The film recreates the events following the declaration of martial law by the Polish Army, in December 1981, and the arrest by the police (Milizia) of the main leaders of the Solidarity Movement that was unifying sectors of the opposition to the regime, namely in trade-unions and the Catholic church. The civil unrest spread quickly, namely among the mining companies, but was stifled without much trouble - but for a particularly resilient mine, where the workers, united by their common Catholic faith, conduct a fierce opposition that only extreme force would eventually overcome.
—Artemis-9