Break Away

(Przed odlotem)


1980   >   psychological/drama

One of the first Polish films about cancer.

An ambitious moral drama addressing the difficult topic of medical ethics and dilemmas faced by contemporary medicine. Its main motive of a conflict between the humanitarian approach of a person for whom human life is the supreme value and the cruel, dehumanized system remains valid even today.

An insightful and equivocal portrayal of Polish physicians, their beliefs and methods, as well as differences between them.

A story of an uncompromising doctor who sacrifices his career for his beliefs and is overcome by his illness.

Doctor Wiktor Siennicki loses a prestigious job when it is revealed that he didn’t follow the recommendations of the management in his research. The doctor doesn’t give up. He starts working in a hospital, but continues his experiments on a cancer drug. Gradually he rebuilds his life: he gains recognition of his superiors and meets a woman who he falls in love with. When diagnosed with a malignant tumor, he decides to test the experimental drug on himself.


Crew:

director
Krzysztof Rogulski
script
Ryszard Sadaj
d.o.p.
Jacek Prosiński
designer
Tadeusz Kosarewicz
editor
Krzysztof Osiecki
music
Elżbieta Sikora
cast
Mariusz Benoit, Jerzy Kryszak,
Grażyna Szapołowska, Igor Przegrodzki,
Józef Fryźlewicz

Materials: SD
Length: 94’