Socialist Poland tries to crush jazz. The band plays louder.
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.
Score
Authentic swing that makes you want to dance
Costume
Glamorous 50s Polish fashion against gray austerity
Acting
Maciej Stuhr's charismatic reluctant leader
Director
Janusz Majewski
Maciej Stuhr
Fabian Apanowicz
Sonia Bohosiewicz
Wanda Apanowicz-Patras
Natalia Rybicka
Modesta Nowak
Anna Dymna
Bayerowa
Wojciech Pszoniak
Felicjan Zuppe
Wiktor Zborowski
Stypa
Adam Ferency
Habertas
Jerzy Schejbal
Dr. Cyryl Vogt
Agnieszka Michalska
Secretary of Kusiak
Marian Opania
Jan Boryssowski
Arkadiusz Detmer
Adjutant
Magdalena Zawadzka
'Kameralna' Barmaid
Marcin Troński
Winiek
Marian Dziędziel
Kusiak
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Majewski based the film on real Polish jazz musicians who performed illegally in the 1950s, when the communist government condemned jazz as 'decadent American influence.'
The film's Technicolor visual style deliberately mimics Hollywood musicals to contrast with Poland's actual gray reality—a meta-rebellion matching its characters.
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