THE CROSS OF VALOR
(KRZYZ WALECZNYCH)



1958, 84', Polish

DIRECTION:
Kazimierz Kutz
SCRIPT:
Jozef Hen based on his own stories The Cross of Valor, Dog, Widow
CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Jerzy Wojcik
MUSIC:
Andrzej Markowski
EDITING:
Halina Nawrocka
SOUND:
Bohdan Bienkowski
PRODUCED BY:
KADR Film Studio

Cast: Jerzy Turek (Socha); Aleksander Fogiel (Busko), Bronislaw Pawlik (Florczak); Grazyna Staniszewska (Widow), Zbigniew Cybulski (Wiecek), Adolf Chronicki (Oldak)

The film is based on three unrelated short stories by Jozef Hen about the experience of World War II: "Cross" about a young soldier who is rewarded for his valor with the cross, a promotion, and four days leave only to find his village devastated by war; "Dog" about Polish soldiers who try to adopt a German shepherd dog only to realize that the animal was used as a guard dog in a concentration camp; "Widow" about a small town's obsession with a returning war. A respected widow of a local hero falls in love with a stranger coming to town. However, people are unable to come to terms with the woman's need to get on with her life. The stranger is forced to leave town, and the widow follows him. All three stories are depicted in a realistic manner and openly ponder the complexities of the human psyche affected by the trauma of war with compassion and honesty.

Wednesday , November 7, 2007 at 7:00 pm. (GALLERY THEATRE)