Heroism is a 1958 film by Andrzej Munk. It is composed of two separate film novels, each featuring the Polish concept of heroism and a role of a hero.

Eroica won the FIPRESCI

FIPRESCI

The International Federation of Film Critics is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world for "the promotion and development of film culture and for the safeguarding of professional interests." It was founded in June 1930 in...

 Award at the 1959 Mar del Plata Film Festival

Mar del Plata Film Festival

The Mar del Plata International Film Festival is an international film festival that takes place every November in the city of Mar del Plata, Argentina...

.

Scherzo Alla Pollacca

The first part is a bitter, tragicomic

Tragicomedy

Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...

 story of Dzidziuś, a street-wise bon-vivant, drunkard, and coward who unwillingly becomes a soldier in the Home Army during the Warsaw Uprising

Warsaw Uprising

The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance Home Army , to liberate Warsaw from Nazi Germany. The rebellion was timed to coincide with the Soviet Union's Red Army approaching the eastern suburbs of the city and the retreat of German forces...

. Dzidziuś wife Zosia is having an affair with a Hungarian officer stationed nearby, and Dzidziuś is ordered to contact the Hungarian unit and convince the officer to join the battle against the Nazis.

Ostinato Lugubre

The second novel is set in a POW camp for Polish soldiers. Lt. Zawistowski, one of the interned soldiers, decides to make an attempt to escape from the camp. While none of his fellow inmates are sure whether he succeeded, his absence upsets the guards and provides hope and inspiration for the rest of prisoners. Soon his legend grows, making him a hero within the camp and helping to boost the prisoners' morale. However, it turns out that Lt. Zawistowski didn't actually follow through on his escape plans, but is hiding in the attic of one of the barracks. It turns out that he was hiding from his colleagues, whose ostentatious patriotism he simply could not stand.

Cast

• Edward Dziewoński as Dzidziuś
• Tadeusz Łomnicki
  Tadeusz Lomnicki
  Tadeusz Łomnicki was a Polish actor, one of the most notable stage and film artists of his time in Poland. He is remembered mostly for his roles in comedies and dramas, as well as for the role of Kordian in Juliusz Słowacki's play of the same title...
  
   as Lt. Zawistowski
• Barbara Połomska as Zosia
• Ignacy Machowski as the Home Army Major
• Leon Niemczyk
  Leon Niemczyk
  Leon Stanisław Niemczyk was a Polish actor.Niemczyk appeared in over 500 films and television shows over the course of his very long career...
  
   as the Hungarian officer
• Kazimierz Opaliński as the Home Army commander of Mokotów
  Mokotów
  Mokotów is a dzielnica of Warsaw, the capital of Poland. Mokotów is densely populated. It is a seat to many foreign embassies and companies...
  
  
• Kazimierz Rudzki as Lt. Turek
• Henryk Bąk as Lt. Krygier
• Roman Kłosowski
  Roman Kłosowski
  -Biography:A graduate of the National School of Drama in Warsaw he made his debut on stage in the play Szczęście Frania by Włodzimierz Perzyński. From 1955 he made many appearances in Warsaw Dramatic Theater...
  
   as Szpakowski
• Bogumił Kobiela
  Bogumil Kobiela
  Bogumił Kobiela was a Polish film actor. He appeared in 35 films between 1953 and 1969.He suffered serious injuries in a car crash on 2 July 1969 in Buszkowo...
  
   as Lt. Dąbecki
• Stanisław Bareja
  Stanislaw Bareja
  Stanisław Bareja was a Polish comedy film director. Some of his films have reached cult status in Poland.His most famous film is Teddy Bear , filmed in 1980...
  
   as a Home Army soldier
• Witold Pyrkosz
  Witold Pyrkosz
  Witold Pyrkosz - Polish actor. He is best known as Lucjan Mostowiak in a very popular Polish serial "M jak miłość", as Pyzdra in "Janosik", as Wichura in "Czterej pancerni i pies" and as Balcerek in "Alternatywy 4"....
  
   as Kardas
• Wojciech Siemion
  Wojciech Siemion
  Wojciech Juliusz Siemion was a Polish stage and film actor.He studied law at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin from 1947 to 1950. After graduating from the Theatre Academy in Warsaw in 1951 he began acting in several theatres and cabarets...
  
  as Lt. Marianek