Best Polish history movies

Ambition (2014)

A young apprentice struggles to master nanotechnology on an alien world and prove herself to her enigmatic master. Will her herculean goals remain tantalizingly out of reach, or will she fulfill them and in the process, change life as we know it?

Sword of God (2020)

In the early Middle Ages, two Christian knights set off to christen a small pagan village hidden deep in the mountains. Despite the differences in their views and perspectives on religion, the two men become travel companions and create a father-son relationship. As they settle into the local community, their faith, belief system and the bond between them are all put to the test. Soon, love is confronted with hate, dialogue with violence, madness with rules and many will have to die.

Czerwone maki (2024)

We see the story of the legendary battle through the eyes of Jedrek - a boy who went through the hell of the gulag and left Russia with the Polish Army as one of thousands of polish orphans. Soon a decisive attack on a monastery located on the hills of Monte Cassino is to take place at the front - this spectacular battle will decide the lives of many soldiers and the fate of the Allied offensive in Italy, and will change Jedrek's life forever.

Battle of Westerplatte (2013)

This harrowing war film is an epic dramatization of the first battle of World War II. The Battle of Westerplatte that began on 1 September 1939 will forever be remembered as the one that announced the beginning of the Second World War in Europe. Over one week, fewer than 200 Polish soldiers fought against heavy German bombardment and in the process came to symbolize the power of resistance. As the violence rages, a complex battle of a more personal nature plays out between two Polish commanders over how to best lead their men. Amid the bloodshed, they must ask themselves – should they fight until the last man standing or surrender in the face of overwhelming odds? What unfolds is a stirring exploration of the fight against the forces of tyranny.

Korczak (1990)

The story of Polish pedagogue Janusz Korczak and his dedication to protecting Jewish orphans during the war.

Go Against the Flow (2024)

Second half of the 1970s. A few teenagers from the town of Ustrzyki Dolne, led by a charismatic and undisciplined student of the local school, Siczka, decided to become punks and get into punk rock and start a band called KSU.

White Courage (2024)

The film tells the story of two Highlander brothers – Maciek and Andrzej. After the death of their father, which Andrzej contributed to, and the loss of his beloved Bronka, Andrzej leaves the family home. On his way, he meets the mysterious Wolfram, an anthropologist and climber. He shares with him his mountaineering technique and knowledge about the Prague origins of the highlanders. Andrzej returns to Zakopane, war breaks out. To protect the Highlanders from wartime destruction, he wants to persuade them to cooperate with the Germans. Andrzej and Maciek are standing on opposite sides of the barricade. The brothers' confrontation is bloody and painful.

Battle of Warsaw 1920 (2011)

Poland's winning battle against Soviet Russia as seen through the eyes of two young protagonists, Ola and Jan. She is a Warsaw cabaret dancer, while he is a cavalry officer and poet who believes in socialist ideals

Pilecki's Report (2023)

Polish WWII resistance fighter Witold Pilecki infiltrates Auschwitz, is imprisoned and interrogated by communist officials post-war, depicting his wartime experiences, incarceration, torture, and 1948 execution for opposing Soviet regime.

General Nil (2009)

The tale about last years of the legendary Home Army commander, General August Emil Fieldorf "Nil".

Carol of the Bells (2022)

Immortalised as one of the most scintillating and uplifting Christmas songs, 'Carol of the Bells' adapted from a popular and loved Ukrainian folk melody, came to represent the spirit of brotherhood and unity all over the world. The peaceful and neighbourly existence of three families, Polish, Ukrainian and Jewish, sharing a large house, musical evenings and merriment in the city of Stanislaviv in the years preceding and post war, is shattered. First in the Soviet occupation and the persecution of the Polish family, then, by the Nazi occupation of Ukraine, and the decimation of the Jewish family. Sacrificing their lives the Ukrainian family manage to save their neighbours' children and their own daughter. Death and loss come to these families, but the healing power and joy , and a promise that the Future Will Not be Cancelled which "Carol of the Bells' evokes will be everlasting.

Warsaw Uprising (2014)

It tells the story of the Warsaw Uprising of 1944 through the eyes of a US airman, escaper from the Nazi Stalag camp and two young reporters, cameramen for the Bureau of Information and Propaganda of the Polish Home Army. Their mission: documenting the Uprising by shooting newsreels for the “Palladium” cinema. Looking for the right shots, they go deeper and deeper – literally and figuratively – into the heart of the Uprising. Traumatic truth becomes obvious. Aware of being witnesses of indescribable events, they realize their duties: to document them and preserve the rolls of film at any cost…

Embassy (2013)

Young couple living in the old house suddenly discover an elevator which takes them directly to year 1939.

Deserter's Gold (1998)

"Deserter's Gold", the sequel to the very popular "The Deserters", is a rich war comedy, skipping humorously around the more serious dangers of a war. Deserters Gold takes place during World War II, while the first film happened during WWI. The heroes' mission is to rob a Nazi-run bank in Poland for gold that will buy military supplies for the Polish Underground.

The Marshal (2019)

The year 1901, a psychiatric hospital in the Russian partition. One of the patients is a political prisoner - Józef Piłsudski. The Polish underground independence movement is preparing their mission to rescue the famous activist. Piłsudski is freed, but he will not get back his idyll family life that he once knew. Uncertain years are coming, marked by revolutionary events, violence and betrayal. Pilsudski must find a way to man oeuvre on the boggy ground - between the conservative passivity of the Polish Socialist Party and the aggression against the invaders, resulting in retaliation. The year 1914 is coming, and the chance for restoring an independent country, independent Poland, is now or never.

Wyklęty (2017)

In the 1940s, a small band of underground paramilitaries attempt to fight back against the Soviet-backed security ministry in post-war Poland. Determined to fight for their country's future, the group goes to extreme lengths to make their voice heard.

Pornography (2003)

Two intellectuals, a writer and a director, begin to play a mysterious psychological game in a peaceful countryside manor house during the Nazi occupation.

Bodo (2017)

The story of Eugeniusz Bodo, a famous Polish actor and singer, who was at the peak of his career in 1930s.

Quo Vadis (2001)

Ancient Rome, during the time of Emperor Nero. Vinicius, a young patrician, falls in love with the beautiful Lygia, the daughter of a Barbarian commander who was killed in battle, and wants her for his concubine. For Lygia, a Christian, being a pagan's concubine is a severe sin and disgrace. However, when Vinicius is wounded, Lygia cares for him, and starts to reciprocate his feelings. Vinicius, in return, becomes interested in Christian learning and asks Apostle Peter to teach him. In the meantime, Emperor Nero accuses Christians of having started a great fire in Rome. He encourages the imprisonment, torture and murder of his Christian subjects.

Truth Makes Free (2020)

A Security Service Major wishes to "buy" gullible priest Zieja and turn him into an agent who will discredit the opposition. The priest's interrogations become a natural pretext for a journey through the history of Poland in the twentieth century: from the Bolshevik war of 1920, through World War II, up to modern times. It turns out that the seemingly naive Father Zieja is actually a clever rebel.

Autumn Girl (2021)

Polish film and music icon Kalina Jedrusik, a scandalous free-spirited sex symbol, fights for her independence in the prude society of the 1960s.

Ether (2018)

At the end of the 19th century, somewhere in the outskirts of the Russian Empire, a doctor administers a lethal overdose of ether to a young woman – the object of his desire. After getting away with his crime, he finds employment in a fortress, where he continues his experiments with ether to manage pain and manipulate human behaviour. Despite his evilness, it is not too late for his soul to be saved from eternal damnation…

Icarus. The Legend of Mietek Kosz (2019)

Inspired by true events, a story of a blind grand piano genius. As a child Mietek loses his sight. His mother places him in the care of the nuns in Laski. At the centre for the blind the boy discovers that music may be his way of seeing the world again and of describing it. Mietek goes on to become a brilliant classical pianist. Once he discovers jazz music, though, he has only one goal left: to become the best jazz pianist in Poland. He is more and more successful, not only in Poland but around the world. He wins the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival. Unexpectedly, a charismatic vocalist, Zuza, walks into his life. This meeting will change it forever.

Kornblumenblau (1989)

Based on a true story of a Polish musician who survived the concentration camp only because he could play on the accordion the title melody.

Tomorrow, We're Going to the Movies (2007)

Three high school graduates prepare to start the next chapter of their lives, but the outbreak of World War II may derail their dreams forever.

Woman of... (2024)

Aniela has lived the first half of her life as a man: with an office job, a wife, and two children. But neither her family's opposition nor repression by the government in Poland can stop her from finally becoming the person she's always been.

Young Eagles (2022)

Grodno, the eastern border of pre-war Poland. On September 1, 1939, German planes bomb the city. One of the bombs hits the school of Leoś, Ewelina and Tadek. Literally and symbolically, the world of a carefree childhood, fun and first crushes ends.

Czas Honoru (2008)

Kulej. All That Glitters Isn’t Gold (2024)

A biopic about Jerzy Kulej, a two-time Olympic champion and one of Poland's greatest fighters. The film is set between the Olympics, when Kulej wins his first gold and goes for a second.

Wyszynski - Revenge or Forgiveness (2021)

This film tells the story of lieutenant Stefan Wyszynski (Ksawery Szlenkier) - the future Primate of Poland, unknown to a wider audience. It is 1944, in the heat of war, we meet a young priest Wyszynski, who has recently been appointed chaplain of the branch in the Kampinos Forest. It is also active in the insurgent hospital. Everyone knows him there under the pseudonym "Radwan III". The reality of the war is for Fr. Wyszynski, a forge of character, a fight for hope and love, especially against enemies. How are we to forgive in everyday warfare? The hero asks, turning to the Source of his vocation.