The Promised Land

During the November screening as part of the review WAJDA: re-visions, we will see the film “The Promised Land” (1974) — a daring vision of the nascent capitalism and the ruthless game of interests in 19th century Łódź, as well as a monumental work about the birth of modernity and the price people pay for it.

“The Promised Land”

16.11.2026 | hour: 18:00 | Kino Łuków

Tickets: 10 zł

Available at the Kina Łuków box office and online HERE

screenwriter/written by: Andrzej Wajda based on a novel by Władysław Reymont/based on a novel by Władysław Reymont

Photos/DOP: Witold Sobociński, Edward Kłosiński, Wacław Dybowski,

music/music Wojciech Kilar,

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

cast/cast: Daniel Olbrychski, Wojciech Pszoniak, Andrzej Seweryn, Anna Nehrebecka, Kalina Jedrusik

awards/awards: Golden Lions/Golden Lions at FPFF in Gdańsk, Grand Prix at IFF in Moscow, Valladolid and Cartagena/Moscow, Valladolid and Cartagena IFFs, nomination for Oscar /nomination to Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

running time: 179'

Description: Bravely executed adaptation of an almost forgotten novel by Władysław Reymont, depicting the fate of three friends: German Max, Jew Moryc and Polish Karol against the backdrop of rapidly developing Łódź at the end of the 19th century. The heroes decide to set up their own textile factory in the city, which is not to the taste of Jewish, German and Russian competition. Along the way, Karol Borowiecki seduces Lucy Zuckerowa, the alluring wife of an old factory worker, using the romance to raise capital, and Moryc Welt conducts risky financial and commercial speculation in the Jewish community, balancing on the verge of bankruptcy and fraud. At the same time, Maks Baum negotiates with German industrialists in an attempt to save a failing family business, while the great financiers Bucholz, Grünspan and Müller try to win over the young and ambitious for their business. In the end, Borowiecki decides to sell his family property, move his fiancée Anka to Łódź and surrender his lofty values to the wolf rules of capitalism.

This dazzling film in terms of art, narrative and acting wins in all rankings for the best film in the history of Polish cinema. The strength of Andrzej Wajda's directing, the ability to accommodate so many plots in one film and the enormous wealth of staging deserved the highest laurels. The sequence itself in the theater is today perceived as one of the greatest achievements of cinematic narration, within the framework of which the director, in a small space, managed to combine several dozen characters and plots. Among the awards, only the Oscar was missing, because although the film was the favorite, as a result of unauthorized accusations of anti-Semitism, he lost the fight for this statuette.

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