Prawo i pięść ("The Law and the Fist") is a 1964 Polish post-war Eastern drama film directed by Jerzy Hoffman and Edward Skórzewski. Based on a 1964 novel of the same name (originally published as Toast) by Józef Hen, the film achieved cult status in the history of Polish cinema.

Synopsis

Set in 1945, immediately after the end of World War II, it tells the story of Andrzej Kenig, a former fighter of the Polish resistance and survivor of a German concentration camp. He is sent with a small group of men as government representatives to the fictional town of Siwowo/Graustadt in the so-called Recovered Territories, the new western territories of Poland. Their task is to secure the property left there by the retreating Germans. The small town is mostly abandoned and the only remaining inhabitants are four women and a drunken waiter at the hotel. Upon reaching the town, Kenig discovers that the other members of the government delegation are not who they claim to be, and that their only task is to loot as much of the property as they can for themselves. Kenig decides to fight against the gang of bandits alone, which leads to a shootout on the rooftops and in the streets of the deserted town.

Background

The motif of a lone hero fighting against a group of villains resulted in the film being described as a "Polish western". The film is also remembered for its original score, written by Krzysztof Komeda, and especially the popular song Nim wstanie dzień ("before the day breaks"), with music by Komeda, lyrics by Agnieszka Osiecka, and performed by Edmund Fetting.

Cast