A Generation (1955)
(Pokolenie, Andrzej Wajda, Poland 1955, 86 min., 35mm, Polish w/subtitles)
Wajda. Andrzej Wajda’s debut feature is an intimate account of growing up in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, and marks the beginning of his “war trilogy” that continued with Kanal (screening October 12) and ended with Ashes and Diamonds (screening October 19). Based on the eponymous novel by Bohdan Czeszko, A Generation paints a detailed psychological profile of a young rebel who is forced to embrace adulthood prematurely by joining the underground communist resistance. Already in his first film, Wajda’s trademark is evident: the volatile mixture of personal and political, the questioning of official, state-sanctioned historical narratives, the corrosive effects of ideology on an individual, the price of responsibility—all also staples of the so-called Polish Film School that Wajda helped to create with this film.
Presented in collaboration with the Skalny Center for Polish and Central European Studies, University of Rochester.