The Ashes

A historical film set in Poland and across Europe. The year is 1797. Poland has been wiped from the map; divided between three empires. Rafał is a young nobleman. He lives in the provinces, at his family's house. He is expelled from school. He was caught with a girl. He goes home. His father puts him to work on the estate. From there the film follows his years. He has a friend. Krzysztof is better educated, more determined, and believes in something. He thinks that to restore Poland one must join Napoleon's army. Rafał is not interested at first. There is a love line as well. A relationship with Helena forms and ends badly. Then the war comes. Polish units fight in the French army. There is a promise in return: the country will be restored. The narrative follows these units across Europe. The Spanish section is the hardest part. The siege of Zaragoza; street fighting, civilian deaths, and the storming of a monastery. Polish soldiers are there putting down a people's resistance. The narrative shows it directly and justifies it nowhere. There is a Haiti section too. Polish units are sent to put down a slave rebellion. Men who believe they are fighting for their own freedom crush somebody else's. What the narrative is interested in is not homeland but being used: its idea is that Polish soldiers were made to fight all over Europe in exchange for a promise, and that the promise was never kept. Rafał changes. In the end he is a man who has been in a war with nothing left to believe. The film caused a hard argument when it opened in Poland. It was criticised for questioning national myths. The source is Stefan Żeromski's novel. The running time is very long; close to four hours. The images are black and white and widescreen. Daniel Olbrychski became known through this film. Andrzej Wajda directed. Daniel Olbrychski, Bogusław Kierc, Piotr Wysocki and Beata Tyszkiewicz are in the cast. Who it is for: anyone who likes Polish cinema and large-scale historical narrative. Who it is not for: anyone who cannot sit through the length; the narrative runs four hours and the connections between the characters are hard to follow.