Polish movies about Russia

A young Asian immigrant worker in Moscow tried to track down her baby, whom she abandoned at the hospital.

Peter Weir's follow-up to Master & Commander (2003) is the stark & brilliant The Way Back, which takes on the theme of man's struggle for freedom. At the dawn of WWII, several men escape from a Russian gulag. The film details their perilous & uncertain journey to freedom, as they cross deserts, mountains, & several nations.

August 2015, a courtroom in Rostov-on-Don. A man is peering through the bars of his cage, his eyes reveal that his nerves are about to snap. Today he will be handed down a sentence to which he must submit: 20 years’ imprisonment in Siberia for terrorism. The man is Oleg Sentsov, a film director and Maidan activist born in Simferopol in the Ukraine. He is charged with leading an anti-Russian terrorist movement and having planned attacks on bridges, power lines and a monument of Lenin. Sentsov defends himself, courageously and without flinching. He responds to the verdict with an emphatic denial of his crimes and instead accuses the accusers themselves ...

A big shot prosecutor Teodor Szacki divorces his wife and leaves Warsaw to “start a new life” in picturesque town in south­east Poland ­ Sandomierz. After a short while he is called in to investigate a strange and mysterious murder case. Alienated in provincial reality he struggles to find a killer, when he stumbles upon more victims. While the investigation continues he realizes that all murders are connected to alleged historical Jewish ritual killings. Those murders prompt a wave of anti­Semitic hysteria in the town. In his investigation Szacki must wrestle with the painful tangle of Polish­Jewish relations and real findings of his work ­ that roots of some legends arefantasy, not a grain of truth…

An estranged father and son are brought together by a young crane named Karl as they trace a family of the birds on their migratory journey from Russia to Africa.

Dovlatov charts six days in the life of brilliant, ironic writer who saw far beyond the rigid limits of 70s Soviet Russia. Sergei Dovlatov fought to preserve his own talent and decency with poet and writer Joseph Brodsky while watching his artist friends get crushed by the iron-willed state machinery.

Seven policemen, seven deadly sins, a murder case, secrets and the filth of everyday police work: Traffic Department transports the viewer into the darkest Warsaw streets.

Basia and Marek have been on the run their whole lives. Along with their nine-year-old daughter Ula, they experience what it’s like to be an immigrant in Sweden. When a Swedish social worker visits their home, she witnesses Ula’s everyday reality, as seen from the perspective of the local culture. Ula is then taken away from her parents and placed in foster care. Will Basia and Marek stick together and fight for Ula? Will they succeed in rebuilding their bond and their family?

Days before the end of the school year, Liliana gives Janek an ultimatum, giving him 24 hours to either prove his love for her or forget about her altogether.

Pawel, a Polish man in his early 30s, makes a living with his father Zygmunt importing second-hand clothing from the North of France to Southern Poland. On his way back from one of regular "business trips", Pawel is shocked to discover his father's picture on the cover of a Polish tabloid newspaper. The headline "traitor" is written next to his name. Zygmunt is a genuine hero of the struggle against totalitarianism and a recognized member of the "Solidarnosc" labor movement of the 80s. But now, Zygmunt is suddenly accused by the paper of having acted as a secret informer called THE MOLE by the communist regime.

Russia 2017. The world could be on the verge of a great war. People are anxious that things could fall apart. Evolving around an unfinished building, a diverse group of outsiders struggle to find their place in this rapidly changing society, making up the mosaic of existence that is life itself…

Two brothers are trying to find out the truth from years ago. The whole town is against them.

A dashing young Italian in Poland finds himself caught between two women — a novitiate nun and a ruthless corporate ladder-climber — in this lacerating vision of contemporary Poland from master filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi.

After the fall of the September Campaign of 1939, two Polish pilots are forced to fight for their nation in foreign battlefronts.

To be defeated and not be - a victory. This is the motto that life is guided by three young friends: Alek, Sophy and Rudy. Scouts, high school graduates high school in Warsaw drifting ambitious plans for the future broken through September 1939. Entering adulthood in a very dramatic times, which puts them a choice - to survive at any cost, or to join the fighting for a free homeland, risking everything. The boys brought up in patriotic homes, shaped by the ideals of scouting, they decide to fight. They become soldiers, and although every scrape with death, they can live a full life.

The contemporary story of a priest who launches a centre for troubled youth in a small parish. He is a good priest and is well-liked by his congregation, which remains unaware of his complicated past.

A shocking story about addiction and attempts to overcome it. The script is based on Jerzy Plich’s excellent novel “The Mighty Angel” (alternative title: "The Strong Angel Inn"). Jerzy (Robert Więckiewicz) is a writer and a heavy drinker. We meet him at the point when he believes that he can beat his addiction. He falls in love with a young girl (Julia Kijowska) and finally feels that he has got the person and the reason to live for. But soon he yields to his addiction.

Kuba attends an art opening with his girlfriend of two years and bumps into Mikal. The connection between these two young men is instantaneous and intoxicating, and despite opposition from all sides, he allows Mikal into his life. The results go beyond anything he could have imagined. This intimate and bold second feature from Polish director Tomasz Wasilewski captures the often-complicated consequences of finding love where others do not want it.

The creators of the legendary tango à trois reunite for an encore performance 25 years after breaking up. Determined to take on the night as if they had never aged they face the realities when their families arrive to join the audience.

Karol, an ordinary young man, runs into a much older man, whom he believes to be a Red Spider, the terrifying serial killer, prowling the streets of Cracow in 1960s. Karol becomes obsessed with the man and spies on him.

How was it possible that a single man influenced contemporary world so significantly? This film is an attempt to capture the phenomenon of a common man’s metamorphosis into a charismatic leader — an attempt to see how a Gdansk shipyard electrician fighting for workers’ rights awakened a hidden desire for freedom in millions of people.

Not satisfied with the result of a murder investigation in Warsaw's gay community, an officer in 1980s communist Poland resolves to uncover the truth.

Anna, a young novitiate in 1960s Poland, is on the verge of taking her vows when she discovers a family secret dating back to the years of the German occupation.

Young couple living in the old house suddenly discover an elevator which takes them directly to year 1939.

The rise and fall of the most distinguished Polish-Gypsy poetess Bronislawa Wajs, widely known as Papusza, and her relationship with her discoverer, writer Jerzy Ficowski.

Mateusz is an intelligent, romantic young man tragically trapped inside his own body, suffering from severe cerebral palsy that makes speech and controlled movement nearly impossible. Born into a loving family, Mateusz’s protected world is shattered when circumstances place him in an institution where he is misunderstood and mistreated. Featuring an astonishing, virtuoso lead performance, Life Feels Good beautifully recounts the true story of one man’s extraordinary efforts to endure in the face of impossible odds.

On the last day of 1999, 20-year-old Sebastian locks himself in a TV studio. He has two hostages, a gun, and an important message for the world. The story of the attack explores a rebel’s extreme measures and last resort.

A father and his two teenage sons travel to a small mountain cabin for a male bonding adventure. When a lost tourist arrives at the cabin, their male-bonding outing turns into a struggle for survival.

In 1975, Ryszard Kapuściński, a veteran Polish journalist, embarked on a seemingly suicidal road trip into the heart of the Angola's civil war. There, he witnessed once again the dirty reality of war and discovered a sense of helplessness previously unknown to him. Angola changed him forever: it was a reporter who left Poland, but it was a writer who returned…

After taking control of the capital, Nanny's gang prepares for the biggest smuggling action in the history of Poland.

The film brings the paintings of Vincent van Gogh to life to tell his remarkable story. Every one of the 65,000 frames of the film is an oil-painting hand-painted by 125 professional oil-painters who travelled from all across the world to the Loving Vincent studios in Poland and Greece to be a part of the production. As remarkable as Vincent’s brilliant paintings are his passionate and ill-fated life and mysterious death.

A duplicitous young man finds success in the dark world of social media smear tactics — but his virtual vitriol soon has violent real-life consequences.

Ian Mitchell is a lawyer and father who one day receives a box containing a gun and a picture of a stranger, along with instructions to kill the pictured person. He is subsequently attacked by another stranger, and discovers that he has been chosen by a mysterious organization known as The Watchers to participate in a lethal game.

Inspired by true events from the 1970s, the story revolves around a young detective who becomes the head of a police unit focused on catching a rampant serial killer of women, nicknamed 'The Silesian Vampire'.

Born in the early 20th century, herbalist Jan Mikolasek became rich and famous after curing countless diseases with unorthodox means. A true emblem of Czechoslovakia before World War II, the healer became even more appreciated during the Nazi occupation and the communist regime. Each regime appreciates his skill and protects him. But how much will it cost him to maintain his status in a new political change?

A famous Danish artist and fashion photographer who leads an eventful life and is always travelling, meets a man who immediately awakens strong feelings in her. This unexpected encounter sparks a decisive turning point in her life and they begin a passionate relationship.

The story of a Japanese diplomat, sometimes called the Schindler of Japan, and his life lading up to and after his decision to issue over 2,000 visas to Jewish refugees in Kaunas, Lithuania resulting in saving the lives of over 6,000 people. This is the story of a man who believed in doing all he could do for the benefit of his beloved Japan, including trying to keep her from becoming embroiled in a worldwide conflict he saw as inevitable. Along the way, he came face to face with the plight of the European Jews as they tried to escape the onslaught of the Nazi's and the rapidly advancing German army. Caught between the unbending policies of his country now bound by treaty with Nazi Germany and his awakening moral responsibilities, we follow his life from his early days in Manchuria to his eventual posting in Lithuania and his appointment with destiny which would forever brand him a hero.

One woman's journey for self-discovery and turns into a harrowing tale of survival.

Set in communist Poland of the 80s the movie depicts early career of cardio surgeon Zbigniew Religa.

A couple decides to spend a romantic evening in a floor of a semi-abandoned building that slip because she works as a consultant for the council house and got the keys. During the evening they discover that a hooded murderer is the only tenant left in the building...and they have become the new target.

A young woman haunted by her past joins a mysterious professor and his group of gifted students who investigate paranormal activity and fight demons.

For 11-year-old Kattaka it's an escape: she's looking for her biological father, a Russian sailor whose ship is currently moored in Gdansk and whose existence her parents have kept secret until now. For 70-year-old Lena it's a journey back: back to her home in Masuren, from which she fled in the Second World War. And back to her suppressed pain of having lost both parents. Only together can the mismatched couple regain the ground beneath their feet, and themselves.

Fear, anger, sadness, joy, disgust, envy, shame. Adaś Miauczyński goes back to his childhood days when, like most of us, he used to find it problematic to name the emotions that accompanied him. To improve the quality of his adult life, he decides to return to that time – which proves not so carefree after all – to learn how to experience the seven basic emotions. This extremely unpredictable journey into the past features an abundance of hilarious, even comical, situations but is also filled with lots of touching moments and food for thought.

What does it mean to be awake in a world that seems satisfied to be asleep? Kris and Michal push their experiences of life and love to a breaking point as they restlessly roam the city streets in search of answers, adrift in the euphoria and uncertainty of youth.

One country. Four directors. Six comedy-dramas. Each of them works as a separate story, together they form a coherent whole. All of them are based on seemingly mundane situations that take a perverse turn, bringing the heroes to the brink of their endurance.

An actress's perception of reality becomes increasingly distorted as she finds herself falling for her co-star in a remake of an unfinished Polish production that was supposedly cursed.

In a Medieval Estonian village, a group of peasants use magic and folk remedies to survive the winter, and a young woman tries to get a young man to love her.

A Jewish boy separated from his family in the early days of WWII poses as a German orphan and is taken into the heart of the Nazi world as a 'war hero' and eventually becomes a Hitler Youth.

An examination of the Soviet slaughter of thousands of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn forest in 1940.

A grand and patriotic tale of Poland's struggle for freedom just before Napoleon's war with Russia. Written in poetic style by Adam Mickiewicz, this story follows two feuding Polish families as they overcome their old conflicts and petty lives. However, they are able to unite as one with their patriotic and rebellious efforts to free the country they deeply love from Russian control.