An investigation into the death of an old train driver that reveals things about him and Poland. Thre are wonderful shots of steam trains- especially at night- which will delight gricers of the world, but there's also a portrait of an old-fashioned community and industry in the early days of communism. One of the interesting things about Munk's films is his essential fairness and it's especially noticeable in this film; all of the characters have both good features and bad and the tragedy comes partly because they cannot accept or trust one another. Tuszka, the Station-master may be a Party member, promoted quickly, but he's also genuinely concerned about most of his men- he rescues Orzechowski's assistant Marek from arrest for fare-dodging and gives him a job, for example. However, he merely regards Orzechowski as an obstacle to be got rid of at the first opportunity. Marek is grateful to the SM but admires Orzechowski and recognises that some of his arrogance is a cover for illness. Orzechowski's dismissal comes because Marek wants to be on good terms with both. Even the signalman who doesn't double-check his work as Orzechowski would have and causes his death is shown as left bewildered and helpless by his wife's illness and "working on routine", which the SM had identified as one of the faults he had to deal with. Only one man- both an old railwayman and the chairman of the investigating committee- looks closely and finds out exactly what happens. His words close the film- "It's stuffy in here." and he opens the window.
It's worth remembering that Munk himself joined the Polish CP and was thrown out for "unsuitable behaviour"; whatever his motives for joining he knew something of the CP's inner workings and the psychology of its members. How far the film is an oblique look at the behaviour of the CP- both internally and as rulers of the country- in the period after it first came to power, I don't know, but I think that that is one aspect of it. Munk's view of heroism is interesting too. His war films debunk it and look ironically at it; only in this film and The Blue Cross does he show unequivocal admiration for bravery and in both films heroism is concerned with saving life, not taking it. When the only way Orzechowski can stop a train crash is by dying himself he does so; a definite statement that the Poland he represented had qualities worth keeping. One possible technical flaw: I don't know about Polish railways, but the procedure on railways is- or should be- that if there is a fault with signalling equipment it will signal stop; thus the "one light, line open; two lights, stop." procedure depicted here is almost certainly not the real one used by the Polish railways but used for dramatic reasons.
It's worth remembering that Munk himself joined the Polish CP and was thrown out for "unsuitable behaviour"; whatever his motives for joining he knew something of the CP's inner workings and the psychology of its members. How far the film is an oblique look at the behaviour of the CP- both internally and as rulers of the country- in the period after it first came to power, I don't know, but I think that that is one aspect of it. Munk's view of heroism is interesting too. His war films debunk it and look ironically at it; only in this film and The Blue Cross does he show unequivocal admiration for bravery and in both films heroism is concerned with saving life, not taking it. When the only way Orzechowski can stop a train crash is by dying himself he does so; a definite statement that the Poland he represented had qualities worth keeping. One possible technical flaw: I don't know about Polish railways, but the procedure on railways is- or should be- that if there is a fault with signalling equipment it will signal stop; thus the "one light, line open; two lights, stop." procedure depicted here is almost certainly not the real one used by the Polish railways but used for dramatic reasons.