ASHES AND DIAMONDS (Popiół i Diament)

dir. Andrzej Wajda / Poland / Drama / 1958 / 103 min The extraordinary final installment in Wajda’s war trilogy and an unquestionable masterpiece set on the last day of the war and the first day of peace, when a young Home Army soldier (Zbigniew Cybulski, in his most famous role) is assigned to assassinate a Communist official. ’The Polish films I remember best are the ones made by Andrzej Wajda many years ago. Even then, my memory is a bit hazy! But images from Kanal and Ashes and Diamonds stay in my mind