Man on the Tracks

A train races through the night an then suddenly comes to a grinding halt; a man lies dead on the tracks. The man turns out to be an engine driver who lost his job. Different characters who knew the man during his life take part in the investigation of his death, each relating their own interpretation of the man and his death. Was it suicide? Sabotage? Was he an eccentric? A regular Joe?

Just as the characters examine the mystery surrounding the engineer's death, this classic anti-Stalinist film uses the story to examine the issues and problems of 1950's Communist Poland. In particular, what are the consequences for a man who doesn't fit in? Based on a short story by J.S. Stawinski, the structure of Man On The Tracks, with its conflicting versions of the same story, is comparable to Citizen Kane and Rashomon.