An interesting and colorful story that combines melodramatic elements with sea adventure. The film is detached from the style of social realism in favor of presenting deepened relations between the lead characters.
The first big role played by Zbigniew Cybulski, the legendary actor known as the “Polish James Dean”, whose great portrayals earned him a place in cinema history; awarded the Super Złota Kaczka for best actor in the history of Polish cinema.
The script is an adaptation a novel by Janusz Meissner, a popular writer who specialized in aviation and navy topics.
Excellent cinematography by Karol Chodura and interesting underwater scenes filmed in Gdańsk Technical University pool. The film used cutting-edge technology – for the first time in Polish cinema puppets were used to substitute actors in the underwater scenes.
After the war the great diver Antoni Biernat, a legend of the underground resistance movement, gave in to greed and ended up contributing to his friend’s death by pursuing a quick profit. After his release from prison, he decides to start a new life. He’s hired as a diver salvaging equipment from a sunken German ship – one he helped destroy years ago. He meets his old love, Teresa, who he ditched in favor of an attractive singer. Biernat wants to revive their relationship, but the woman tells him she’s with another man. The mysterious contender is Rafał, a diver Antoni is currently working together with. The fight for Teresa’s love is bad for both of their personal relations, though there’s no room for conflict down below – the divers’ lives depend on good cooperation.
