A Chronicle of Amorous Incidents

Just before the outbreak of war, young Witek experiences his first infatuation – he meets Alina, the daughter of a military man, whose initial indifference slowly gives way to affection. Family prohibitions and the girl’s planned departure put their relationship under pressure, while the boy’s mother cares for his sick father and prays for her son’s fate. In the background appears Greta, a young German woman whose feelings for Witek also remain overshadowed by the looming war. The entire youthful daily life, its joys and sorrows, intertwine with the growing unease in the region. In the film, Wajda adapts the novel by Tadeusz Konwicki, introducing the author as an observer of his lost youth. The writer appears in the heroes’ past like a shadow – on a train, on the way to a cemetery, in a bedroom – a witness to events heading toward an inevitable catastrophe, powerless to change them.