The Damned Roads aka The Depot of the Dead

^director Czesław Petelski
^screenplay (based on own novel entitled, ‘Next One to Paradise’ by Marek Hłasko; the author withdrew his name from the film credits)
^{director of photography} Kurt Weber
^music Adam Walaciński
^with Zygmunt Kęstowicz, Emil Karewicz, Teresa Iżewska, Leon Niemczyk, Aleksander Fogiel, Tadeusz Łomnicki, Roman Kłosowski

MAREK HŁASKO, THE NEXT TO HEAVEN [NASTĘPNY DO RAJU]

‘Take me away from here,’ she said. ‘Let’s go back to the town. We’ll live in peace. These are bad people. He raised his head. ‘But they’re good drivers.’ ‘How long do you plan to stay here?’ she asked. ‘Until I bring the timber in’. ‘How much timber do you need?’ ‘Very much.’

WANDA WERTENSTEIN, THERE IS NO ESCAPING THE FATE [NIE MA UCIECZKI OD LOSU], ‘KINO’, 1979, NO. 10

The external situation – very convincing in its presentation – is just a pretext for revealing what happens in people and to people condemned to each other’s company in seclusion. They want to escape from the world but they cannot because they cannot escape from themselves. Their fate is enacted in a closeddoor situation, a rare picture in Polish film (…) The violent dialogue, severe realities, disillusioned presentation of characters, protest against the absurdity of fate and against man-made nonsenses – all that has found no continuation in Polish productions as yet.