One of the giants of Polish cinema, on the centennial anniversary of his birth, director Andrzej Wajda receives a deserved retrospective of six of his films. From September 17 through September 27, Webster University’s film series screens, in order, “Kanal,” Ashes & Diamonds,” “The Promised Land,” “Man of Marble,” “Man of Iron,” and “Danton.” A master of embodying historical and cultural issues in three-dimensional characters, Wajda has earned numerous awards, including four Academy Award nominations for the Best Foreign Language Film, an honorary Oscar, the prestigious Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or in 1981 for “Man of Iron,” and a Lifetime Achievement recognition from the European Film Awards. All of this recognition just begins to acknowledge the merit and impact of his extraordinary work.
The series begins with “Kanal,” set in Warsaw, September 1944. Amidst wartime ruins (some of them from WWII), a voiceover narrator introduces member of a Polish Home Army resistance unit, reduced in the past three days from 70 to 43. After describing the officers and squad members, a prologue speaker calmly reveals, “These are the heroes of the tragedy. Watch them closely, for these are the last hours of their lives.” In the 56th day of the uprising, as their horrific, final moments play out, men and women fight and then retreat from the Mokotów district and the invading Germans into the labyrinthine sewers, staggering toward downtown Warsaw and the Vistula River. Asserting, “They won’t take us alive. The Polish way,” their last ditch stand unfolds amidst terrifying claustrophobia, impenetrable darkness, and fearful wariness over mines, grenades, and blocked exits.
Young and old, officers and NCOs, young lovers and a father separated from his family, a talented musician and embattled veterans: this inclusive cross section of Warsaw insurgents fights bravely but ineffectually, their numbers diminished as they struggle to survive. Slogging through water and sludge, evading poisonous gas, skirting dying and dead individuals, and losing track of each other, they stagger, lurch, and crawl forward. In fact, in the second Warsaw uprising over 250,000 people died. “Kanal” honors them with its grim, honest depiction of an actual wartime event. Writer Stefan Jerzy Stawínski based the “Kanal” script on his own experiences as a company commanding officer during the 1944 Warsaw Uprising. In an interview on the Criterion Channel, Wajda says, “We also attempted to endow the film with the most violent images possible.” Due to Stawínski’s and Wajda’s integrity and talent, “Kanal” is among the best antiwar films to this day, 70 years after its release.
In Polish and German with English subtitles, “Kanal” will be introduced by Natalia Kaniasty, daughter of Polish immigrants and Webster University Assistant Professor of Film, Television and Video Production. The complete schedule is as follows: “Kanal” on Thursday, September 17; “Ashes & Diamonds” on Tuesday, September 22; “The Promised Land” on Thursday, September 24; “Man of Marble” on Friday, September 25; “Man of Iron” on Saturday, September 26; and last in the series, “Danton” on Sunday, September 27. All will screen at Webster University’s Winifred Moore auditorium at 7:00 p.m. each of those evenings. For more information, visit the film series website