The Promised Land
Encyclopedia
The Promised Land is a 1975 Polish
film
directed by Andrzej Wajda
, based on a novel
by Władysław Reymont. Set in the industrial city of Łódź, The Promised Land tells the story of a Pole
, a German
, and a Jew struggling to build a factory
in the raw world of 19th century capitalism
.
Wajda presents a shocking image of the city, with its dirty and dangerous factories and ostentatiously opulent residences devoid of taste and culture. The film follows in the footsteps of Charles Dickens
, Émile Zola
and Maxim Gorky
, as well as German expressionists
such as Knopf, Meidner and Grosz, who gave testimony of social protest. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
.
), a Polish nobleman, is the managing engineer at the Bucholz textile factory. He plans to set up his own factory with the help of his friends Max Baum (Andrzej Seweryn
), a German and heir to an old handloom factory, and Moritz Welt (Wojciech Pszoniak
), an independent Jewish businessman. Borowiecki's affair with Lucy Zucker (Kalina Jędrusik), wife of another textile magnate, gives him advance notice of a change in cotton tariff
s and helps Welt to make a killing on the Hamburg futures market
. But more money has to be found, so all three characters cast aside their pride to raise the necessary capital.
On the day of the factory opening, Borowiecki has to deny his affair with Zucker's wife to a jealous husband by making him swear on a sacred object. Borowiecki then accompanies Lucy on her exile to Berlin
. However Zucker sends an associate to spy on his wife, who finds out about the affair, sending the news back to Zucker. Zucker takes his revenge on Borowiecki by burning down his brand new, uninsured factory. Through this Borowiecki and his friends lose all that they had worked for.
The film fast forwards a few years. Borowiecki is now married to Madam Muller, a rich heiress, and owns his own factory. However his factory is threatened by a workers' strike. Due to this Borowiecki is forced to decide whether or not to open fire on the striking workers. He is reminded by an associate that it is never too late to change his ways; however Borowiecki still decides to protect his factory and orders the soldiers to open fire.
Parts of the movie were filmed at the Villa of "Cotton King" Karl Wilhelm Scheibler
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda
Andrzej Wajda is a Polish film director. Recipient of an honorary Oscar, he is possibly the most prominent member of the unofficial "Polish Film School"...
, based on a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Władysław Reymont. Set in the industrial city of Łódź, The Promised Land tells the story of a Pole
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, and a Jew struggling to build a factory
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
in the raw world of 19th century capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
.
Wajda presents a shocking image of the city, with its dirty and dangerous factories and ostentatiously opulent residences devoid of taste and culture. The film follows in the footsteps of Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
, Émile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
and Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
, as well as German expressionists
German Expressionism
German Expressionism refers to a number of related creative movements beginning in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin, during the 1920s...
such as Knopf, Meidner and Grosz, who gave testimony of social protest. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
The Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is one of the Academy Awards of Merit, popularly known as the Oscars, handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences...
.
Plot
Karol Borowiecki (Daniel OlbrychskiDaniel Olbrychski
Daniel Olbrychski is a Polish actor best known for leading roles in several Andrzej Wajda movies and also known for playing the Russian defector and spymaster Vassily Orlov, alongside Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in the movie Salt....
), a Polish nobleman, is the managing engineer at the Bucholz textile factory. He plans to set up his own factory with the help of his friends Max Baum (Andrzej Seweryn
Andrzej Seweryn
Andrzej Seweryn is a Polish and French actor and director. One of the most successful Polish theatre actors, he starred in over 50 films, mostly in Poland, France and Germany. He is also one of only three non-French actors to be hired by the Paris-based Comédie-Française.- Biography :Andrzej...
), a German and heir to an old handloom factory, and Moritz Welt (Wojciech Pszoniak
Wojciech Pszoniak
Wojciech Pszoniak , is a Polish film and theater actor.Pszoniak gained international visibility following Andrzej Wajda's 1975 film The Promised Land, in which he played Moritz, one of the three main characters....
), an independent Jewish businessman. Borowiecki's affair with Lucy Zucker (Kalina Jędrusik), wife of another textile magnate, gives him advance notice of a change in cotton tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s and helps Welt to make a killing on the Hamburg futures market
Futures exchange
A futures exchange or futures market is a central financial exchange where people can trade standardized futures contracts; that is, a contract to buy specific quantities of a commodity or financial instrument at a specified price with delivery set at a specified time in the future. These types of...
. But more money has to be found, so all three characters cast aside their pride to raise the necessary capital.
On the day of the factory opening, Borowiecki has to deny his affair with Zucker's wife to a jealous husband by making him swear on a sacred object. Borowiecki then accompanies Lucy on her exile to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. However Zucker sends an associate to spy on his wife, who finds out about the affair, sending the news back to Zucker. Zucker takes his revenge on Borowiecki by burning down his brand new, uninsured factory. Through this Borowiecki and his friends lose all that they had worked for.
The film fast forwards a few years. Borowiecki is now married to Madam Muller, a rich heiress, and owns his own factory. However his factory is threatened by a workers' strike. Due to this Borowiecki is forced to decide whether or not to open fire on the striking workers. He is reminded by an associate that it is never too late to change his ways; however Borowiecki still decides to protect his factory and orders the soldiers to open fire.
Selected Cast
- Daniel OlbrychskiDaniel OlbrychskiDaniel Olbrychski is a Polish actor best known for leading roles in several Andrzej Wajda movies and also known for playing the Russian defector and spymaster Vassily Orlov, alongside Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie in the movie Salt....
as Karol Borowiecki - Wojciech PszoniakWojciech PszoniakWojciech Pszoniak , is a Polish film and theater actor.Pszoniak gained international visibility following Andrzej Wajda's 1975 film The Promised Land, in which he played Moritz, one of the three main characters....
as Moryc Welt - Andrzej SewerynAndrzej SewerynAndrzej Seweryn is a Polish and French actor and director. One of the most successful Polish theatre actors, he starred in over 50 films, mostly in Poland, France and Germany. He is also one of only three non-French actors to be hired by the Paris-based Comédie-Française.- Biography :Andrzej...
as Maks Baum - Kalina Jędrusik as Lucy Zuckerowa
- Anna NehrebeckaAnna Nehrebecka- Biography :In 1969 she graduated from the Theatre Academy in Warsaw, her film debut took place in 1967. In 1969 she became an actress of the Polish Theatre in Warsaw. She acted in many theatre, cinema and TV productions, classic as well as contemporary. She created poetry recitation programmes in...
as Anka - Bożena DykielBozena DykielBożena Dykiel is a well-known Polish actress.- Filmography includes:* Na Wspólnej* Wszyscy jesteśmy Chrystusami* Dylematu 5* Alternatywy 4* Ziemia obiecana* Wyjscie Awaryjne...
as Mada Müller - Andrzej Szalawski as Herman Bucholz
- Stanisław Igar as GrünspanGrünspanGreenspan is a surname common in North America, anglicized from the German surname Grünspan . It may refer to:* Alan Greenspan , U.S. economist,...
- Franciszek PieczkaFranciszek PieczkaFranciszek Pieczka is a Polish film and stage actor. A graduate of the Theatrical Academy in Warsaw, he first made his debut in the theatre in Jelenia Góra...
as MüllerMüllerThe German word Müller means "miller" . It is the most common family surname in Germany and Switzerland and the fifth most common surname in Austria . Other forms are "Miller" and "Möller"... - Kazimierz Opaliński as Maks' Father
- Andrzej LapickiAndrzej LapickiAndrzej Łapicki is a Polish film actor. He appeared in 50 films between 1947 and 1999.-Selected filmography:* Unvanquished City * Everything for Sale * The Wedding * The Promised Land...
as Trawiński - Wojciech SiemionWojciech SiemionWojciech 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 Wilczek - Tadeusz Białoszczyński as Karol's Father
- Zbigniew ZapasiewiczZbigniew ZapasiewiczZbigniew Zapasiewicz was one of the most prominent post-war Polish actors, as well as a theatre director and pedagogue.- Biography :...
as Kessler - Jerzy Nowak as Zucker
- Piotr FronczewskiPiotr FronczewskiPiotr Fronczewski , is a Polish actor and singer.As a fictional character Franek Kimono he issued a disco LP in 1983 which was meant to be a musical joke but turned out to be a great success. Fronczewski started his acting career playing in the theater. He also performed in cabarets...
as Horn - Jerzy ZelnikJerzy ZelnikJerzy Zelnik is a Polish actor. He has appeared in 57 films and television shows since 1963.He was awarded the Badge of Merit in Culture and Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta .-Selected filmography:...
as Stein - Maciej Góraj as Adam Malinowski
- Grażyna Michalska as Zośka Malinowska
- Włodzimierz Boruński as Halpern
- Danuta Wodyńska as Müllerowa
- Marian GlinkaMarian GlinkaMarian Glinka was a Polish actor and bodybuilder. He appeared in many Polish movies.-External links:...
as Wilhelm Müller - Jadwiga AndrzejewskaJadwiga AndrzejewskaJadwiga Andrzejewska was a Polish film and theater actress, very popular between the World Wars in Poland and Germany.-Filmography:This filmography lists only most important movies:* Milioner * A jeśli będzie jesień......
as Bucholzowa - Aleksander Dzwonkowski as Zajączkowski
- Zdzisław Kuźniar as Kaczmarek
- Halina Gryglaszewska as Malinowska
- Jerzy Oblamski as Malinowski
Parts of the movie were filmed at the Villa of "Cotton King" Karl Wilhelm Scheibler
Karl Wilhelm Scheibler
Karl Wilhelm Scheibler was a German - Polish industrialist.- Biography :Scheibler was born in Montjoie in the Prussian Province of Jülich-Cleves-Berg into a family of textile fabricants. He attended school in Monschau and Krefeld and received a practical education at his uncle's Worsted factory...
.