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War drama

Passenger (1963): Cast & Plot

Passenger (1963) movie poster

Passenger is a 1963 war drama directed by Andrzej Munk and Witold Lesiewicz, starring Aleksandra Śląska as Liza, Anna Ciepielewska and Andrzej Krasicki. It runs 1 hour 2 minutes.

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Passenger (1963) movie poster
Released
Runtime
1h 2m (62 min)
Genres
War , Drama
Original language
Polish
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is Passenger About?

The premise of Passenger without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

A jailer and his prisoner both carry the weight of Holocaust memories. On a ship bound for Europe, a German woman spots another passenger whose face triggers painful recollections. She confides to her husband that she served as an overseer at Auschwitz, yet she actually rescued a woman’s life, revealing a hidden act of courage amid the horror.

Passenger Themes & Keywords

· 50 tags
  • still photograph
  • woman
  • child
  • poland
  • lover
  • luxury liner
  • political prisoner
  • war criminal
  • typhus
  • emaciation
  • supervisor
  • mass murder
+38 more
  • mass killing
  • luxury cruise
  • ss officer
  • cruise ship
  • overseer
  • dog barks
  • german shepherd
  • attacked by dog
  • female nazi officer
  • unfinished film
  • transatlantic voyage
  • ship
  • auschwitz
  • inmate
  • guard
  • shoah
  • female nudity
  • starving
  • war crime
  • voice over narration
  • husband wife relationship
  • flashback
  • world war two
  • victim
  • toy
  • sadism
  • prisoner of war
  • nazi
  • jew
  • jealousy
  • holocaust
  • guilt
  • female protagonist
  • female prisoner
  • dog
  • cruise
  • cruelty
  • confession
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Cast & crew

Passenger Cast & Characters

Aleksandra Śląska leads the cast as Liza, with Anna Ciepielewska as Marta and Andrzej Krasicki as Commission Member. Directed by Andrzej Munk and Witold Lesiewicz; 28 actors are credited in all.

Also Starring in Passenger

· 24 more
Show all 28 cast members
From the directors

More from Andrzej Munk and Witold Lesiewicz

More films directed by Andrzej Munk and Witold Lesiewicz: Bad Luck, Eroica, Men of the Blue Cross and The Stars Must Burn.

Plot

Passenger Plot Summary

What happens in Passenger from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 2-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

The Passenger opens in 1960, fifteen years after the end of World War II, aboard a luxurious transatlantic liner traveling from South America to Europe. On this voyage, Liza Kretschmer Aleksandra Śląska, a former concentration camp SS officer, has a chance encounter with a fellow passenger who was once one of her inmates, Marta Anna Ciepielewska. The two women find themselves sharing the same ship, and the balance of power begins to shift in a way that forces hard truths into the open.

Full summary

The whole story of Passenger, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Quiz

How Well Do You Know Passenger?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
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  3. Question 3: not answered
  4. Question 4: not answered
  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

In what year does the story begin?

Details

Passenger Also Known As

12 alternative titles, including “La pasajera” and “Passasjeren”.

Also known as
  • La pasajera
  • Passasjeren
  • La passagère
  • La passeggera
  • 女旅客
  • Η Επιβάτιδα
  • Пассажирка
  • Pasażerka
  • A Passageira
  • Die Passagierin
  • 승객
  • Пасажирка

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FAQ

Passenger FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date

Runtime, release date, director, cast, post-credit scenes and language of Passenger, each answered in a sentence.

How long is Passenger?

Passenger runs 1 hour 2 minutes (62 minutes).

When was Passenger released?

Passenger was released on September 20, 1963.

Who directed Passenger?

Passenger was directed by Andrzej Munk and Witold Lesiewicz.

More films by Andrzej Munk

Who is in the cast of Passenger?

Passenger stars Aleksandra Śląska as Liza, Anna Ciepielewska as Marta and Andrzej Krasicki as Commission Member, among 28 credited actors.

Does Passenger have a post-credit scene?

No. Passenger has no extra scene during or after the credits.

What language is Passenger in?

The original language of Passenger is Polish.

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