Barry Lyndon isn’t the only 1975 epic about people losing their humanity to greed. Often considered one of the best Polish films of all time, The Promised Land follows Karol Borowiecki (Daniel Olbrychski), a young Polish nobleman who forsakes his aristocratic background in pursuit of wealth by opening a textile factory with his two friends: Moryc Welt (Wojciech Pszoniak), a Jewish financier, and Max Baum (Andrzej Seweryn), a German factory owner’s son. Together, they navigate the harsh realities of capitalism, dealing with strikes, labor exploitation, and cutthroat competition. Karol is ambitious and willing to compromise his values to achieve success, including betraying his romantic relationship. The story centers not just on their attempts to succeed in the textile industry but on the moral compromises they make along the way and how their relentless pursuit of wealth changes them.
Karol already starts the film greedy, unlike in Barry Lyndon, where we see the titular character’s humanity slowly disappear. From the beginning, Karol shows no remorse or empathy. In one of the early scenes, for example, when a factory worker loses his arm in a machine, Karol’s only reaction is to tell the other workers to get back to work and lament the cotton ruined by the blood. This coldness only deepens as the film goes on, with Karol making increasingly heartless decisions. The factory, which should have symbolized his success, never truly satisfies him, showing how power-hungry people are hollow inside. The Promised Land captures this emptiness perfectly.
The movie feels huge in scope, with incredible cinematography and a haunting score (though it does repeat a bit too much). The production design, especially the factories and the city, is fantastic, giving the setting real personality. You feel immersed in the massive scale of the textile industry, and the film does a great job of contextualizing the drama by showing the suffering of the workers and the city’s residents. This adds weight to the characters’ moral decay and makes their environment feel alive.
However, The Promised Land sometimes loses focus. The film gets distracted by side characters and subplots that, while adding some more context on the power dynamics, slow down the pacing. For instance, the subplot that ends with a very unexpected (but somewhat funny) gory scene feels unnecessary and is dragged on. Some performances, like Kalina Jędrusik’s portrayal of Lucy Zucker, also feel a bit too over-the-top and pull you out of the more grounded drama.
As we approach the final act, a few of the tragic moments lack the emotional weight they should carry, partly due to the pacing and some rushed resolutions. But despite these flaws, The Promised Land is an impressive piece of cinema that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible. It’s a grand exploration of how capitalism strips people of their souls, and it’s a visually stunning recreation of 19th-century Poland.
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- 11The Promised Land#11 of 51
- Where to watch
- Not available for streaming
- Where to watch
- Not available for streaming
Play trailer
- Original title
- Ziemia obiecana
- Director
- Andrzej Wajda
- Cast
- Daniel Olbrychski, Wojciech Pszoniak, Andrzej Seweryn, Kalina Jędrusik, Anna Nehrebecka, Bożena Dykiel, Andrzej Szalawski, Stanisław Igar
- Screenwriter
- Andrzej Wajda
- Composer
- Wojciech Kilar
- Cinematography
- Edward Kłosiński, Witold Sobociński, Wacław Dybowski
- Editor
- Halina Prugar-Ketling, Zofia Dwornik
- Country
- Language
- Polish