The Codes looks at the war years in Poland from the point of view of one who escaped the terror and returns to face an emotional toll that is foreign to him: everyone seems to be speaking in code. Tadeusz, a Pole who spent some twenty years in England, visits his home in Cracow. He finds his war-hero son (Zbigniew Cybulski, in a sensitive performance) now a forgotten man, bitter and outcast, and his wife a slave to memories which can have no closure, as their youngest son disappeared mysteriously in the war. Tadeusz applies himself to solving the mystery, learning of the twelve-year-old boy's interest in mysticism, perhaps lured by the Germans' similar obsession into being a collaborator. "This is among Has's most powerful, introspective works, brilliantly photographed, and with a highly original sound track." (Brian Baxter, National Film Theatre, London)