Celullose

Master filmmaker Jerzy Kawalerowicz made his solo directorial debut with this uncompromising drama based on an Igor Newerly novel. Celuloza follows the inner journey of a peasant's son, who becomes politically radicalized after moving to the big city to work in a cellulose factory. The film reveals one of the director's key themes--the extent to which fanaticism, whether political or religious, can hold sway over lives. The Polish-language social drama Celuloza (AKA Cellulose, 1954) witnesses the travails of a young man from a low economic strata (Józef Nowak) whose life turns a corner when he secures a job for a cellulose manufacturer in the big city. He subsequently undergoes radical politicization via repeated contact with his fellow workers and observation of their daily burdens. (Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide)