The film presents the story of one of the biggest bank heists in the history of communist Poland with a high degree of realism and documentary attention to detail.
The script was based on evidence collected by the police and interviews conducted with the culprits.
The film won the Grand Prix at the Polish Film Festival in Gdańsk with Franciszek Trzeciak also winning as best male lead.
An crime story that’s full of suspense – as well as deep psychological drama.
The electro-mechanical technician Zygmunt Jaskólski sees the content of the local bank’s safe by accident. Despite the fact that he has a family and is quite wealthy, Jaskólski can’t stop thinking about the giant amount of money. He convinces a few of his friends to conduct a robbery which will bring them a fortune. Despite unexpected difficulties the operation is a success. The men divide the spoils. Jaskólski keeps stacks of new banknotes of which the serial numbers are known to the police. The culprits are arrested when Jaskólski’s wife tries using the bills to pay at a store.
Director Mieczysław Waśkowski focused on an attempt to answer the question: what convinced the relatively wealthy and respected citizens to risk everything in the name of an unsure profit?
The heist which inspired the movie took place in 1962 in Wołów.
