Some say it is a polish version of "Salaire de la peur", only instead of explosives you have.....(spoiler)..... trees. Forgotten place, forgotten people in the middle of nowhere. Sure, you have here some communist propaganda, nevertheless one of the best polish movies ever.

great character development, great acting, excellent black & white cinematography, the scenes of snowy roads in the forest, I can see why so many people where influenced by this movie. The movie may be a bit too long for today's usual short and fast and give-me-now style of movie production, but it is of classic length. And it is obvious on how it relates with Salaires de la Peur. A bit of understanding of the social situation in Poland at the time would help, as it is not always clear. For example, when one of the comrades is carried to the church, there are some assumptions there that the scene assumes the audience has, but it is not totally clear with an audience detached from the Poland of the mid-50's.