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When Angels Fall

Original title: Gdy spadaja anioly
  • 19591959
  • 21m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
128,661
12,453
When Angels Fall (1959)
ShortDramaFantasy
A church bell chimes. An old woman stops to feed pidgins on her way to work in the men's lavatory in the basement of a public building. She sits all day by the lavatory door as little dramas... Read allA church bell chimes. An old woman stops to feed pidgins on her way to work in the men's lavatory in the basement of a public building. She sits all day by the lavatory door as little dramas play out -- of illness, assignation, and routine -- a few tips her only acknowledgment. T... Read allA church bell chimes. An old woman stops to feed pidgins on her way to work in the men's lavatory in the basement of a public building. She sits all day by the lavatory door as little dramas play out -- of illness, assignation, and routine -- a few tips her only acknowledgment. The sound of footsteps on the floor above her brings a reverie of her youth, when she was a... Read all
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
1.3K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
128,661
12,453
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Roman Polanski
    • Writer
      • Roman Polanski(scenario)
    • Stars
      • Barbara Lass
      • Roman Polanski
      • Henryk Kluba
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Roman Polanski
    • Writer
      • Roman Polanski(scenario)
    • Stars
      • Barbara Lass
      • Roman Polanski
      • Henryk Kluba
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 7User reviews
    • 5Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • Photos57

    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)
    When Angels Fall (1959)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Barbara Lass
    Barbara Lass
      Roman Polanski
      Roman Polanski
      • Old woman
      Henryk Kluba
      Henryk Kluba
      Andrzej Kondratiuk
      Andrzej Kondratiuk
        Ryszard Filipski
        Ryszard Filipski
          Jakub Goldberg
          Jakub Goldberg
          • Meter Man
          • (uncredited)
          Andrzej Kostenko
          Andrzej Kostenko
            • Director
              • Roman Polanski
            • Writer
              • Roman Polanski(scenario)
            • All cast & crew
            • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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            Storyline

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            Did you know

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            • Trivia
              The idea for Roman Polanski's short movie (his diploma piece from Lodz Szkola Filmowa and his first one in color) was taken from a short story "Klozet Babcia", written by Leszek Szymanski and published weekly "Kierunki" in Warsaw, Poland.

            User reviews7

            Review
            Top review
            You find God only after you have lost all
            It was his diploma production. The old woman is played by Polanski himself.

            Some reviewers considered this very distinct among the other movies of Polanski, either earlier or made after. I dare to relate it to Nóż w Wodzie though (as I did with the other earlier films). Again there are the two worlds. Ours, remembered in twenty minutes, when you are too old and too aware that no hopes fulfill, no dreams come true, life is just nothingness. And theirs, the ones that live in another universe and come sometimes to visit us. And their visit makes sense to us only when no hopes, no dreams can support us anymore. Angels come only when you are too aware about the nothingness of your life. And they come exactly there, in the nothingness of your life.

            Paul Tillich was right: you find God only after you have lost all.
            helpful•0
            2
            • p_radulescu
            • Jun 21, 2011

            Details

            Edit
            • Release date
              • 1959 (United Kingdom)
            • Country of origin
              • Poland
            • Language
              • Polish
            • Also known as
              • Ángeles caídos
            • Filming locations
              • Poland
            • Production company
              • Panstwowa Wyzsza Szkola Filmowa, Telewizyjna i Teatralna (PWSFTviT)
            • See more company credits at IMDbPro

            Technical specs

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            • Runtime
              21 minutes
            • Color
              • Black and White
              • Color
            • Sound mix
              • Mono
            • Aspect ratio
              • 1.37 : 1

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