Night Train

One of Jerzy Kawalerowicz’s most popular films, Night Train draws the viewer in not only through the story of the passengers aboard an overnight train travelling from Łódź to Hel, but also through its singular atmosphere, shaped in part by Andrzej Trzaskowski’s jazz score. The “microcosm” of the speeding carriage is populated by an array of unusual characters: a flirt, a former concentration camp prisoner, a priest travelling with elderly parishioners, a holiday seducer. In one compartment, Marta, a meteorologist (Lucyna Winnicka), meets a mysterious man named Jerzy (Leon Niemczyk). A subtle bond begins to form between them, although both are burdened by secrets and private troubles. Suddenly, news spreads among the passengers that a wanted murderer may be on board. At the time of its release, critics emphasised the filmmakers’ technical mastery, as the production posed exceptional challenges: two sleeping carriages were specially built and mounted on springs to simulate the movement of a train. Today, what resonates most strongly is the film’s substance – a timeless story about loneliness, anonymity in a crowd, and the human tendency to judge others too quickly.

Jerzy Kawalerowicz (1922–2007) – Polish film director and screenwriter. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts and completed a course in the rudiments of filming in Kraków. As a student, he worked as an assistant director on the first Polish post-war films, including Forbidden Songs by Leonard Buczkowski (1946). From 1951 he worked as an independent director. His feature debut, The Village Mill (1951), received a special award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which enabled him to continue making feature films. In 1966 his Pharaoh was nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Kawalerowicz’s work is marked by exceptional directorial precision and a strong sensitivity to visual composition. In his films he explores human nature and the individual’s place in a world shaped by psychological and political forces. Today, his films are regarded as classics of Polish cinema.

7th New Horizons IFF Catalogue

section partner

screening partner