Summary/Abstract: The events in the Balkans after the disintegration of Yugoslavia were not the object of interest for Polish people of culture. One of the most interesting film that refers to those events is „The Demons of War by Goya” directed by Władysław Pasikowski in 1998. The analysis of that film should help to answer some questions: how the topic of the war in the Balkans was presented in certain areas of the Polish culture, and whether the war was really in the centre of interest. Was it treated as an excuse, specific iconographic and cultural background, element of genre conventions? Or was it the object of reflection on war as such and, finally, on the situation in the Balkans? In the context of the film some responses are possible. The author takes into account not only political, historical, and genology contexts, but Wladyslaw Pasikowski`s creativity as well. The aim of this article is, however, not only the analysis of the film itself but also its reception by people.
