Akademik

(Przesłuchanie, 1982, released in 1989)

   Set in early 1950s Poland, Interrogation offers a shocking portrayal of ruthlessness and dehumanization and is arguably the strongest work on the Stalinist past ever made in Central Europe. The film was scripted and directed by Ryszard Bugajski, photographed by Jacek Petrycki, and produced by Andrzej Wajda's studio X. Its story deals with the imprisonment and torture of an innocent young woman, Antonina (Tonia) Dziwisz (Krystyna Janda), who is wrongly charged by the Stalinist secret police. The film is set predominantly in a prison and graphically shows the horror and brutality of the times. It is built around the sharp opposition between the oppressive Stalinist system (represented by the interrogators played by Adam Ferency, Janusz Gajos, and others) and its innocent victims (exemplified by Tonia and her prison mates, played by Anna Romantowska, Agnieszka Holland, and others). Finished after the introduction of martial law in Poland, Interrogation was immediately shelved by the Communist regime, and Bugajski was forced to emigrate. Perhaps the most famous Polish film of the 1980s, Interrogation was seen by viewers in Poland on illegal video copies until its release in 1989. In 1990 the film received several awards at the Festival of Polish Films in Gdynia, including the Special Jury Prize for Bugajski, Best Actress award for Janda, Best Actor award for Gajos, and Best Supporting Actress for Romantowska. Janda also received the Best Actress award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival.

   Historical Dictionary of Polish Cinema by Marek Haltof