''The Codes'' () is a Polish

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

released in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, directed by

Wojciech Has Wojciech Jerzy Has (1 April 1925 – 3 October 2000) was a Polish film director, screenwriter and film producer. Early life and studies Wojciech Jerzy Has was born in Kraków. Has himself was agnostic. However, his family on both sides was ...

Plot

Tadeusz (

Jan Kreczmar Jan Kreczmar (6 May 1908 in Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its ...

) is a Polish veteran of

World War II 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 ...

who fled to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

at the end of the war, leaving behind his wife Zofia ( Irena Eichlerówna) and two sons, Maciek (

Zbigniew Cybulski Zbigniew Hubert Cybulski (; 3 November 1927 – 8 January 1967) was a Polish film and theatre actor, one of the best-known and most popular personalities of the post-World War II history of Poland. He is known for portraying young rebels i ...

Directory of World Cinema, Volume 8 edited by Adam Bingham, v. 8 p. 15) and Jedrek, who disappeared when he was 17 years old. Tadeusz returns to

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

to discover if Jedrek may be alive. His wife and son Maciek were members of resistance – was it possible that the second son may have been the traitor? During Maciek's struggle to explain to his father their history during

German occupation German-occupied Europe, or Nazi-occupied Europe, refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly militarily occupied and civil-occupied, including puppet states, by the (armed forces) and the government of Nazi Germany at ...

, questions arise concerning collaboration with the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

and retribution by the

Home Army The Home Army (, ; abbreviated AK) was the dominant resistance movement in German-occupied Poland during World War II. The Home Army was formed in February 1942 from the earlier Związek Walki Zbrojnej (Armed Resistance) established in the ...

. Has pictures the mystical lost boy in a dark fairy-tale forest, full of the war's ghosts and wholesale executions.

Cast

as Tadeusz *

as Maciek * Ignacy Gogolewski as Doctor Gross * Irena Horecka as Aunt Helena * Janusz Klosinski as Antiquary * Adam Dzieszynski as Receptionist in 'Hotel Polski' * Irena Eichlerówna as Zofia *

Janusz Gajos Janusz Gajos (; born 23 September 1939) is a Polish film, television and theatre actor as well as pedagogue and photographer. Professor of Theatre Arts and an Honorary Doctor of the National Film School in Łódź, he is considered one of the ...

as White monk * Barbara Krafftówna as Jadwiga *

Zofia Merle Zofia Merle (30 March 1938 – 13 December 2023) was a Polish character actress. She made over 75 appearances in film and television. She starred in the 1978 comedy film ''What Will You Do When You Catch Me?''. Merle died on 13 December 2023, at ...

as Forester's daughter * Kazimierz Opaliński as Pieczara *Irena Orska as Neighbor

References

External links

* 1966 films Polish war films Films directed by Wojciech Has 1960s Polish-language films Films set in Kraków {{Poland-film-stub

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links