Film: The Promised Land

Yale Film Archive: Andrzej Wajda Film Series The Promised Land (Andrzej Wajda, 1975, DCP, 179 mins) “An expressionist comic opera of toxic capitalism and bad faith” (Peter Bradshaw). Three ambitious friends join forces to build a factory in a booming nineteenth-century industrial city, chasing wealth in a world of ruthless competition. As fortunes rise and loyalties fray, commerce begins to feel like combat—and is sometimes just as bloody. Wajda’s scathing spectacle immerses us in the smoke, clamor, and moral compromises with intoxicating energy and sharp social vision. His first Oscar-nominated film is seductive, savage, and gloriously excessive. Introduction by Jeremi Szaniawski. In Polish with English subtitles. Man of Vision: Andrzej Wajda Centenary Film Series celebrates the Polish director through six of his greatest films. Yale Film Archive screenings are always free and open to the public. See the full film schedule here.