Heiners Filmseiten – Salad Days (en)

Salad Days (Zielone lata)

German title: Grüne Jahre
Francaise title: L ’été vert
Russian title: Зеленые годы
Original title: Zielone lata

Alternative titles:
Die grünen Jahre

War drama – Poland
Production year: 1979
Movie length: 98 minutes

Director: Stanisław Jędryka
Writer: Jerzy Przeździecki
Cinematograph: Jacek Korcelli
Music: Andrzej Korzyński

Movie description:

Set in 1939 tells a story of friendship among three 10-year olds, living in town of Sosnowiec: a Polish and Jewish boys and a German girl. The Jewish boy’s parents are killed and he is wounded and left for dead, but saved by the other two. Polish boy sees his baby brother taken from his mother to be raised by an Aryan family, after Polish resistance members are found in his home and then shot in the street. The German girl leaves with her parents to live in Germany, after resisting family pressure to associate only with German-bred companions.

This dramatic children’s film brings home a lesson about prejudice and cruelty during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. Three friends are loyal companions: Abramek, a Jewish boy; Erna, a German girl; and Wojtek, a Polish lad. The time is 1939, and when the war begins Abramek’s parents are killed, and it is only because of his two friends that he survives. Wojtek’s baby brother is taken away because his parents were caught harboring resistance fighters in their home. As the war goes on, the friends’ bond of loyalty is increasingly trampled by the events of each passing day.

Boy Actors