波蘭共和國位處中歐，人口約3千7百萬，疆域涵蓋約31萬平方公里。北臨波羅的海，南有崇山峻嶺綿延。東部以諸多運河連接的湖區著稱，亦有歐洲唯一的原始森林。隨著四季變化，多樣的天然景色風情萬千。除了大自然的鬼斧神工之外，波蘭也有繁榮的現代城市，藝文氣息洋溢，商業機會蓬勃。近30年來，特別是加入歐盟之後，波蘭經歷快速的經濟改變。因此該國在電影 「殘影」中的形象與21世紀的波蘭有很大的差異。要深入了解這部電影，便需要探討其歷史脈絡。

2018年是波蘭在被俄羅斯帝國，奧地利帝國以及普魯士帝國瓜分，並從地圖上消失123年後，重新獨立的一百周年紀念。在波蘭甫重新獨立不久，二戰旋即爆發，納粹德國佔領波蘭。儘管波蘭在二戰後是為戰勝國，且重新成立主權獨立的國家，不料卻落入蘇聯的勢力範圍，被迫成為共產政權以及蘇聯的衛星國。一系列戰後的和平峰會後，波蘭失去了大半東部領土，獲得許多戰前屬於德國的工業區作為補償，因而需要重新安頓大量人民。二戰重創波蘭，造成五百萬人民死亡，其中許多是針對波蘭以及猶太裔的菁英而來。華沙作為波蘭第二共和的首都，幾乎被夷為平地。戰後在政治孤立的政體下，以效率低落的經濟體系重建國家相當的艱困。經常性的經濟停滯，基本物資短缺，缺乏政治及媒體自由，再加上政治菁英的濫權，讓共產時期充斥著社會動盪及街頭抗爭，而這些總是以暴力鎮壓收場。

這便是弗拉迪斯瓦夫·史特澤明斯基 (Władysław Strzemiński) – 前衛的波蘭結構派畫家先驅以及藝術理論家身處的創作環境。作為藝術學院的教授，奉獻於非政治活動及藝術自由。但他卻淪為政策的受害者，不僅失去在學院的教職，也被波蘭藝術及設計家協會開除，同時被妖魔化，以致無法找到任何足以謀生的工作。波蘭最著名的導演之一，安傑·華伊達 (Andrzej Wajda) 探索史特澤明斯基的理論「殘影」，並一窺政權如何摧毀一個人的生命。

Republic of Poland is a country located in central Europe, with 37,97 millions of citizens inhabiting an area of 312 679 square kilometers. It has an access to the Baltic Sea in the north and also numerous mountain chains in the south. There are regions with dozens of lakes interconnected by canals in the northern-east and the ancient forests on the eastern border. All of this diversified nature can be enjoyed in one of four seasons of the year: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Apart from that Poland is also a well-developed country with numerous big cities blooming with culture and providing numerous business opportunities. During the last almost 30 years, especially after joining the European Union, Poland undergone rapid economic changes. Therefore the image of the country showed in the movie ‘Afterimage’ is quite different from the reality of the 21^st century. To better understand the movie it is important to get familiar with its historical context. 

Year of 2018 marks 100 year anniversary of regaining independence by Poland, after it has been partitioned between Russian Empire, Habsburg Austria and the Kingdom of Prussia, and for 123 years disappeared from the political map of Europe. Not so long after Poland regained independence the World War II came and the country has been took over by the Nazi Germany. Even though Poland ended the war on the winning side and was re-established as a state, it fell under the influence of the Soviet Union and was forced to adopt communism as its political system and a satellite government, strongly dependent on its sponsors in Moscow. As a result of post-war peace conferences, Poland lost the majority of its eastern territories and was compensated with some industrial regions of pre-war Germany on the west, which resulted in a mass resettlement. World War II devastated Poland. Five million inhabitants of pre-war Poland were killed, many of these casualties were caused by the deliberate extermination of the Jewish and Polish elite. Warsaw – the capital of the Second Republic of Poland – was virtually burned to ground. Rebuiliding of the country under politically isolated regime with insufficient economic system was rather slow. Constant economic stagnation, shortages in the supplies of basic goods, and a lack of political freedom and free media, as well as the frequent abuses of power of the political elites, marked the communist period with great social unrest and protests, always brutally suppressed by the establishment.

This is the reality in which Władysław Strzemiński – Polish pioneer painter of the contructivist avant-garde and an art theoretician, lived and created. As the professor of the Art Academy who advocated for the non-political character and freedom of art, he fall a victim to these policies. He not only lost his position in the Academy, but also has been expelled from the Association of Polish Artists and Designers and ostracized by the society which made it impossible for him to find any kind of a job. Movie by Andrzej Wajda – one of the most renowned Polish directors, explores main theory of Strzemiński – ‘afterimage’ and gives an insight into the life of an individual destroyed by the regime.