
Acting
Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
Born — Died
1934-09-13 — 2009-07-14
Place of birth
Warsaw, Poland
Known for
Acting
Credits
69 titles
Known for
8.3The Ten Commandments, exact and uncompromising, literally cast in stone, continues to provide a source of moral conflict in contemporary society. In the ten part collection of films, The Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieślowski examines the dilemma of fundamental sin in the lives of ordinary Warsaw citizens.
Dekalog
1989
8.0A series about the adventures of a Polish secret agent, Hans Kloss, who acts as a double agent in the Abwehr during Second World War in occupied Poland.
More Than Life At Stake
1968
7.2An epic, multi-threaded story about the fate of Poles during World War II. "Czas pogardy" was shown primarily from the perspective of two main characters - Lieutenant Władysław Niwiński and Leon Kuraś - a petty crook, but not without heroic traits. The authors of the series sought to show, in particular, everyday life under Nazi occupation in Poland.
Polskie drogi
1977
7.6Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
A Short Film About Killing
1988
5.6A beautiful Polish girl whose lover has gone to Rome to seek a divorce from his previous wife travels around Europe in search of him and suffers a variety of tragic adventures as the men around her try to fit her into their own selfish schemes.
The Story of Sin
1975
7.0No synopsis available yet.
Marszałek Piłsudski
2001
Film credits
2000s · 6 titles
6.8Tomasz, a doctor, and atheist, is diagnosed with cancer. His ex-wife offers him the money for treatment in Paris, but his lung cancer is past the operating stage. Facing imminent death, he questions the beliefs he has held all his life and starts experimenting with both his own life and those of others.
Life as a Fatal Sexually Transmitted Disease
2000
9.0Pawel Markowicz suffers from Stendhal syndrome and it is to Dr.Giordano that he tells his secret.
Man of the Crowds
2001
5.4A Polish ambassador finds his life falling into ruin following the death of his wife.
Persona non grata
2005
6.5An examination of the relationship between an indecisive medical student and his fiancee.
The Supplement
2002
5.1Francis Ratay witnesses the theft of church painting "Angel with violin". The entire incident recorded by an amateur camera. The thief turns out to Benedict Weber, gallery owner and art connoisseur. Francis comes to his gallery. Blackmails him, that will provide police record, unless the image in three days back in place.
Hope
2007
7.0In this mixture of fiction and documentary Krzysztof Zanussi invites a number of Poland’s great actors—Maja Komorowowska, Daniel Olbrychski, and Jan Nowicki—to "revisit" characters they played in the director's earlier works.
Revisited
2009
1990s · 12 titles
Etam, a young man from a small town in Lailonia, plucks pears from a neighbor's tree for his friend Nita. He is branded with a red patch on his pants for the theft. It soon turns out that the patch is contagious. Red patches appear on the pants of all Etam's friends. The patches get bigger and the boys wear a big red patch instead of pants. So they decide to pretend that they have red pants. When they come to school, however, the Teacher sees red patches instead of pants. He tells them to return to school only when they have pants. The boys, on Nita's advice, make holes in the patches and sew the real colored patches onto them. To the boys' surprise, the Teacher at school accepts the patched pants. He explains to them that the previous day they had red patches, and now they have patched pants. This is because it is possible to patch pants, while patches cannot be patched.
Czerwona łata
1997
Nino, a baker's apprentice from the kingdom of Lailonia, has a very beautiful face. He notices that wrinkles are appearing on it. He borrows money from the court and buys a trunk of immutability. He hides his beautiful face in the trunk and henceforth lives without a face. He claims that only by storing his face in the trunk of immutability can he ensure its eternal youth and immortal beauty. The neighbor demands the loan back. So Nino pawns his beautiful face in a pawnshop. He receives a sum less than he borrowed. He cannot repay the debt and is thrown in jail for many years. The owner of the pawnshop, not having lived to see Nino's return, takes his beautiful face out of his trunk and gives it to the children to play with as a ball. Only the imprisoned Nino thinks he has the most beautiful face in the world.
Piękna twarz
1997
A stonemason Ajio, quiet, honest and conscientious by nature, works on road construction in Lailonia. One day, a hump grows on his back, which quickly turns into Ajio's double. Ajio's double is aggressive, vicious and lazy. He quickly manages to convince those around him that he is the real Ajio. Soon an epidemic of humpbacks affects all the residents of Lailonia. Real people are replaced by their doubles. They are aggressive and imperious. Ajio's double takes over the city of humpbacks. Only Ajio's son manages to escape the city. He hopes that when he grows up - he will return and deal with the humpbacks.
Garby
1998
6.3A detachment of the Polish IFOR forces in Bosnia is led by Major Keller, who is being investigated for insubordination during a patrol in Srebrenica. The investigation is to be led by two arriving officers - Lieutenant Czacki and Major Kusz who will also replace Keller as CO. When the camp's RTO receives a communication from a downed Norwegian chopper, Keller ignores his standing orders and leads a platoon to rescue the crew.
Demons of War
1998
A young raspberry ice cream vendor named Gyom lives with his wife Mek-Mek in Lailonia, in the city of Batum. Since he believes that only older men can get good jobs in Lailonia, he decides to change his appearance. He grows a beard and a mustache, but it turns out that this is not enough to be considered an old gentleman. So he buys a bowler hat, glasses, an umbrella and wellingtons. He becomes an old gentleman and thanks to this he gets a job in a hotel as a "removalist" of flowers from vases.
Jak Gyom został starszym panem
1999
7.0In post-communist Poland, former secret police agent Franz Maurer works as a regular cop pursuing a major drug ring. As he and his old comrades lose their privileges and face public scorn in the new reality, Franz realizes that some of his former colleagues are now on the opposite side of the law.
The Pigs
1992
5.4An idealistic scientist is encouraged by his wife to use his good looks to get ahead, but his new job carries with it temptations and traps.
Weekend Stories: Deceptive Charm
1998
8.0Berlin, 1990. At the invitation of his actor friends, who have already lived abroad for many years, Max, a Polish theater director, comes to Berlin. They begin to work together. They try to realize their dream: to stage a play, the staging of which was prevented by the imposition of martial law ten years earlier. The way they raise funds (selling pieces of the "historic" wall) and struggle against the heartless machinery of bureaucracy forms the axis of the film. In their efforts, the four protagonists are assisted by Regina, a translator familiar with local customs and practices. The film deals with the problems of artists in the new, commercializing reality.
Obcy musi fruwać
1993
NRThe staging of "Kordian" by Juliusz Słowacki, refers to the November Uprising and attempts to understand the reasons for its defeat. It tells the story of a young boy who attempts to liberate the Polish nation, while struggling with internal dilemmas and moral difficulties.
Kordian
1994
7.8The famous play by Sławomir Mrożek, directed by Maciej Englert. A 1999 production.
Tango
1999
5.5Alex is a young boy who grew up without the warmth of a family home. He is lonely and lacks money. He is in love with his college friend, Maja, without reciprocity. However, the girl decided to get involved with a wealthy man from the criminal world. Meanwhile, as part of his student internship, Alex takes care of a former employee of the Security Office, Franciszek Kozar. The elderly and sick man suffers greatly. His only desire is euthanasia. For some time, Kozar has been persuading his guardian to help him commit suicide for a few thousand dollars. Finally, Alex agrees. His financial situation improves significantly. With the money he earns, he rents a luxury apartment and changes his lifestyle. From then on, he decides to provide services to people who want to end their lives but are unable to do it themselves...
Egzekutor
1999
3.7A gigantic scandal breaks out in the United States. Charles Enak, sent into space, refuses to return to Earth. He does not give any reasons for his decision. Meanwhile, the world is plunging into a political crisis - the biggest one since the Cold War. Attempts to automatically bring the ship back to Earth failed, as Enak turned off the on-board equipment. Sensationalist reporters begin to check the biography of the scandal's hero. They find his ex-wife, investigate his past in communist Poland. They soon discover that Charles Enak aka Karol Enakowski has an extraordinary property: he can influence the human subconscious.
Enak
1993
1980s · 17 titles
7.6Jacek climbs into the taxi driven by Waldemar, tells him to drive to a remote location, then brutally strangles him, seemingly without motive.
A Short Film About Killing
1988
6.5Shortly after World War II an American soldier (Norman) and a Polish refugee (Emilia) fall in love. Eventually he will return to the U.S. and both expect that she will soon follow him with her mother. Emilia's mother is sick, but will recover with the right medicine. But the mother, and not Emilia, knows that there will only be one ticket...
A Year of the Quiet Sun
1984
8.0Jacek, an angry drifter, murders a taxi driver, brutally and without motive. His case is assigned to Piotr, an idealistic young lawyer who is morally opposed to the death penalty, and their interactions take on an emotional honesty that throws into stark relief for Piotr the injustice of killing of any kind.
Decalogue V
1989
6.5A well-regarded engineer in a big enterprise is hounded by trumped up attacks on his integrity when he delves too deeply into how bonuses are handled by the management. He gets into an argument with the guard, is arrested and subsequently fired. An old friend, a journalist, tries to sort things out but the victim's stubbornness and past problems with his wife lead to lossess by both.
Kung-Fu
1980
7.5Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.
Blind Chance
1987
8.1A young architect is locked up in prison. He recalls his uncompromising youth and gradual sliding into the moral swamp of compromises. He was not alone. A group of his friends, dreamers and glass house builders, accompanied him.
Childish Questions
1981
4.6This heroic story follows the life of Karol Wojtyla, a Polish Roman catholic who ascends the throne of St. Peter as Pope John Paul II. As a young boy, Karol is a bright and talented student. Archbishop Sapieha recognizes the very special, moving qualities Karol possesses and encourages him to consider the priesthood. Although determined to study Polish literature, Karol turns to the church; he is ordained and studies in Italy, France, and Belgium. Torn by fear and repression in post-Stalin Eastern Europe, Karol becomes a poisonous thorn in the communists' side. His deer reverence and commitment return him to Poland as Pope John Paul II.
From a Far Country
1981
7.0On a single day the fate of three couples are joined and some of them sealed.
The Fall
1987
6.0In 1969 a young writer decides to write an essay on a well known Polish writer, who had to leave the country in the 50's, later living, working and dying in exile. He slowly assembles the character and even the exterior appearances of his idol until his own identity tragically disappears.
Idol
1985
8.0A famous opera singer comes to his hometown in Poland, where he loses his voice.
Baryton
1985
9.0In a border town two sons of the local commander using stolen arms take hostages of eighteen girls in a dormitory, because they want to go West by plane.
Stand off
1989
7.0A girl who overdosed on drugs dies in the intensive care unit. The doctor on duty notifies the management of Monar, where the deceased was being treated before she ran away. Jacek, who ran away with Jola a few weeks earlier, returns to the Monar center. Dr. Krystyna agrees to let him spend one night there, even though the rules strictly forbid it. Further decisions regarding the boy will be made by Grzegorz, the center's manager.
...jestem przeciw
1985
6.3In difficult times of political and social change, a mother raises four sons alone.
The Mother of the Kings
1987
5.8In 1905 partitioned Poland, a bomb moves through the anarchist underground as revolutionaries prepare to strike against Tsarist rule.
Fever
1981
7.0Set in 1918, this World War I drama follows a group of Austro-Hungarian soldiers—Czechs, Jews, Italians, and others—confined in a provincial barracks under German officers. Subjected to the cruelty of a sadistic lieutenant, they rebel, humiliate him, and later attempt escape. Disguised as guards for veterinary surgeons in Budapest, the deserters are eventually recaptured and returned for court-martial, forced once more to face their tormentor.
H.M. Deserters
1986
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Dziady. Część III
1981
6.4Set in 1905. The story focuses on a young and inexperienced man in a revolutionary execution squad. He does his killing job out of idealism, and for the love of a woman. The young student murders a Russian spy and is afterwards arrested by the police. Much to his surprise he is released after a session with the traitor-judge, hinting at some leaks in the organisation. Student reports his suspicions back to the organisation, but in response is given a new hit mission.
In Broad Daylight
1981
1970s · 21 titles
5.6A beautiful Polish girl whose lover has gone to Rome to seek a divorce from his previous wife travels around Europe in search of him and suffers a variety of tragic adventures as the men around her try to fit her into their own selfish schemes.
The Story of Sin
1975
7.4At the turn of the century, Lodz, Poland, was a quick-paced manufacturing center for textiles, replete with cutthroat industrialists and unsafe working conditions. Three young friends, a Pole, a Jew, and a German, pool their money together to build a factory.
The Promised Land
1975
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Trzy Siostry
1974
6.3A man is tried in court for failing to help his brother to avoid suicide.
Convicted
1976
6.2A biology professor, Adam enters a hospital for observation. He is a loner and a serious-minded man, who dislikes any display of emotions. He spends three months in the hospital while being tested. After observing patients and hospital routines around him from a distance, he learns that he will need a kidney transplant. Meanwhile his personal and professional life is falling apart: he refuses his wife's offer to donate the kidney for him; the scientific problem he was working on has been solved elsewhere. In the end Adam cracks under the prolonged pressure, waiting for the sound of an ambulance bringing a moribund patient whose kidney may be used for the transplant.
Salvation
1972
6.6Set in the late '20s. A thirtyish young man, who heads a small factory, faints at the funeral of a close friend. He decides to go home to his aunt and uncle for a while, but gets involved with a family of five women who had been in love with him at one time though he had apparently loved only one, who, unknown to him, has died since his departure. The women are mainly disillusioned with life or estranged from husbands while the youngest has a crush on him.
The Maids of Wilko
1979
A man stops at night in an unknown house. There he meets an unpleasant surprise. He is attacked by several men. Initially, he decides to yield to them, but later resists them.
Nocleg
1974
6.8A famous Polish journalist presents a problem for the powers-that-be when he displays his full political skill and knowledge on a television show featuring questions and answers on a world conference by a panel of journalists. His enemies take away his privileges when he is away. The shock of being "unwanted" parallels a deeper disappointment in his private life: his wife has an affair with a jealous young rival, and after 15 years of marriage and two daughters wants a divorce. She offers no explanations as he tries to untie these problems himself. All the moves he makes are the wrong ones. He takes on drinking heavily with students eager to attend his seminar after discovering the class has been canceled. The journalist, once suave and commanding, is reduced to silence.
Without Anesthesia
1978
Zbyszek volunteers as an organ donor for his friend.
A Chance
1970
6.7A moral conflict between a young assistant and an associate professor arises during a university linguistics camp.
Camouflage
1977
A doctor plunged into a marital crisis receives an attractive job offer.
Wyspy szczęśliwe
1972
6.2Andrzej and Grzegorz are students of Warsaw Conservatory and preparing for the International Piano Competition. Eva - a beautiful Grzegorz's girlfriend is seriously ill, the doctors suspect she has brain cancer. Even for the sake of health and life of his beloved Grzegorz disagrees to miss even a single day of preparation for the contest. Andrzej has a girlfriend Zosia (the daughter of a professor of music), but the young pianist falls in love with Grzegorz's girlfriend and takes care of the sick Eve.
Con Amore
1976
6.8In Nazi-occupied Warsaw, teenage scouts Alek, Rudy, and Zośka risk their lives pulling down a swastika and hoisting the Polish flag atop the German “Zachęta” cultural center and then blowing up a mobile propaganda cinema.
Operation Arsenal
1977
7.5No synopsis available yet.
Ostatnie takie trio
1977
6.2The beginning of the occupation. A closed mental world for the sick. Dr. Kauters values only methods of resolution, Dr. Rygier is a believer in strong authority, Dr. Marglewski considers psychic property a form of haunting, Dr. Nosilewska left Austria after the Nazi occupation. The writer Sekułowski seeks shelter. The young, newly arrived doctor, Stefan, refuses to remain passive in the face of the situation and events...
Hospital of the Transfiguration
1979
9.0King Jan Kazimierz, Mazepa, a young Cossack from the king's entourage, and Zbigniew, the voivode's son from his first marriage, are all in love with Amelia, the voivode's wife. Dramatic coincidences and misunderstandings lead to a tragic ending. Zbigniew commits suicide, Amelia dies, the voivode orders Mazepa to be captured, stripped naked, and tied to a horse, after which he releases him, while he himself kills himself with a dagger in front of the king.
Mazepa
1976
6.8The last days in the life of Edward Dembowski (1822-1846), the organizer of the Kraków Uprising in 1846. The informal leader of the uprising, determined to fight for the unification of Polish lands and the liberation of the peasants, negotiates with other politicians.
Passion
1978
5.3The problem of the Polish population displacement from their land within the limits of the Prussian partition. Germans come to the village harassing a wealthy peasant Snail, leading to the tragedy. Slug's cottage burns, his wife dies. The peasant does not give up, defending his inheritance. He sticks on a patch of his Polish soil and protects it like a soldier his post.
Placówka
1979
NRMatylda reflects on her life on her 30th birthday.
Matylda's Birthday
1975
7.0Strange human-shaped phenomenon appears in Piotrowski's new flat and he approaches all available institutions to help him get rid of it.
Kłopotliwy gość
1971
NRJerry arrives in New York alone to escape his painful divorce and, penniless, meets Giselle, a free-spirited dancer with unfulfilled dreams. A single phone call sparks a passionate romance, but their love is tested by shifting affections and the lingering presence of Jerry’s estranged wife, turning their affair into a crowded triangle.
Two for the Seesaw
1976
1960s · 4 titles
9.0A peasant girl is abandoned by her fiancé after she has talked her father into giving her his land as a dowry.
Wiano
1964
6.8A dream-like meditation on post-industrial life in Communist Poland.
Barrier
1966
4.2A forty-year old man, destroyed physically and mentally by life experiences recounts his life.
Sposób bycia
1966
A television play produced for TVP based on Tadeusz Różewicz's drama of the same title. The play is a commentary on the state of post-war and post-Stalinist era Polish society, illustrated through three stories. The title of this play coined the term 'mała stabilizacja' (literally: 'little stabilization'), referring to the era of political stability that came in the early 1960s when the political climate changed.
Świadkowie albo nasza mała stabilizacja
1963
Series credits
8.3The Ten Commandments, exact and uncompromising, literally cast in stone, continues to provide a source of moral conflict in contemporary society. In the ten part collection of films, The Decalogue, Krzysztof Kieślowski examines the dilemma of fundamental sin in the lives of ordinary Warsaw citizens.
Dekalog
1989
8.0A series about the adventures of a Polish secret agent, Hans Kloss, who acts as a double agent in the Abwehr during Second World War in occupied Poland.
More Than Life At Stake
1968
7.2An epic, multi-threaded story about the fate of Poles during World War II. "Czas pogardy" was shown primarily from the perspective of two main characters - Lieutenant Władysław Niwiński and Leon Kuraś - a petty crook, but not without heroic traits. The authors of the series sought to show, in particular, everyday life under Nazi occupation in Poland.
Polskie drogi
1977
7.0No synopsis available yet.
Marszałek Piłsudski
2001
8.0No synopsis available yet.
Ziemia obiecana
1978
8.0The story of the ups and downs of the magistrate Franciszek Murek. After losing his state job, the protagonist assumes the identity of a foreigner Franz Klamma and makes a career in the aristocratic salons of Warsaw as a master of occultism.
Doktor Murek
1979
NRThe Master and Margarita is a Polish television production of Polish Film Producers Teams, based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov.
The Master and Margarita
1990
NRNo synopsis available yet.
Mistrz i Małgorzata
1990
