In the spring of 1945, weary and disillusioned by the war against the Nazis that has just ended, uncertain about a future under Communist rule, two resistance fighters are under orders to assassinate the incoming district leader. One of the fighters, the brooding Maciek, played by Zbigniew Cybulski (often called “the Polish James Dean”), falls in love with a local barmaid and is suddenly torn about how to move forward. As Wajda said about ASHES AND DIAMONDS, almost universally regarded as his masterpiece, “I have tried to reveal to movie audiences the complicated and difficult world of a generation to which I myself belong.” This anguished, romantic, and deeply personal film is an all-time favorite of both Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese, who placed it as #3 on his top 10 list for Sight and Sound.