The heroes of There and Back are in conflict with the reality they live in. Andrzej is a very good surgeon but is humiliated by the system for his so-called dubious past. At the same time, he is a humble and lonely man, one devoted to his patients. Piotr is a painter whose work is bought by no one nor is it exhibited in any galleries or museums. His past also keeps his achievements from seeing the light of day. Andrzej and Piotr both have one desire: they want freedom, for which they need a passport, but they are unable to obtain one because of their 'suspect' past. This is the way people were treated in those times, says director Wojciech Wojcik.
The city of Lodz in 1965. Andrzej and Piotr, wartime friends, once both members of the Home Army, run into each other for the first time in many years in a hospital. Piotr has for years been dreaming of leaving the country and beginning a new, better life elsewhere. He has already devised a plan to escape abroad, a plan contingent upon obtaining money from an armored car ambush. He shares his idea with Andrzej, a man prevented from joining his wife and daughter in England by the authorities. At the same time, the Communist secret police have been blackmailing Andrzej in an effort to recruit him. The hopelessness of his situation prompts Andrzej to join Piotr in planning and executing the attack. During the assault, a security guard is wounded. He is taken by ambulance to the hospital where Andrzej works, and Andrzej must operate on him. During the operation, he must make a heartrending decision - to save the man who is the only witness to the robbery thereby ruining his own life, or to save himself by allowing this man to die...
Directed by Wojciech Wojcik, Cinematography by Maciej Swierkocki, Anna Swierkocka, Featuring: Janusz Gajos, Jan Frycz, Edyta Olszowka, Olaf Lubaszenko, Miroslaw Baka, Production design by Jacek Osadowski, Produced by Canal+ Polska, Wytwornia Filmow Dokumentalnych i Fabularnych (Documentary and Feature Film Studio), Agencja Produkcji Filmowej (State Film Production Agency). Distributed by Best Film.
Cinema premiere: February 1, 2002.