The Promised Land (1975)

Original title

Ziemia obiecana

Directed by

Andrzej Wajda

Genre

drama film, historical film

Country

Poland

Runtime

2h 59m

Rating

7.3 of 10 from 87 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

In 19th century Lodz, a Pole, a German, and a Jew join forces to build a factory during the brutal rise of industrial capitalism. The film shows the filthy factories and the tasteless luxury of the new rich. It is a harsh look at ambition and exploitation.

bleakrawintensecausticvisceralmorally complexsweepinggrimy

What happens

The Promised Land (Polish: Ziemia obiecana) is a 1975 Polish drama film directed by Andrzej Wajda, based on the novel of the same name 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. American filmmaker Martin Scorsese recognized the film as one of the masterpieces of Polish cinema and in 2013 he selected it for screening alongside films such as Ashes and Diamonds, Innocent Sorcerers, Knife in the Water and Man of Iron in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom as part of the Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema festival of Polish films. In the 2015 poll conducted by the Polish Museum of Cinematography in Łódź, The Promised Land was ranked first on the list of the greatest Polish films of all time. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• Znikąd donikąd (1975)
• The Story of Sin (1975)
• Doktor Judym (1975)
• Personnel (1975)
• Criminal Records (1974)
• Nights and Days (1975)
• A Woman's Decision (1975)
• The Scar (1976)