Cross of Valor

The film is a pioneering take on war issues, which it depicts without romanticism, exaltation, symbolism and metaphors. A directorial debut of Kazimierz Kutz, it consists of three stories. Kutz was the first director to make a low-life, for whom the war is just a circumstance forcing him to act in a particular way, the main character in a war film. The soldier is not a hero, but an ordinary man with a whole spectrum of reactions, instincts and feelings about the world and his surroundings.

Story I. The Cross - The main character is an uneducated private who goes by the common name of Socha. For his bravery in battle, he is awarded the Cross of Valour and promoted to corporal. Proud about receiving the medal, Socha decides to visit his home village. Once he gets there, he discovers that it has been burned to the ground together with its inhabitants. He never finds out by who and why.

Story II. The Dog - Polish soldiers stumble across a wandering German Shepherd which was earlier kept by guards from a Nazi death camp. The dog triggers contrasting reactions among the soldiers - one of them feeds it, while another one wants to kill it as a war enemy. Eventually, the humanitarian approach prevails.

Story III. The Widow - Shortly after the end of the war, the first settlers arrive on the Recovered Territories. Former soldiers who served in the same unit settle in one of the towns. Among them is a young woman widowed by her husband, the heroic commander of the unit. A stranger arrives in the town and falls in love with the widow, who returns his affection. The local community disapproves of this, which forces the couple to leave the town.