A Generation (1955) User Reviews (20)

excellent but not quite as good as KANAL

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 26 February 2006]

This was director Andrzej Wajda's first full-length film--and because of that, this stands as an amazing achievement. On the Criterion disk is an interview with Wajda and he credits much of the film's success to the cameraman and I agree wholeheartedly that this is one of the best looking black and white films I have ever seen.

The film concerns a young man during the Nazi occupation of Poland. In the beginning, he's a bit of a jerk but eventually gets a job and shows great responsibility. Later, he is welcomed into the partisans and it is an interesting look into this seldom talked about period of history.

The film gets a score of 8. It would have had a higher score had the film been more honest--as it portrays the Communists as being THE resistance and those partisans wanting a return to the democratic system as being greedy bourgeoisie. However, on the Criterion DVD, Wajda talks about how this was one of the required changes the Soviet-dominated Polish government mandated before they'd allow his film to be shown. So, considering the sensibilities of the time, it's not surprising that a little misrepresentation occurs. Still, it's a near-great film and a wonderful addition to KANAL. Wajda's 3rd film, ASHES AND DIAMONDS, unfortunately is a big disappointment to me and is considered the third in this trilogy about life in Poland during WWII.

There is one MINOR mistake in the film. At one point, the hero is hit in the head and is bleeding. Later in the same scene, there is no head wound!

In only his first feature, Wajda has shown that he has what it takes to become a master filmmaker.

[Eternality · 8/10 · 22 September 2010]

Andrzej Wajda's A Generation or Pokolenle is the great director's first feature-length film and is also the first installment of a 'War' trilogy that brought the world's attention to Polish cinema as never before. The two other similarly-themed films in the series are Kanal (1957) and Ashes And Diamonds (1958). These three films combined remains to be one of the finest collective works to come out of Eastern European cinema in the 1950s.

A Generation tells the story of Stach, a wayward teen living in a slum on the outskirts of Nazi-occupied Warsaw. He works as a carpenter in a small, local factory making bed frames and doors, and earning a pay of paltry proportions. He is then introduced to an underground resistance group comprising of youths which is led by Dorota, a confident young woman who wants to fight for the freedom of her homeland. A true believer of Communism, Stach matures from a lazy kid living a life of emptiness to a leader of a patriotic cause worth dying for.

A Generation opens with a wide panning shot that slowly swivels from a barren, quiet open field to a small village with joyfully loud children playing. Yet there is something disquieting about the shot. The stark photography induces a feeling that we may never hear these voices again. Wajda's filmmaking style is simple; he never indulges in fanciful camera tricks or long technically-demanding takes. Here he is focused on telling Stach's story with certain immediacy. Supporting characters are introduced and established with consistent pacing; Wajda allows each key supporting role to have enough one-to-one time with Stach so that an emotional bond is developed between them.

Wajda has a strong sense of location. In the film's most powerful sequence, one of Stach's close friends finds himself separate from the group after they encountered Nazi resistance. Armed with a pistol, he tries to outrun the Nazis but ends up in a building with a spiral staircase. He climbs up helplessly, ducking sprays of bullets that seem to come from all corners. His pistol is now emptied but at the top he sees a door. Sensing salvation, he opens the door only to find a locked gate behind. A sharp ray of hope becomes a painful stab to the heart. Realizing his impending doom, he unwillingly jumps to his death.

In only his first feature, Wajda has shown that he has what it takes to become a master filmmaker. A Generation may not feature the best in acting, but Wajda's careful direction behind the camera allows the characters to breathe life into Stach's story of sorrow. Wajda's realist, social dramas have not only become the singular voice of post-war Polish youths disaffected by their mournful past, they have also, in his later works, become a voice of a nation struggling for identity amid a thick haze of political and economical uncertainty.

SCORE: 8/10 (www.filmnomenon.blogspot.com) All rights reserved!

Excellent

[terceiro-2 · 8/10 · 5 February 2013]

I really enjoyed this movie. It tells the story of three young men who join the Polish Resistance to fight the Germans in the Second World War. The interesting aspect of the movie is the exploration of the motivations of each of the men in deciding to fight the Germans. These men do not appear to all be motivated by patriotism but rather a variety of different motivations. The main character seems to be motivated by his attraction to the female leader of the Communist resistance, while the character played by Roman Polanski seems to be involved because he is looking for excitement. Finally, the Jasio character does not seem to have any idea why he is involved at all.

This is a very gritty and realistic movie, which was apparently made to celebrate the anniversary of the Communist Party in Poland. It is interesting how the director, Andrzej Wajda, didn't quite make the movie which the Party had hoped he would make.

On the DVD edition I watched there was an extended interview with Andrzej Wajda which is also very worthwhile. He explains how he did not really know what he was doing when he made A Generation and that the final product was not really what he had been asked to make. After some delay the Party did agree to release the movie.

The Young who must Kill

[futures-1 · 26 December 2005]

"A Generation" (Polish, 1954): This is the first of a war trilogy by Andrzej Wajda. Photographed in rich black & white, "A Generation" is about the youth of Poland, who joined underground rebellions against the Nazis. They formed small "cells" (sound familiar?) of fighters, used pseudonyms, and seldom met with larger groups – for the sake of secrecy and safety. The photography is wonderful (the long opening scene is alone worth the price of admission), the acting is great to average (with a TEENAGED Roman Polanski in one of the supporting roles!), and the dialog gives insight into kids who must grow up overnight and become not merely premature adults, but calculating killers. Made less than a decade after the war, this film depicts the serious, accurate, and even on extremely rare occasion, lighthearted moments that made up their lives. "Kanal" (1957), and "Ashes & Diamonds" (1958) follow.

Interesting Film About the Irony of History

[jordans1877 · 6/10 · 10 July 2013]

Let me first say that I enjoyed the film. It's a little sloppy and the performances are inconsistent. But it looks great. And as far as debuts are concerned, this is definitely a solid effort. Not to mention it's kind of worth watching this film just to see a young Roman Polanski.

What is so striking to me about this film is the irony of history: I believe that not only we (living in the 21st century) are able to understand this now, but that viewers of this film in 1955 Poland would have recognized as well. By 1955 Poland was stuck behind the Iron Curtain, held hostage by communist rule. Not unlike the Czechs (and their great communist satires), all art and media was mediated by the communist government. To see these young Poles attempt to improve their country by overthrowing the Nazi party with communism is ironic and ultimately tragic.

Although this film may appear to some as communist propaganda, I see this film as a tongue-in-cheek allegory about the meaninglessness of war, and the complication of those attempting to end the war with another flawed ideology. Not a great film, but certainly interesting, especially when considering the historical context in which it was made.

The Polish Resistance

[Red-125 · 9/10 · 20 October 2017]

The Polish film Pokolenie (1955) was shown in the U.S. with the title "A Generation." It was directed by Andrzej Wajda. (A Generation was Wajda's first directorial effort, and the first of his three World War II films.)

The movie stars Urszula Modrzynska as Dorota--a resistance leader who recruits students to join the resistance during the German occupation of Poland. Stach Mazur (Tadeusz Lomnicki) is a young man who answers the call to resist the occupying army.

Even at this stage of his career, Wadja had talent, and many of the scenes in the movie are memorable. However, some of the plot elements were clearly added to please the censors, because Poland was under Soviet rule by 1955. For example, the movie puts forth Communism as the only form of Polish resistance. Of course, Communists were in the resistance, but so were non-Communists. Ringing speeches about how Poland will be happy and free under Communism are painful to watch, given what we know now. (And, of course, given what Wadja knew in 1955.)

Still, Wadja got this brave and important movie past the censors, and presented us with a film that is definitely worth seeing.

We saw this movie at the marvelous Dryden Theatre at George Eastman House in Rochester. It was shown as part of a Wadja retrospective. It's not a great film, but it's a very good film. It's worth seeing on it's own merits, and definitely worth seeing if you have watched--or plan to watch--Ashes & Diamonds and Kanal. (The other two movies in the World War II trilogy.)

Shows Wajda's promise, but flawed

[gbill-74877 · 6/10 · 5 July 2019]

'Pokolenie' certainly has some interest for being Andrzej Wajda's first feature film, and for showing the heroism of the Polish resistance fighting their Nazi occupiers. It also shows some of the young director's filmmaking skills, with interesting compositions and narration which give it a highly personal feel, particularly at the beginning. However, because Poland was under the subjugation of the Soviet Union when it was made, Wajda was forced to depict the resistance as being communist led, when the reality was the USSR was another enemy to Poland, having invaded from the east just weeks after Hitler had from the west, and committed their own horrifying atrocities. The combination of these recurring references to the Party and an overall tone which seems light and off for most of the film makes it simply average, which is unfortunate. There are some really nice visual moments - the expressions on the faces of the Polish citizens as they stand in front of their hanged compatriots, the chase and fall through the spiral staircase, and the photo booth with the giant heart all come to mind, among others - but it's tough to overcome the constraints Wajda was operating under. This seems to be a case where the occasionally great visuals exceed any deep emotional impact we feel, which seems wrong given the magnitude of the historical moment.

Poland, 1942-43

[bandw · 8/10 · 17 April 2012]

This movie opens in Poland in 1942, on the outskirts of Warsaw. The opening scene is impressive, starting with a long view of a poverty stricken area and panning about 180 degrees while slowly zooming in on three boys playing a knife-throwing game. One of these boys is the main character, Starch, who provides a voice-over during the scene.

Starch works as an apprentice in a woodworking shop. Very early on the complex political situation is introduced, and that is where things get a little complicated for those not overly familiar with Polish history during the war. One factor to keep in mind is that this film was made during the time that Poland was a Soviet satellite state, so I assume certain restrictions needed to be adhered to in order to get it approved. The so-called "good guys" in this are members of the Soviet backed People's Guard, whose goal was to fight the German occupiers as well as to oppose the Polish resistance movement, a movement loyal to the Polish government in exile. It seems that the Soviets had no desire to see Poland as a free independent state.

The political tensions are played out in the woodworking shop. A communist, Sekula, works in the shop. We know where he is coming from when he says to Starch, "You work eight hours for the price of one. There once was a wise bearded man by the name of Karl Marx. He once wrote that workers were paid just barely enough to renew their strength." Starch is naive and aimless, so he is taken in by Sekula and a pretty young female Communist and joins their group. There are also members of the Polish resistance movement in the shop. They are represented here as bad guys. Then there is Jasio who works in the shop. He is conflicted--basically he wants to stay out of it and just do his job, but he is drawn to act. It is interesting that he is the first person in the group to kill a German.

The acting is pretty pedestrian. The black and white cinematography is quite good; there are a lot of dark shots with only faces lighted. The overall feel is of film noir.

A good part of the movie is played out against the backdrop of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. One outstanding scene has the conspirators talking while at a carnival that is just outside the ghetto walls, with smoke coming from the ghetto in the background.

For someone, like myself, who has meager knowledge of Polish history during WWII, this film helps (although I wonder if the glorification of the Communists was exaggerated). I think that I could spend several days researching the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

This is a film for those who bemoan the preponderance of shallow entertainments in contemporary movies.

Surely not the viewing experience it once was

[allyjack · 7/10 · 29 September 1999]

Hard not to view this film with the benefit of hindsight when - for example - the final image, of faces almost tangibly seeing the light of a new tomorrow, is apparently so straightforwardly propagandistic; scenes such as that in which the older workman talks reverently about the promise of Karl Marx now seem at best quaint. That's probably not an entirely fair prism through which to consider the film, but the theme of anti-Nazi resistance obviously becomes less stirring when one considers the limitations of what's being put forward as the alternative. Furthermore, although the movie's gritty, shadowy pace generally makes for entertaining viewing, there's a fairly consistent series of images which seem to push too hard - the heart-shaped photo slot at the fair through which we watch as she steps away from him; the Hitchcock-like fall through the well of the spiral staircase. The movie's pace and concentrated immersion in its time and place makes it engrossing, and the earnestness and deprivation are still touching, but it's surely no longer the viewing experience it once was.

A different look at war.

[chuckchuck21 · 8/10 · 13 August 2014]

A GENERATION- written, produced & directed by Andrzej Wadja it is the first war movie in what has become known as his war trilogy. It is a film covering Warsaw through the uprising in the Ghetto of Warsaw. This isn't based primarily on the Nazi actions of that time but is rather a straight forward look at what life was like for the populace, working by day in German held companies & resisting by night. It doesn't take a strong stomach to watch this & I believe that is by design.

Focused mainly on the daily hardships of being Polish in Poland during the occupation & the common tragedies suffered by all around Warsaw it is an entirely different condemnation of war & its effects on a local population. The next movie called KANAL focuses on the general uprising outside of the Ghetto in Warsaw. In A GENERATION you get an introduction to the Polish resistance & the Communist resistance efforts. The trilogy is finished by ASHES & DIAMONDS which covers the end of WWII.

A truly significant effort to portray Poland in WW-II & heartily recommended unless you must have high adrenaline action. This isn't anyone's propaganda. It's not propaganda at all. History on film as much as a fictional movie can be & recognized as the foundation of the Polish New Cinema School. It is a condemnation of war & its effects.

next generation of Poles

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 29 March 2012]

The movie that made Andrzej Wajda famous depicts a group of people in Poland's resistance during WWII. In one scene, the movie's protagonist Stach (Tadeusz Łomnicki) learns about Marxism from another man. It's clear that this speech is directed not only at the Nazi occupation, but also at the Soviet occupation. A scene towards the end of "Pokolenie" ("A Generation" in English) reminded me of Agnieszka Holland's "In Darkness", which was recently a nominee for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards.

As for what I thought of Andrzej Wajda's feature debut. I earlier saw Wajda's "Popiół i diament" ("Ashes and Diamonds" in English). From what I understand about the themes that Wajda depicted in that one, it sounded like what we might call the perfect Polish movie. "A Generation" is also really good, although I did find "Ashes and Diamonds" to be a little better. In an interview, Wajda noted that the title refers to his generation: the leaders of Poland's pre-war film industry had fled the country, and so his generation was essentially starting it from scratch.

All in all, a very good movie. Watch for a young Roman Polanski as one of Stach's compatriots.

amongst the ruins of Warsaw

[christopher-underwood · 8/10 · 1 September 2023]

It is a fine film of Andrzej Wajda's first work even though he would go on as a trilogy. Kanal (1957) is the one many find the best but the last one is, Ashes and Diamonds (1958) that is most known in this country and I certainly loved it back in the day. The first one is very good but just a little confusing with so many different characters at first but then gets going and really good amongst the ruins of German-occupied Warsaw. The youths, including Polanski for some reason in shorts, become adults moving from petty crime and on to the Resistance and involvement with the communist party and maybe some love.

Mediocre first film

[Cosmoeticadotcom · 6/10 · 5 September 2008]

Sometimes films get reputations way out of proportion with their artistic merit simply because they expound a point of view that the public, or critics, like or agree with. Such is the case with the first feature length film from Polish film legend Andrzej Wajda. Released in 1955, the 87 minute long black and white film A Generation (Pokolenie), is not a particularly good film. No, it's not a bad film, but it visually resembles a mediocre 1940s film noir admixed with a touch of Italian Neo-Realism from its blighted and impoverished landscapes. Its characters, such as they are, are not realistic, and merely one dimensional tools for the agitprop that is at the heart of the film.

Yes, one must realize that the film needed to be green lighted by Polish censors, but unlike the ways a more mature Wajda, and later filmmakers like Roman Polanski (who has a small acting role in the film) and Krzysztof Kieslowski (called the Polish School), would, A Generation plays out more like a Primer for Communism. It became part of a de facto War Trilogy of films made about Poland's World War Two Experience, and it is packaged by The Criterion Collection as part of a Three War Films collection, along with Kanal and Ashes and Diamonds (Popiół I Diament). Hopefully the two later films provide more true cinema to be savored .

The cinematography by Jerzy Lipman is solid but unspectacular, and the scoring not even up to Hollywood B film melodrama standards. Often, mediocre films like this are defended by acolytes on grounds that its visuals are 'pure cinema,' or some such. Well, this one's are not, but even were the mise-en-scene great, it would not make up for the leaden acting, dull script, and agitprop galore. Given that an average feature film will have dozens to hundreds of framed shots, the laws of average, and random chance, will demand that a few will be well-composed. So? It's whether or not a far greater number than average are which matters. Or whether or not the few that are are super-poetic, or the like. Then, one might have an argument over the visual elements raising up the bar for the film. A Generation lacks that, all of that.

Similarly, although it is reasonable to argue that the Marxist references in the film were intended, at the time, as a sly backhanded critique of the system, none of that matters now, as it is simply blatant agitprop. Great art rises above such strictures, and the idiocies of would be censors. Minor anachronisms- such as a racist caricature of a black man on a cuckoo clock, are not as egregious, since it is emblemic of the times and its attitudes. Overall, A Generation does show some promise, especially in the Jasio Krone character, and a few scenes of realistic interplay, such as when Dorota and Stach first have sex, because she refuses to let him leave after the Nazi curfew has come. But, these are few. Wajda may have gone on to become a great filmmaker, but that grace is not evident here. Perhaps that is another legacy of art in totalitarian states, inside or outside a celluloid frame.

Totally unimpressed.

[paloma54 · 2/10 · 5 April 2012]

If you have read some of the other reviews, you already have a fair idea of what this is about. Considering the miserable legacy left behind, Marxism is not something that I can consider a positive development. And the growing self-righteousness of the anti-Nazi Marxists is typical of an increasing number of Americans who seem to think that we need to try the Marxist ideas yet again.

The acting in this film is really pretty terrible. All the time I was watching A Generation, I kept thinking I was watching a movie from the 1920s. The story line is flimsy, there is almost no character development, and frankly, I felt as if this was a piece of Soviet propaganda. I'll watch two more Wajda movies, but I'm hoping they will be a marked improvement.

Cinema Omnivore - A Generation (1955) 7.2/10

[lasttimeisaw · 7/10 · 20 July 2022]

"A GENERATION is about awakening, our protagonist Stach (Lomnicki), a young apprentice of a furniture shop in Warsaw, gets politicized and involved in an underground communist resistance movement fighting Germans, witnesses war-time cruelty at first hand and experiencing camaraderie, romantic tingling and loss in quick succession, everything is fugacious and the growing pains never relent, the final juxtaposition of Stach's tearful face and the smiles of a bunch of fresh-faced new recruits is pregnant with poignancy."

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The first and least of Wajda's trilogy

[rdoyle29 · 8/10 · 26 September 2022]

Young Tadeusz Lomnicki lives in a Warsaw slum during the German occupation. He's involved in a lot of petty thievery with his friends (Zbigniew Cybulski, star of "Ashes and Diamonds"), until one of them is killed trying to steal coal from a moving train. Lomnicki gets a position as an apprentice at a furniture factory, and is eventually introduced to members of the Communist resistance.

Andrzej Wajda's film debut is the first in his trilogy of films about the Polish resistance. It's easiest the least of the three, which is not to say that this is at all a bad film, but more that his skill rose exponentially through the remaining films. This one is very clearly influenced by Italian neorealism and is a lot less plot driven than the other two. A very young Roman Polanski shows up as a member of Lomnicki's resistance cell.

Well-acted Marxist agit-prop

[ArtVandelayImporterExporter · 7/10 · 15 May 2018]

The Nazis were evil. It's tragic if the Poles rallied their subversive efforts around an even more-murderous ideology. I'd like to think this particular slant was chosen so the film-makers could slide the flim by their commie overlords of the 50s, and not b/c anybody 10 years into the commie occupation could possibly believe Marxism had anything to offer them. Still, if you can get by that point, it's an interesting story about the Polish underground as acted out by teenagers, for the most part. TCM should change its synopsis of this movie: ''A young man loves a resistance fighter in WWII Poland." That barely qualifies as a red herring.

Wajda's early and incredible war feature

[martinpersson97 · 10/10 · 20 September 2023]

Andrzej Wajda is without a doubt one of the best directors of all time, and a Polish director that has received international recognition in a well deserved light.

This early feature in his ever impressive filmography is without a doubt one of his best in my opinion.

The characteristic cinematography, cutting and editing that are so very authentic and well known to his style, as most fans would see, is ever present and utilized to exception. It is truly very beautifully put together in every sense of the word.

The actors all do an incredible job, all of them great icons, and all accompined by an incredible, emotional and ever real script.

Overall, truly an incredible war movie, and another testament to Wajda's incredible finesse as an auteur. Highly recommended for any lover of film!

Generation Game

[writers_reign · 5/10 · 8 September 2010]

Westerners like myself have at least two strikes on them when faced in 2010 with a film shot more or less half a century earlier under a regime which we in the West have never experienced. It begins very much in the vein of the Italian neo-realism school that began a decade earlier so that the first impressions are that Polish cinema was stuck in a stylistic rut but gradually it sheds that look and emerges as a movie in its own right. It is, of course, depicting events less than a decade old so presumably is authentic in that respect. For all I know there WERE groups of young Poles who became active in the Resistance at exactly the same time very much as the group here. For me it was difficult to become involved with the characters possibly because they were all and - with the exception of Roman Polanski who fails to distinguish himself here - and remain unknown to me, unlike say, the cast of L'Armee des Ombres. Nevertheless I will persevere with the other two - Kanal, Ashes and Diamonds - of the trilogy.

Painful to watch

[monicavoynovska · 2/10 · 10 January 2020]

A really obnoxious piece of Soviet propaganda from an otherwise brilliant director. I had high expectations for this film, having seen the truly amazing "Canal", but it was really painful to watch.