Man on the Tracks

Orzechowski, a retired engineer, dies under the wheels of a train –  did he try to derail it or stop it? A special commission addresses the question. Three witnesses sketch the portrait of the old railway man. Their complementary “truths” help to solve the mystery of the old specialist, who was faithful to professional ethic. One of the greatest achievements of the cinema of Polish October, inspired by Italian Neorealism and the experience of Munk, the documentarist, breaking out of the Socialist - Realist straitjacket. A great performance by Kazimierz Opaliński and a symbolic finale: the words “It’s stuffy in here” and opening the window as a sign of the “thaw”, and – with the benefit of hindsight – the forerunner of the Polish Film School.

Source: Polish Cinema Classics

The film is presented at the festival without English subtitles.