Popiól i diament 1958

Bosley Crowther, New York Times: Zbigniew Cybulski as the hero is sensitive, attractive and alert -- a lad with humor and compassion. One is strongly drawn to him. Read more

Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader: Wajda tends toward harsh and overstated imagery, but he achieves a fascinating psychological rapport with his lead actor, Zbigniew Cybulski. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Only Wajda, though, could muster such a mood, with everyone feeding on smoke and booze, and the assembled company, at the end, dancing to a cracked polonaise. Read more

TIME Magazine: Honest, brutally powerful and often shocking. Read more

Time Out: Wajda's way is the sweet smell of excess, but some scenes remain powerfully memorable -- the lighting of drinks on the bar, the upturned Christ in a bombed church, and Cybulski's prolonged death agonies at the close. Read more

Variety Staff, Variety: Taut thriller about immediate postwar Poland also has a heavier theme of the futility of killing and violence. Its technical knowhow, fine acting and directorial prowess make this an above average drama. Read more