“Janko the Musician” is one of the earliest Polish sound films, adapted from Henryk Sienkiewicz’s 1879 short story and directed by Ryszard Ordyński, with cinematography by Zbigniew Gniazdowski. Playing the violin lifts a poor village boy, Janko, from his bleak surroundings, helps him find his place in the world and win the heart of the singer Ewa.

Blending a Polish literary classic with the musical and romantic-comedy tropes popular in the 1930s, Sienkiewicz’s tragic social realism is reshaped into a poetic tale with a happy ending, celebrating the power that springs from the solidarity of ordinary people.

The original soundtrack, composed by Leon Schiller and Grzegorz Fitelberg, was recorded on gramophone discs; a copy surfaced only a few years ago. A carefully restored digital version from the Polish National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute now presents the film as audiences experienced it 95 years ago.

Eva Näripea