. It's full of witty moments for the saint without a smile is a gray saint... Clever script and funny moments will amuse you to tears. I remember laughing at the scene Popieluszko practices his voice in the Marian song. Later, to my astonishment, his voice is the loudest and the best one of all. So you can learn anything if you want, even the, seemingly, "impossible"...

The performances are crafted well. Although Adam Woronowicz is not a famous Polish actor, he does a wonderful job in the lead portraying his character's combination of simplicity with deep spirituality. The supporting cast include memorable performances by Kazimierz Kaczor, Krzysztof Kolberger, and Maja Komorowska. Furthermore, there is a need to mention the presence of His Eminence cardinal Jozef Glemp. I also liked the roles of Wladyslaw Kowalski as the Professor and Agata Piotrowska as madame procurator. They represent two opposing sides of human intellect and two opposite uses of it.

Therefore, many Poles hope this film will be seen by lots of people of good will throughout the world. Why? Not due to alleged "promotion" of so called "Polish Catholicism" as some critics falsely accuse the movie of. The reason why POPIELUSZKO is worth seeking out is the message. Although so many years have passed since Priest Jerzy's tragic death, his spirit lives among us and his ideals of Freedom within humanity. The fact that 17 million people have visited his tomb so far says for itself...

Yes, a spirit of a simple priest who dared say "NO" to evil, to bondage, to lie and manipulation because his "YES" was only for the Truth. And in spite of seemingly failed goals he had and allegedly lost dreams, his journey of life is the one of victory. While his journey ended with peace, the journeys of lie and tyranny, indeed, have reasons to tremble.

Partly thanks to this film, Priest Jerzy's example keeps saying to us even louder now: set on your own journey in this very spirit, overcome evil with good in order to see, in the end, the smile on the Face of Crucified Love!