Without anesthesia

During the October screening as part of the review WAJDA: re-visions, we will see the film “Without anesthesia” (1978) — A poignant diagnosis of the society of the late 1970s, a portrait of a man surrounded by the system and his own weaknesses, one of the most penetrating analyses of the moral crisis in Polish cinema.

“Without anesthesia”

12.10.2026 | hour: 18:00 | Kino Łuków

Tickets: 10 zł

Available at the Kina Łuków box office and online HERE

screenwriter/written by: Agnieszka Holland, Andrzej Wajda

Photos/DOP: Edward Kłosiński

production/produced by: Film Team “X”/Film Unit “X”

cast/cast: Zbigniew Zapasiewicz, Ewa Dałkowska, Andrzej Seweryn, Krystyna Janda

awards/awards: Golden Lions/Golden Lions at FPFF in Gdańsk, Jury Prize at IFF in Cannes/Cannes IFF

running time: 125'

Description: A depressing picture of the Polish political and social reality of the second half of the 1970s, and at the same time a critical diagnosis of attitudes at a time of mistrust and oppression by the system. A popular reporter — modeled on the character of Ryszard Kapuściński — returns from another journalistic expedition to Poland. Surprisingly, he assumes that he becomes — without any explanation — the object of organized obscenity. At work, he is indoctrinated by a younger colleague, in the environment he is accused of conjuncturalism and opportunism, at home his wife files for divorce. So far, a successful man, suddenly abandoned by everyone, is put in Kafkovskaya's situation, losing faith in any values or even the meaning of life.

Zbigniew Zapasiewicz's excellent interpretation gave the character of Jerzy a tragedy, but also a certain ambiguity. The hero once used the benefits of a system that first allowed him to appanage with an invisible mechanism to ruthlessly destroy the old luminaries without warning. Hardly any film has so violently shown the mechanism of communist totalitarianism, the apparatus of hypocrisy, opportunism, environmental envy, the promotion of mediocrity and the temptation of promotion. Few films have turned out to be so prophetic and still relevant, describing a world of degradation of values, objectification of people, lies and manipulation.

On the 100th anniversary of the birth of Andrzej Wajda, together with the Studio Cinemas Association and the Documentary and Feature Film Studio, we invite you to Kina Łuków for a unique review of WAJDA: re-visions. Every month we will present another video of the master. *You can read more about the cycle HERE