Władysław Kowalski

Acting

Władysław Kowalski

Born — Died

1936-02-24 — 2017-10-29

Place of birth

Żurawce, lubelskie, Polska

Known for

Acting

Credits

72 titles

Known for

Dekalog poster
8.3

The 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

The Double Life of Véronique poster
7.5

Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.

The Double Life of Véronique

1991

Katyn poster
6.7

On September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland, unleashing World War II. On September 17th, the Soviet Red Army crosses the border. The Polish army, unable to fight on two fronts, is defeated. Thousands of Polish men, both military and government officials, are captured by the invaders. Their fate will only be known several years later.

Katyn

2007

More Than Life At Stake poster
8.0

A 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

Instynkt poster
5.0

An enigmatic commissioner joins the Warsaw Police, where her unconventional investigation methods unsettle the officers in the homicide department.

Instynkt

2011

Love at Twenty poster
6.7

Love at Twenty unites five directors from five different countries to present their different perspectives on what love really is at the age of 20. The episodes are united with the score of Georges Delerue and still photos of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Love at Twenty

1962

Film credits

2010s · 8 titles

Gods poster
7.7

Set in communist Poland of the 80s the movie depicts early career of cardio surgeon Zbigniew Religa.

Gods

2014

Damaged poster
5.1

Rainer Dulsky, a professor of psychiatry from Switzerland, comes to Melania, the granddaughter of Mrs. Dulska. He feels he’s got something in common with the tenement house in which the Dulski family live... Melania, a film director, intrigued by her family history joins Rainer in his research. Their discoveries will take them back to the past full of secrets that were meant to stay hidden forever. The Dulski family have much on their conscience...

Damaged

2015

Little Rose poster
6.9

Pressured by his superiors to disgrace public intellectual Warczewski, a professor and respected writer whom they believe to be a "camouflaged Zionist," rough security-services colonel Rozek enlists his sexy but naive girlfriend, Kamila, to insinuate herself into the distinguished older man's life and report on his every move. Not particularly interested in serving communism but eager to please her domineering lover, Kamila accepts the mission, reporting under the code name "Little Rose." As quick scenes contrast Kamila's crude pleasures with Rozek and her more refined experiences with Warczewski, it becomes clear that the more time the unschooled young woman spends with the professor, the more she comes to have true feelings for him.

Little Rose

2010

Body poster
6.0

A busy attorney, worried that his anorexic daughter Olga, who is still grieving her recently deceased mother, might try to harm herself, sends her to see a psychiatrist who's dealing with her own loss in an unusual way.

Body

2015

Close-Ups poster
6.3

37-year-old Marta gets married and wants to have a baby. But her toxic relationship with overbearing mother complicates her life in many ways.

Close-Ups

2014

Pokaż kotku, co masz w środku poster
4.8

The plot is a series of unfortunate events happening to unremarkable characters. The father of the main character, Sigismund, unexpectedly decides to marry an unknown, mysterious woman. Shortly after this event, he loses all his money, and his son, Andrew, decides to get it back by abducting a suspicious girl, with whom he immediately falls in love. In addition, Sigismund has to face his wife's relentless admirer, and the whole, already tense enough family situation is complicated by the affair of his adult daughter. In addition, the plot is enriched by Jan Frycz in the role of a doctor who is not indifferent to the charms of his sexy nurse, an attractive student with a head full of crazy ideas, the head of a gas station, whose refueling has become a habit, as well as many unusual characters.

Pokaż kotku, co masz w środku

2011

Eccentrics, the Sunny Side of the Street poster
6.1

In late 1950s Poland, jazzman Fabian returns from England and forms a swing big band that quickly rises to fame. Their glamorous new singer, the enigmatic Modesta, becomes both the group’s star and Fabian’s love interest. As their success begins to resemble a Hollywood musical, the authorities take a growing interest in their world of music and romance.

Eccentrics, the Sunny Side of the Street

2016

Mystification poster
6.4

Lazowski, an expelled university student, investigates the supposed suicide of the famous artist Witkacy and tries to prove that the artist is in fact still alive.

Mystification

2010

2000s · 7 titles

Katyn poster
6.7

On September 1st, 1939, Nazi Germany invades Poland, unleashing World War II. On September 17th, the Soviet Red Army crosses the border. The Polish army, unable to fight on two fronts, is defeated. Thousands of Polish men, both military and government officials, are captured by the invaders. Their fate will only be known several years later.

Katyn

2007

Avalon poster
6.5

In a future world, young people are increasingly becoming addicted to an illegal (and potentially deadly) battle simulation game called Avalon. When Ash, a star player, hears of rumors that a more advanced level of the game exists somewhere, she gives up her loner ways and joins a gang of explorers. Even if she finds the gateway to the next level, will she ever be able to come back to reality?

Avalon

2001

The Bait poster
2.3

A star New York City detective is investigating the beating of a young girl. Following the crime trail he finds new victims. As the bodies start to pile up, so does the list of possible suspects. This "Who Done It" starts to look like a "Who Didn't Do It" with a surprising twist when love, romance, envy and rage collide.

The Bait

2009

Lesser Evil poster
5.2

There is a writer who in the late 1970s managed to publish a poem in the monthly "Nowy Wyraz". It was enough to become a self-confessed writer whose name began to appear in the state media. The writer takes full advantage of his privileges - he flirts with power, sympathizes with the opposition, and collapses his studies at the same time. He is saved from going to the army by an exalted essayist whose sister is the head of the psychiatric hospital in Tworki. In a psychiatric institution, a writer meets a schizophrenic who writes a novel. After his suicide, the protagonist takes over the draft, which he publishes outside of censorship under his name, thanks to which he gains fame, fame and money. August '80 breaks out....

Lesser Evil

2009

Tomorrow's Weather poster
6.9

A man, after having abandoned his family to live in a monastery, goes back into the world after 17 years.

Tomorrow's Weather

2003

Louise's Garden poster
6.2

A young girl meets a gangster at a psychiatric hospital.

Louise's Garden

2008

Popieluszko: Freedom Is Within Us poster
6.8

Story of life of Father Jerzy Popieluszko, the priest called "The Solidarity Chaplain", murdered by communist secret police.

Popieluszko: Freedom Is Within Us

2009

1990s · 18 titles

The Double Life of Véronique poster
7.5

Véronique is a beautiful young French woman who aspires to be a renowned singer; Weronika lives in Poland, has a similar career goal and looks identical to Véronique, though the two are not related. The film follows both women as they contend with the ups and downs of their individual lives, with Véronique embarking on an unusual romance with Alexandre Fabbri, a puppeteer who may be able to help her with her existential issues.

The Double Life of Véronique

1991

The Last Days poster
5.5

Romance brings two warring families together in this historical drama. As citizens fight for independence in 1810s Lithuania, Tadeusz, the son of a murderer, and Zosia, a young woman, come together for a wedding against a backdrop of changing politics, ancient traditions, and the uncertain future of a country.

The Last Days

1999

Deborah poster
7.5

In a small Polish town in the summer of 1939, a married painter and a young Jewish woman begin an affair. Based on the novel by Marek Sołtysik.

Deborah

1995

Les Milles poster
5.7

In the beginning of the Second World War, Germans, Austrians and persons without nationality living in France are sent to the concentration camp of Les Milles by France government. Commander Charles Perrochon is the responsible for this camp and he promises to the leaders of the prisoners to protect them from the Nazis. When France is invaded by the Germans, Commander Perronchon will disobey orders and his superiors trying to save these men. He gets a train, a ship and money from USA to send about eight hundred of these prisoners to the safety of Casablanca, in Marrocos.

Les Milles

1995

Warsaw: Year 5703 poster
5.3

In the winter of 1943 two young Jews, Alek and Fryda, escape, via sewer tunnels, from the atrocities underway in Warsaw ghetto. Alek, entrusted with undeveloped photos of the horrors within, makes his way to a supposedly safe apartment only to find it occupied by Germans. Another tenant, a pole Stephania, abruptly offers to shelter him in her spacious apartment. She comforts him and they make love that very night. Stefania is uncommonly generous and willing to jeopardize her own safety by hiding a Jew. She even goes to a nearby church and rescues Fryda. But Fryda is ungrateful and proceeds to sabotage the trio's safety in insidious ways.

Warsaw: Year 5703

1992

Queen of the Angels poster
5.7

The film takes place in two spaces of time. Modern history tells the story of a passing relationship crisis doctor James with her teacher Maria. During the night shift, Jacob is trying to calm the boy. Experiencing a shock that pushes him into the inner journey in time past, in the regions of childhood, to the genesis of his fears and frustrations. The second story waged simultaneously with the first takes place in the nineteenth century, in a nobleman's manor where Maria takes care of the ailing heiress Elizabeth. Elizabeth's daughter, Zofia, is expecting a baby. — Polish Wikipedia

Queen of the Angels

1999

Panny i wdowy poster
5.8

Maidens and Widows is an epic tale of a hundred years of Polish history from the perspective of women, the titular maidens and widows. Set against the backdrop of turbulent historical events.

Panny i wdowy

1991

Dismissed From Life poster
5.4

Set in 1989, story of a man beat up by two ex-policemen and left to die in a dump. Marek survives after the brain surgery that leaves him amnesiac. He wanders through the city, sought by his assilant, who fear he will testify against them. Marek finds shelter with a girlfriend/bagwoman who supposedly was once queen of Paris boulevards. Marek regains his memory just as the villains are to get him. He eventually returns to his house only to find out that his mother died and his brother left for Australia.

Dismissed From Life

1992

Escape from the Liberty Cinema poster
6.3

The screening of a movie "Daybreak" at the "Liberty" Cinema is interrupted by an unusual event - actors come to life on the screen, start conversations among themselves, draw the audience into them. Crowds gather around the cinema, the relevant authorities and services wonder what to do in this complicated situation. Also arriving is the censor, a man reaching his fifties, a one-time literary critic and journalist. The line between fiction and reality begins to blur.

Escape from the Liberty Cinema

1990

No artwork available
NR

A young married couple is expecting a child. Before it arrives, the future parents have to tackle the problems of everyday life, get used to a completely new situation. Meanwhile, the small human is growing in the mother's womb and comments everything happening around him in hi own way. The film was made using the combined technique of live action and animation.

Hello, I'm here!

1991

Kordian poster
NR

The 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

Poznań 56 poster
6.3

The film depicts the momentous and tragic history of the Poznan uprising of 1956. The memory of the director, who was a nine-year-old boy at the time, is the only canvass of the script. The main characters of the black-and-white film are two boys aged ten and twelve. From their perspective, the viewer follows the development of events. From the depths of the gates, through the rails of fences and cluttered backyards, through the eyes of the children we watch the street riots. The film, without action in the literal sense of the word, was made using a reportage technique that perfectly captures the spontaneity of the Poznan uprising. Among other things, the author of the picture depicts the adventures of a young worker Zenek, who becomes the unwitting leader of the protest, and five professors, who by chance find themselves in the very center of events.

Poznań 56

1996

Sauna poster
7.3

A film based on a simple situation: several men talk in the sauna.

Sauna

1992

1968. Happy New Year poster
3.7

Spring of 1968, Warsaw. The fight for influence between top level Communist officials is the background to a developing love story between a young couple who are engaged in student protests. Both the young couple and their parents will pay a high price for their decisions, and their Jewish roots, which up until now seemed to have no meaning, but which will soon determine their fates.

1968. Happy New Year

1993

The Day of the Big Fish poster
7.3

A mature man recalls his youthful love and comes to the town where he once met a woman who was important to him. However, it is hard to turn back time.

The Day of the Big Fish

1997

Cynga poster
6.5

A young Varsovian runs away from the Nazi’s attack on the East. He falls into the hands of the NKVD. Suspected of espionage, he ends up in a camp in Siberia. He will spend the war in a psychiatric hospital.

Cynga

1991

The Master and Margarita poster
5.5

The Master and Margarita (Mistrz i Małgorzata) is a four-part Polish television production based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov.

The Master and Margarita

1990

The Master and Margarita poster
5.5

The Master and Margarita (Mistrz i Małgorzata) is a four-part Polish television production based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov.

The Master and Margarita

1990

1980s · 17 titles

Synthesis poster
7.0

In 2059 scientists manage to revive two people after 80 years of suspended animation - a boy Marek Torlewski and a dictator Muanty, who quickly becomes a serious threat to humanity. Synteza is an adaptation of a novel by Maciej Wojtyszko.

Synthesis

1984

Pěsti ve tmě poster
5.9

The year is 1936, the nervous atmosphere of the Nazi threat penetrates into the sport. Upgrade boxe Vilda Jakub will compete with German Kurt Schaller. The Nazis decisions are used in order to win his master even the dirtiest means. Vilda inspect their game and focus on the preparation of environmental events. The story culminates in the victory of one of the two lovers, between which Vilda tense moments in the decision.

Pěsti ve tmě

1987

Medium poster
5.6

Story of four people in Sopot in 1933, mysteriously brought together to an old villa to reenact a murder ritual that took place 36 years earlier.

Medium

1985

Powstanie listopadowe. 1830 - 1831 poster
NR

Most important events of November Uprising in Poland.

Powstanie listopadowe. 1830 - 1831

1980

Shivers poster
6.5

A boy comes of age under an oppressive, cruel socialist government and watches as it slowly but surely distorts his family, his school and even his own thoughts.

Shivers

1981

Decalogue VII poster
7.5

As a high school student, Majka bore a child, Ania, whom Majka’s mother, Ewa, has been raising as her own. Now that Majka is ready for motherhood, Ewa refuses to let go, leading Majka to kidnap her own daughter, with unexpected emotional consequences.

Decalogue VII

1989

Jeśli serce masz bijące poster
7.0

A group of Polish boys is opposed to a German teacher who aims to Germanise the young men.

Jeśli serce masz bijące

1981

The Young Magician poster
6.3

A 12-year boy feels left out by his classmates because he has no interest in athletics. He finally discovers his calling when his parents take him to a magic show. Picked by the magician to be his helper during a trick he is drawn into the world of magic and wants to learn more. He becomes proficient in tricks and also discovers his telekinetic powers. Unfortunately that further alienates him from his peers and his parents are afraid of his powers. Things change when a national emergency arises and the government asks him to help. After success he becomes a hero and is accepted by all. Written by Polish Cinema Database.

The Young Magician

1987

The Smaller Sky poster
7.0

A story of a dropout out of a succesful career and a loving family. He goes to a local railroad station, then checks into a hotel and refuses to leave despite visits by a psychiatrist and his own son. He watches people daily at the station. A tv reporter is trying to come up with a story which would help him to save his job. He likes to chase women and the dropout's wife is one of his targets. He gets interested in the story of her husband and tries to make a program about mysterious individual. Once the tv crew arrives to the scene, the subject tries to hide and ends up on the roof of the station, where he catches a glimpse of sunshine - the "smaller sky" - before stepping onto a glass roof and falling to his death.

The Smaller Sky

1981

In Broad Daylight poster
6.4

Set 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

No artwork available
6.5

A famous writer suspects that his wife is cheating on him and tries to find out who her lover is.

Nikt nie jest winien

1988

Travels of Mr. Blot poster
6.6

The second part of adventures of Mr. Blot and the students of his magic school.

Travels of Mr. Blot

1986

Masquerade poster
7.0

A well-known actor, Michał Barczewski, returns to the stage after a long hiatus. He tells a reporter the story of Jacek Burda, a young and highly promising actor who once played his own death.

Masquerade

1987

No artwork available
8.5

A Polish writer is arrested by the Nazis in 1942 and sent to the notorious Pawiak prison in Warsaw. He will spend the next 111 days fighting for survival.

111 dni letargu

1985

Without Love poster
9.0

Ewa is a reporter. Using her feminine charms and other means she is trying to become a journalist on a Warsaw weekly popular magazine. She hopes to become political interviewer of personalities and state leaders. On her way up the ladder she trips over one of her own shoestrings and falls short of the goal she has been pursuing so fanatically.

Without Love

1980

The Planet 'Tailor' poster
8.0

In the 50's a tailor drinking with his friends has an attack that requires an emegency treatment in the hospital. He has damaged kidneys. Given a second lease on life the tailor thinks that while in a coma he has communicated with the distant stars. He gives up tailoring and turns to the stars. He engages his friends in a village to build an observatory. He becomes recognized and for a time being even the authorities back him up. But then comes bitter awakening: his wife can't take his obsessions anymore and leaves him. The town council calls upon him to close his work as the first Sputnik goes into space. Then he is invited to an astronomical convention, He becomes the sensation of the conference, not however, as a amateur astronomer, but by guessing the clothing measurements of the delegates. Back home he realizes that his dream may be over, but he cannot help gazing at the sky. Written by Polish Cinema Database

The Planet 'Tailor'

1984

Komediantka poster
6.3

A young woman runs away from her home to the big city, gets a job in theatre and gets involved with shady characters.

Komediantka

1987

1960s · 7 titles

Love at Twenty poster
6.7

Love at Twenty unites five directors from five different countries to present their different perspectives on what love really is at the age of 20. The episodes are united with the score of Georges Delerue and still photos of Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Love at Twenty

1962

Goodbye, Till Tomorrow poster
6.7

Jacek is a handsome, charming young Pole who belongs to a drama company. One day, in the streets of Gdansk, he meets Marguerite, a beautiful, charming French girl. He falls for her but the young lady is whimsical...

Goodbye, Till Tomorrow

1960

Goodbye to the Past poster
6.7

An actress visits her hometown to attend the funeral of her grandfather. She realizes that the places and people from her past differ from her cherished memories.

Goodbye to the Past

1961

The Killer Leaves a Trace poster
6.6

In the last days of WW2, Polish military looks for the murderer of prosecutor responsible for storing Gestapo files.

The Killer Leaves a Trace

1967

Samson poster
4.8

A young Jewish man from Warsaw is imprisoned after an antisemitic incident at his university. He is released when the Second World War breaks out and manages to escape from the ghetto. However, he chooses to leave his hiding place and fight, determined to share the fate of those threatened by the Holocaust. The protagonist is compared to the biblical Samson, who sacrificed his own life.

Samson

1961

Where Are You, Louise? poster
6.0

Mysterious creatures that have landed on the ground in a flying saucer, encouraging the people they meet to undergo experimental research in exchange for gaining youth and immortality.

Where Are You, Louise?

1968

Gold Dreams poster
5.8

The inability of a truck driver to relate to normal life after an accident for which he feels himself responsible.

Gold Dreams

1962

Series credits