''Lotna'' is a 1959 Polish

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle s ...

directed by

Andrzej Wajda Andrzej Witold Wajda (; 6 March 1926 – 9 October 2016) was a Polish film and theatre director. Recipient of an Honorary Oscar, the Palme d'Or, as well as Honorary Golden Lion and Honorary Golden Bear Awards, he was a prominent member of the "P ...

Overview

This highly symbolic film is both the director's tribute to the long and glorious history of the

Polish cavalry The Polish cavalry () can trace its origins back to the days of medieval cavalry knights. Poland is mostly a country of flatlands and fields and mounted forces operate well in this environment. The knights and heavy cavalry gradually evolved in ...

, as well as a more ambiguous portrait of the passing of an era. Wajda was the son of a Polish Cavalry officer who was murdered in the

Katyn massacre The Katyn massacre was a series of mass killings under Communist regimes, mass executions of nearly 22,000 Polish people, Polish military officer, military and police officers, border guards, and intelligentsia prisoners of war carried out by t ...

. The horse Lotna represents the entire Romantic tradition in culture, a tradition that had a huge influence in the course of Polish history and the formation of

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

. Lotna is Wajda's meditation on the historical breaking point that was 1939, as well as a reflection on the ending of an entire era for literature and culture in Poland and in Europe as a whole. Writing of the film, Wajda states that it "held great hopes for him, perhaps more than any other." Sadly, Wajda came to think of ''Lotna'' "a failure as a film." The film remains highly controversial, as Wajda includes a

myth Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...

ical scene in which Polish horsemen suicidally charge a unit of German tanks, an event that never actually happened.

Synopsis

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Poland has been invaded by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Lotna, a beautiful

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

that belonged to a wealthy nobleman ( Henryk Cudnowski) is given to Captain Chodakiewicz ( Jerzy Pichelski), the commander of a Polish Cavalry squadron, and immediately becomes a bone of contention for everyone in the unit. Lieutenant Wodnicki ( Adam Pawlikowski), Cadet Grabowski (

Jerzy Moes Jerzy Moes (Jerzy Michal Moes; 29 September 1935 – 27 April 2019) was a Polish film and television actor. Moes was born in Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, larges ...

) and Sergeant Major Laton ( Mieczysław Łoza) jealously scheme among themselves to get their hands on the horse. However, the war takes the lives of Captain Chodakiewicz and Cadet Grabowski, and Lotna falls is passed to Wodnicki. Laton feels he should get the animal and so he steals Lotna and flees amidst the abandoned supply wagons and equipment of the retreating

Polish Army The Land Forces () are the Army, land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 110,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military histor ...

Cast

* Jerzy Pichelski as Captain Chodakiewicz * Adam Pawlikowski as Lieutenant Wodnicki *

as Cadet Grabowski * Mieczysław Łoza as Sergeant Major Latoś * Bożena Kurowska as Ewa * Henryk Cudnowski as nobleman * Irena Malkiewicz * Bronisław Dardziński *

Wiesław Gołas Wiesław Ryszard Gołas (Polish: vʲε.swav 'gɔ.was 9 October 1930 – 9 September 2021) was a Polish actor and Armia Krajowa soldier. He was cast in the role of Tomasz Czereśniak in ''Czterej pancerni i pies'' (Polish: ''Four tank men ...

Legacy

During an ad limina visit of the Polish bishops to the Vatican,

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

referenced the scene in ''Lotna'' depicting an equine competition won by a priest, encouraging the Polish bishops to charge forward like the priest in the film and give witness to their faith in society. When learning that the pope had referenced his film, Andrzej Wajda replied that it was worth living as long as he did.

References

External links