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Kanał (English title Kanal) is a 1956 film by Andrzej Wajda.
History
It was one of the first Polish films to depict the tragic fate of the soldiers who fought in the Warsaw Uprising and at the same time one of the most notable films of the Polish film school. Since the rule of communist censorship in Poland was still strong, there could be no films about Armia Krajowa. However, political changes after the death of Joseph Stalin and Bolesław Bierut allowed for a film showing the "tragic fate of those who followed wrong orders" could be made.
Plot
The film tells the tale of a group of Polish partisans. After loosing their fight for the Mokotów area during the final stages of the Warsaw Uprising they decide to break through German lines to the areas still under Polish control in the city centre. However, their assault fails and they decide to descent into the sewers in order to find their way to the Polish side of the front.
Due to tragic set of accidents the whole group is divided and each of the partisans is forced to fight his or hers own war with darkness, memories and lack of hope. Eventually all of them die. Female soldier Stokrotka and her wounded friend corporal Korab manage to reach the end of the sewers at the shores of the Vistula, but their way is blocked by a grating. Halinka is separated from her group and commits a suicide. Michał, a young composer, could not stand the atmosphere of the sewers and fell into insanity. Mądry managed to find an exit from the sewers, but was caught by the Germans and shot on the spot. The commander of the group, Zadra, reaches the end of the journey, but decides to go back in order to find the rest of his unit. Smukły is killed by grenades thrown into the sewers by the German soldiers.
Reception
In mid-1950's the Polish audience was waiting for a film to depict the struggle of the soldiers of Armia Krajowa. However, the communist authorities did not allow to mention the name and, although it was clear from the context of the film that the story is covering the Warsaw Uprising, the audience was initially very sceptic. Ironically, the film gained much popularity abroad. After Wajda was awarded with many international prizes (Silver Palm at the 1957 Cannes film festival being the most notable), Polish critics started to underline that the film actually paved the way for other films of the Polish film school.
As most of other Polish films of the epoch, Kanał is a story of contrasts. Gorgeous women forced into filthy sewers, heroic partisans made defenceless by the darkness, wide spaces of the ruined city are contrasted with the claustrophobic sewers beneath the city. Kanał is commonly treated as the second part of the so-called Wajda's war trilogy (the other parts being the A Generation and Ashes and Diamonds).
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