Wajda saves the film's most harrowing scenes for the coda, a reconstruction of the actual killing processes themselves. Despite all of the portrayals of the horrors of World War Two seen in films previous, there is something uniquely chilling about these final moments. The methodical nature of the killers is rendered here with a savage eye for seemingly trivial detail, detail which only heightens the feeling of appalling horror: a dark basement with its blood-soaked floor carelessly rinsed after each victim, and the metal ramp used to slide the prone bodies up to ground level to be dumped on the pile of other corpses. A particularly brave piece of filmmaking for the director, whose own father was one such victim who met this most horrible of fates.
The overall feeling throughout watching Katyn is one of helplessness. By dint of their geographical position, the Poles found themselves at the mercy of not one but two massively armed superpowers, a sacrificial pawn in a much larger game. “Poland will never be free”, one character confides, and even in older Poles today this pessimism is still clearly discernible. Only a few characters are able to articulate what they wish; Agnieszka, the bereaved sister and moral compass of the film, tells one unable to speak the truth, “I choose the world of the murdered, and not of the murderers". With the pessimism comes a degree of pragmatism, survival over the desire to have the truth be spoken of, and it is this which prevents the film from sliding into sentimentality, something Flags of Our Fathers and the similarly revisionist The Lives of Others (2006) could be accused of. Only Wajda's sometimes over-the-top visual symbolism and an at times intrusive overly dramatic score threaten to overwhelm proceedings.
Wajda's name is synonymous with the cinematic history of his country, and added to this his personal connection to the tragedy of Katyn, it is fitting that he should be one to produce this film in order to do the justice to the story that it deserves. The question would be why now, some 20 years after the lies stopped? Why has it taken so long for him to tell the story so close to his heart? Perhaps it is the contemporary relevance: wars continue to be fought on dubious propaganda, dodgy dossiers and all; there is an important lesson to be learned from history on that count. But also with Poland's integration into the EU, maybe Katyn comes as a call for the country not to forget her own history; if there is anything positive to be taken from the tragedy of Katyn, it is that we must ensure that the truth is known by future generations, that the horrors of the past are not forgotten, and that ultimately we do side with the murdered and not the murderers.
Article comments
1 - George Szreniawski
Great article. Great movie. Great director.
While "The Pianist" by Polanski was the story of one man during the war, this is the story of whole Nation (Poland) occupied by Germans and Rusians.
2 - roger nowosielski
To tell the truth. I was born and raised in Poland (in US since 1961); and only here, a year or so ago, that I first learned of Katyn.
Good feel for Polish film. You might look at my own weblog for two film reviews - the Pharaoh and Lalka (the Doll).
3 - Michael
You are right, most of the artist's works can be traced from they historical and cultural affiliation. The good thing is that they can picture out the general situation of their surrounding
4 - Ruvy
This was a very interesting article. I rarely am interested in seeing cinema. I will make an exception for this film and see if i can get hold of it, or view it at a movie theatre....
Dzi?kuje (thank you).
Ruvy
5 - roger nowosielski
Say "spasiba." That's in Russian.