Under The Phrygian Star

UNDER THE PHRYGIAN STAR is master director Jerzy Kawalerowicz s follow-up to the acclaimed Cellulose. Here Kawalerowicz (Mother Joan of the Angels; Night Train) picks up the character of Szczesny after he has pledged himself to communism. The film follows the struggles of a mature Szczesny as he falls in love for the first time against the backdrop of tension between the Polish government and the labor movement. Unlike other films of the period, Kawalerowicz offers a multi-dimensional, fully humanized depiction of a true working-class hero. Though a self-contained story in its own right, PHRYGIAN STAR and Cellulose form Kawalerowcz s so-called Cellulose Diptych, which effectively captures the politics and society of prewar Poland with depth and humanity.