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ASHES AND DIAMONDS(1958)

Today's movie; NYTimes1000Best; Polish director Andrzej Wajda; last of in a trilogy about WWII. The day the War ends, a young resistance fighter must decide between continuing the fight over the communist regime, already placing itself in power, or to quit and return to his studies and a normal life. This is a crossroads picture with an overlay of political three-way and the angling that goes on to keep balance in a very volatile situation.

The film is dark and beautifully photographed in black and white. Light is one of the stars of the picture. There are a lot of stunning visuals; cinematic surprises which underline the classical plot; at times transforming the realistic film to an allegorical, almost fantastic, level. I think that this is always very difficult to pull off but Wajda never loses control. Almost all the film takes place in the narrow confines of a bar, a banquet hall and a hotel room. Tight. I liked it a lot though I was squirming at times. It is violent without being grisly. I will give it a 4 on the Netflix5 scale.