Krzysztof Kowalewski

Acting

Krzysztof Kowalewski

Born — Died

1937-03-20 — 2021-02-06

Place of birth

Warsaw, Poland

Known for

Acting

Credits

79 titles

Krzysztof Kowalewski (20 March 1937 – 6 February 2021) was a Polish actor and comedian. He was best known to Polish Radio fans for his role in a radio play I Love You, Mr. Sułek, but during his career he starred in over 120 films and TV series. Kowalewski frequently starred in Polish director Stanisław Bareja’s cult comedies, including A Jungle Book of Regulations (Nie ma róży bez ognia), Teddy Bear (Miś), and Brunet Will Call (Brunet wieczorową porą). Kowalewski was born to a Jewish mother, actress Elżbieta Herszaft-Kowalewska and Polish father, Cyprian Leon Kowalewski, who was a soldier. His first wife, Vivian, was from Cuba. For many years, he was in a relationship with actress Ewa Wiśni…

Known for

Film credits

2020s · 4 titles

2000s · 12 titles

The Career of Nikos Dyzma poster
6.1

Nikos is a master of funeral ceremonies (that's undertaker to you and me) who doesn't expect much from life. After drunkenly insulting a diplomat at a party, weird things begin to happen for Nikos. The news that a mysterious stranger offended the hated Deputy Prime Minister galvanizes the political elite assembled at the banquet, and a rumor that Nikos can take care of anything spreads like wildfire, making him an idol of the masses.

The Career of Nikos Dyzma

2002

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

Odwrócona Góra albo Film Pod Strasznym Tytułem poster
NR

An adaptation of the book by Jerzy Niemczuk. The protagonists are strange but friendly creatures inhabiting the heart of the forest - Tatun, Mamuna, their child Sonek and grandfather Lesavik. The grandfather's inventions - including a kite, a znikolina and a conusola - save the children trapped in the mighty Marbat castle.

Odwrócona Góra albo Film Pod Strasznym Tytułem

2000

Dublerzy poster
4.8

A couple of friends, Max and Leo spend some time in Sicily, the island that is associated with mafia. Strange events on one wedding of a mafioso's daughter near the city of Trapani, bring them back to Warsaw. Yet, the criminal leaders, particularly Don Antonio Gambini, are also in Poland where they have a job to do. Unintentionally, Max and Leo are brought into a plot.

Dublerzy

2006

Richie poster
4.4

Chased by mafia boss Kreda over a mistaken €2 million debt, club president Ryszard Ochódzki follows consigliere Maria Wafel’s advice to sell land to Father Pudło, only to hatch an even bigger bank fraud with banker Koziczek to raise the cash. Flush with stolen funds and briefly enjoying political office, he hides the money in the Molibdenów home, but just as he and coach Jarząbek plan to retrieve it, contract killer Dukan closes in.

Richie

2007

In Desert and Wilderness poster
6.0

In Desert and Wilderness is a 2001 Polish film directed by Gavin Hood. Adapted from the 1911 novel In Desert and Wilderness by Henryk Sienkiewicz, it tells the story of two kids, Staś Tarkowski and Nel Rawlison, kidnapped by the rebels during Mahdi's rebellion in Sudan.

In Desert and Wilderness

2001

King Ubu poster
6.5

A grotesque Shakespearean tale of Ubu who comes to power in a bloody way. When his absurd reforms fail and the treasury gets empty, Ubu and his flatterers start implementing terror across the country.

King Ubu

2004

And a Warm Heart poster
5.8

A businessman, spoiled by the good life, learns that he suffers from a serious heart condition. He can only survive by finding a donor immediately. In the hospital, he accidentally meets a young man whose grief and job loss have taken away all his will to live. He is suicidal, so he is the perfect donor, and they must find a way to help him leave this world...

And a Warm Heart

2008

Złoty środek poster
4.6

Raised in Warsaw's Praga, Mirka graduated from the prestigious faculty of law. It would seem that her profession would even be detracted from the honor of a family with cunning roots. The girl's grandfather and father pride themselves on stays in numerous prisons. However, Mirka's legal knowledge can be very useful in the fight to save the old tenement house. As a result of a suspicious transaction, the tenement house where Mirka has been living since childhood is to be demolished. All the leads lead to the law firm "Łopian i Pokrzywa", which is just looking for a new lawyer - a man. In order to help the inhabitants of the family tenement house, Mirka must engage in a daring hoax. She is helped by her uncle Bogumił, a makeup artist and a representative of a sexual minority. Thanks to him, a beautiful girl will turn into a handsome young man and hire him in a suspicious office.

Złoty środek

2009

Operacja Koza poster
4.6

Adam Horn, a young Polish scientist, is conducting research to discover a substance that makes personality swapping possible. Appearing before a committee granting funds for further research, he presents a somewhat "stilted" achievement, demonstrating on his experimental pet the personality swap of a dog with a goat Matilda. The fame of his research reaches the former KGB, which sends him an agent committed to intercepting the research results.

Operacja Koza

2000

Ja wam pokażę! poster
3.6

The film follows warm-hearted journalist Judyta, whose simple and touching outlook - head sometimes in the clouds but heart always with her beloved - resonates with women of all walks of life. As she chases stories and love, Judyta learns that faith in luck and honest emotion can turn even the most ordinary days into moments worthy of a heartfelt song.

Ja wam pokażę!

2006

Jest sprawa... poster
3.9

The post-state farm village of Piaski in Pomerania. A deputy minister shows up in the village. He is interested in finding a bust of Lenin, in which the now deceased former secretary of the Polish United Workers' Party smuggled a diamond of enormous value, the "Eye of Siberia." The confidential conversation between the deputy minister and the village head accidentally overhears the unemployed Stanislaw Michalek. He informs his friends about the case. The three men decide to find the secretary's treasure. The problem is that the secretary had a collection of busts of Lenin, which are now strewn all over the village.

Jest sprawa...

2002

1990s · 14 titles

Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe poster
6.3

The story of catholic saint Maximilian Kolbe (1894-1941), who volunteered to die in place of a stranger in the Nazi concentration camp of Auschwitz.

Life for Life: Maximilian Kolbe

1991

Nocne Graffiti poster
6.2

A hardened airborne instructor discovers his niece is drowning in drugs. When he confronts her dealer, the city’s crime bosses hit back hard. Beaten and warned off, Marek Kossot is ready to walk away - until he finds her overdosed and unconscious. Rallying his former soldiers, he launches a brutal private war against the narcotics mafia in a city where gangsters, politicians, and the law are all dangerously intertwined.

Nocne Graffiti

1997

With Fire and Sword poster
6.9

In the mid-17th century, Poland was the largest, most democratic, and most tolerant country in Europe. However, a tragic civil war brought about the gradual decline of the once glorious republic... An epic story about the Cossack rebellion against the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

With Fire and Sword

1999

Nothing Funny poster
6.9

One day, hospital orderlies, watching corpse in the morgue, recognize film director. Man, even though he died, he begins to remember his life. He made a career making movies, had numerous mistresses, but never realized their dreams. His life was interspersed with many setbacks that enfeebled him from the inside. Although he made a career in film, he was not happy with his life.

Nothing Funny

1996

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

Horror in Happy Swamp poster
7.0

A grotesque story about a polluted area where gas leaking from a swamp causes noses to drop off.

Horror in Happy Swamp

1995

No artwork available
NR

A young Janka leads a band of kids in 1920's Poland, experiencing many adventures and witnessing technological innnovations along the way. The second of two theatrical films edited out of the original TV series.

Janka - Spełnione marzenie

1993

Deserter's Gold poster
6.1

"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.

Deserter's Gold

1998

No artwork available
8.0

A young Janka leads a band of kids in 1920's Poland, experiencing many adventures and witnessing technological innnovations along the way. The first of two theatrical films edited out of the original TV series.

Janka - Orły i Wilki

1993

Człowiek z... poster
5.3

Journalist Anna is trying to make a documentary about an opposition activist she met years ago.

Człowiek z...

1993

Tango poster
7.8

The famous play by Sławomir Mrożek, directed by Maciej Englert. A 1999 production.

Tango

1999

Controlled Conversations poster
6.7

Ryszard Ochódzki receives a special assignment for UB - infiltrating the "Solidarity" party branch in Suwałki. His arriving there coincides with the imposition of martial law on Poland.

Controlled Conversations

1991

No artwork available
NR

A television staging of the 1941 Brecht play, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui.

The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui

1997

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

1980s · 12 titles

Teddy Bear poster
7.8

En route to London, Bear discovers at the border checkpoint that his passport is missing a few pages, which may prevent him from traveling to the city with the sports team he manages.

Teddy Bear

1981

No artwork available
NR

A married couple raising a mentally ill son struggles with the thought of putting him in an institution.

Znak

1981

Kung-Fu poster
6.5

A 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

Mad Dog poster
8.3

Detective thriller about a killer loose in the crowds. The film follows a sniper on his rounds looking for victims, while a police inspector, with few clues in hand, has to figure out the motive for the killings as well as who the psychopath is and where he might strike next. He uncovers that the mentally deranged sniper can't stand seeing people happy together in public places.

Mad Dog

1980

New York, 4 A.M. poster
6.5

A sleepy provincial town with only one "Błysk" bar. If it weren't for the nearby prison, it would be forgotten to the world. This is how guests come. Agnieszka works in the bar and dreams of New York . Krzysiek and Józek love the girl. Józek tells her about a militia van carrying money.

New York, 4 A.M.

1988

Rodzina Leśniewskich poster
6.5

Children of the Leśniewski family decide to help their mother in daily chores so she can have more time for herself.

Rodzina Leśniewskich

1983

Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy poster
NR

Hanka Ordonówna is a star of pre-war Polish cabarets. The film begins in 1942 in the Middle East, in a British military camp located near the front line. Hanka runs a shelter for homeless Polish children. In her moments of respite, the singer, who is suffering from tuberculosis, recalls the various stages of her career.

Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy

1982

No artwork available
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Goryl, Czyli Ostatnie Zadanie...

1989

Miłość z listy przebojów poster
5.0

Peter and Eliza are vacationing in the Mazury region. After an argument with her boyfriend, the girl leaves him and goes away. Meanwhile, Eliza's father Jul, a sculptor, organizes a reunion of former members of the student theater in which he performed years ago.

Miłość z listy przebojów

1985

The Twenties, the Thirties poster
6.3

On the way to Warsaw after a crude oil fraud in southern Poland, conman Adam Deren meets singer Liza. He decides to invest his money in a venture deemed to be a failure - a small cabaret where Liza could perform.

The Twenties, the Thirties

1984

H.M. Deserters poster
7.0

Set 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

Caesarean Section poster
6.3

No synopsis available yet.

Caesarean Section

1987

1970s · 12 titles

The Deluge poster
7.2

During the Swedish invasion of Poland, the brave warrior Andrzej Kmicic, considered a traitor to the nation, fights for a country, redemption and love across the 17th-century Polish territories.

The Deluge

1974

The Nest poster
6.1

Told in flashback as Mieszko lies feverish in his bed just before the Battle of Cedynia, Gniazdo recounts how the revered leader extended Poland's borders, formed an alliance with Emperor Otto I, and ultimately strengthened his country's autonomy by achieving victory during that crucial battle in the year 972.

The Nest

1974

Brunet Will Call poster
6.9

Modest editor, has shipped his wife and kids for the weekend, and is trying to relax in his house at the outskirts of Warsaw. His quiet evening is only disturbed by the accidental forecast made by a Gypsy woman, that at evening time he will murder a mysterious brunet.

Brunet Will Call

1976

A Jungle Book of Regulations poster
6.9

Janek and Wanda live in a small room in a villa, while other rooms are occupied by offices of various institutions. Janek often stays at work after hours, just to avoid returning to the cramped apartment too early. One day, a man named Malinowski, who once lived in the same small room, visits the couple. He proposes to exchange their room for a new, two-room apartment that he has just received. Janek and Wanda are initially distrustful, but eventually, the exchange takes place. It turns out that Wanda's ex-husband, Jerzy, already lives in the new apartment. Despite the divorce, as he is registered with Wanda, he has the right to continue living in her apartment. Janek tries to find a way to get rid of the intruder.

A Jungle Book of Regulations

1974

A Slip-Up poster
6.8

A young man strikes up an ill-fated romance with a married woman.

A Slip-Up

1972

What Will You Do When You Catch Me? poster
7.3

Tadeusz Krzakoski, the director of a failing state-owned company, is married with problems. His mistress, the daughter of a Communist party bigwig, says she's pregnant and Tadeusz knows he'll have to marry her to save his reputation and his job. But divorce is never simple and Bareja's screwball comedies are never boring.

What Will You Do When You Catch Me?

1978

No artwork available
7.0

A film adaptation of six short stories by Marek Nowakowski from the collection Mizerykordia.

Siedem czerwonych róż, czyli Benek kwiaciarz o sobie i o innych

1973

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Rewizor

1977

No artwork available
NR

The tale of "The Golden Duck" in the reality of 17th-century Warsaw.

Gold Duck

1976

No artwork available
NR

Captain Drawski is ordered to deliver the plane to the repair plant in Bydgoszcz, where the machine will undergo repairs. A young mechanic, Marcin Mercik, is also taken on board (against regulations). During the flight, a malfunction occurs. Drawski and Mercik have to catapult themselves, but the mechanic has never performed similar evolutions. He is paralyzed by fear, so that the plane, which is losing fuel, is in danger of crashing.

Spacer

1972

Z tamtej strony tęczy poster
4.6

Teresa is an attractive 30-year-old doctor. She divides her stable life between work, caring for her younger sister Ania, a high school student, and her romance with Jan, a well-off lawyer who wants to marry her. However, Teresa postpones her decision to marry until Ania becomes independent. One day, she unexpectedly meets Tomek, a young photographer, who soon confesses his love to her, making her question her loyalty to Jan.

Z tamtej strony tęczy

1973

Grzech Antoniego Grudy poster
7.5

No synopsis available yet.

Grzech Antoniego Grudy

1975

1960s · 4 titles

Series credits

Daleko od noszy poster
6.3

No synopsis available yet.

Daleko od noszy

2003

Polskie drogi poster
7.2

An 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

Spadkobiercy poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Spadkobiercy

2009

Kuchnia polska poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Kuchnia polska

1993

No artwork available
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Daleko od noszy 2

2010

Panny i wdowy poster
6.0

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

1992

Rodzina Leśniewskich poster
9.0

Series telling the adventures of the nice Lesniewski family. The family consists of the parents and four nice children: 15-year-old Agnieszka, 14-year-old Leszek and 7-year-old twins called the Bąbls, who have to cope somehow when their mother decides to graduate.

Rodzina Leśniewskich

1981

Trzecia granica poster
8.5

No synopsis available yet.

Trzecia granica

1976

Janka poster
7.5

Janna is a German-Polish collaboration television series.

Janka

1989

Subs poster
7.8

"Zmiennicy" is a grotesque comedy of absurdity and reality that masterfully blends slapstick, satire, and surrealism to expose the absurdities of life under communist rule in the People's Republic of Poland (PRL). The story follows Jacek Żytkiewicz, a taxi driver in Warsaw, and his mysterious new shift partner, Katarzyna Piórecka, who disguises herself as a man to get the job. The series is a comedy of the grotesque, filled with exaggerated characters, nonsensical bureaucracy, and surreal plot twists. It mocks the inefficiencies and contradictions of PRL institutions—from corrupt officials and inept police to bizarre workplace dynamics and social hypocrisy. Underneath the absurdity lies a thriller-like subplot: a drug trafficking operation smuggling heroin from Thailand to West Germany. This storyline, featuring shady sports officials, a Thai student, and a crooked firefighter, adds a layer of intrigue reminiscent of American crime dramas.

Subs

1987

With Fire and Sword poster
6.1

The story, which was written by Henryk Sienkiewicz in the 19th century "for the strengthening of hearts," filmed in 1999 with extraordinary panache, has become one of the most spectacular Polish films. Its plot is set during the Khmelnytsky uprising in Ukraine. Against the background of historical and political turmoil, noble friendships and great love are born between the characters.

With Fire and Sword

2001

Colombuses poster
8.0

Kolumbowie follows a group of Polish resistance fighters during WWII in the days leading up to the Warsaw Rising.

Colombuses

1970

Wszystkie pieniądze świata poster
8.0

No synopsis available yet.

Wszystkie pieniądze świata

1999

Skarb sekretarza poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Skarb sekretarza

2000

Urwisy z Doliny Mlynów poster
NR

A cheerful series about the adventures of a group of children living in the countryside, produced in a Polish-West German co-production (the pictures were taken in picturesque locations in Dąbrowa nad Czarna, as well as in sand caves near Sulejów). The biggest attraction of the area is the historic water mill, which becomes a great place for fun for an amused crowd. As is usually the case in the countryside, its equal inhabitants are - next to people - animals. No wonder the little heroes become friends with them. And so days go by together. Almost each of them brings a new, amazing and unexpected adventure. The child’s imagination makes even ordinary events take on the flavor of fairy tales and mystery.

Urwisy z Doliny Mlynów

1985

Król przedmieścia poster
8.5

No synopsis available yet.

Król przedmieścia

2002

Szpital na perypetiach poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Szpital na perypetiach

2001

Sposób na Alcybiadesa poster
NR

An adaptation of Edmund Niziurski’s novel of the same title.

Sposób na Alcybiadesa

2001

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Klemens i Klementynka - gęsi z Doliny Młynów

1986