September 13, 1944. On the right bank of the Vistula, a group of young people is getting ready to cross to help the fighting Warsaw. Tadeusz, a young poet with amputated legs meets Katarzyna. Two officers of the Home Army and the AL, Polish and Soviet soldiers come here. A fight ensues with the Nazis trying to get out of the encirclement. Katarzyna is raped by one of them in front of the powerless Tadeusz. . . Two boats are sinking crossing the Vistula. Tadeusz falls into the river with a wheelchair ...
Wiktor Wiarecki is an unsuccessful writer. He is also not successful in his personal life: Wiktor's marriage is in crisis, and his adult son wants nothing to do with his father. The turning point is the death of his friend Wiarecki, an outstanding writer Stefan Przewłocki. A literary widow gives Wiktor the materials for the deceased's last novel.
Originally, Munk intended Eroica to be a triptych with Con bravura being the first part, but he ultimately gave up on this film, deeming it weaker artistically than the two counterparts. Con bravura is about conspiracy conflating the paths of a rather unconventional nun and an intrigued young man – each of them bears secrets and the encounter could incite a flaming romance, though one suffocated by war.Munk set the film in the mountain capital of Zakopane and its vicinity, allowing breathtaking views from a cable car and using his experiences of the Nazi occupation in the area to add gritty reality. The director plays a cameo as a priest with several of his industry friends also making appearances.
