Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
1977
The film transports the viewer to the December days of 1922, just before the tragic assassination of the President of the Republic of Poland, Gabriel Narutowicz. It portrays not only the political atmosphere of those days but also the psychological background leading up to the dramatic act. As Narutowicz assumes the presidency, a country engulfed in tension stands on the edge, and the assassin, a young painter named Eligiusz Niewiadomski, enters the final stages of coming to terms with his decision. As the tension in the country rises and political and social divides become increasingly pronounced, Niewiadomski struggles with his own beliefs and frustrations. His decision to kill the president is both the result of extreme emotions and a personal ideology he wants to impose on the world.