Based on the true story of Tadeusz Pietrzykowski, a real-life Polish boxer who became famous for his nearly undefeated strings of victories in the Nazi concentration camps.
The film also stars Rafal Zawierucha, Marcin Czarnik and Marian Dziedziel. The music was composed by Bartosz Chajdecki. This is the first full-length movie directed by Barczewski.
The Polish title of the movie is Mistrz, "The Master".
The movie was released in English-speaking countries as The Champion of Auschwitz.
The film shows the grim life of Tadeusz Pietrzykowski(played Piotr Glowacki) in the concentration camp where he was held. By a lucky coincidence he is drafted in a boxing match due to his boxing ability and starts winning matches. From then onward his legend begins to grow...
This movie is not for the faint of heart. The prisoners in the film are depicted with brutal realism. All the atrocities done to them by the Gestapo are portrayed as accurately as possible.
I began to weep at some of the scenes, thanking my stars that I was not born in such an age of hatred of humankind.
Verdict: 10/10. A triumph in film-making. You should also see: Triumph of the Spirit 1989 based on the true story of Greek boxer Salamo Arouch and The Survivor 2021 based on the true story of boxer Harry Haft who survived the camps and went on to box the legendary undefeated boxer Rocky Marciano.