Kanal (1957)

[hownos]

Anyone seen it??

[Citizen Rules]

Yes, I seen it in SpelingError's War Group Watch. It was his choice and most everyone thought highly of it. Well worth watching.

[Takoma11]

I gave it 4.5

Here is the review I wrote after watching it:

My heart!

This film is really, really bleak. I was not prepared for just how rough things were going to get, and if you do check it out, brace yourself. But it was also really well acted, beautifully shot, and incredibly poignant.

As the film goes on, the sewer becomes a kind of hell (and at one point, as the men scramble over each other for fresh air, another man quotes Dante). The men and women are perpetually waist deep in sewage, willing themselves and each other to keep moving forward. With no sense of time or progress, loyalties begin to break down. And as the lack of food or water and the foul fumes of the place make themselves felt, the bodies of the escapees begin to break down as well.

But what's strange is that amidst all of the despair and betrayal, this is also a lovely film. And, yes, that does feel like an odd thing to say about a movie where the main characters are covered in poop for almost the entire runtime.

In particular, the sequences between Korab and Daisy are gorgeous. Yeah, it helps that both actors are incredibly attractive, with Izewska in particular somehow looking particularly luminous even as she slogs through a river of waste. Their scenes benefit tremendously from a very strong chemistry between the two of them--a suppressed vibe of sexual desire made wretched and impossible by their dire situation and the fact that Korab is seriously injured.

I have no criticisms of this one. It was deeply sad, but the sadness is not unearned. It is not misery for the sake of misery, but rather a look at the wretchedness of war.

[Allaby]

Yes, I thought Kanal was pretty good. It was well shot with good performances. I rated it a 7/10.

[Captain Quint]

IMHO, the greatest thing Andrzej Wajda ever filmed (and that's saying a lot) - it's harrowing as hell, but powerful, tense, and a great character piece. Easy 5-Stars from me.

[Citizen Rules]

Did it make the MoFo War Countdown list? To lazy to look myself.

[Captain Quint]

Took a look, and yes, at #61

[Citizen Rules]

Took a look, and yes, at #61 Deserving too!

[hownos]

Yes, I thought Kanal was pretty good. It was well shot with good performances. I rated it a 7/10.

I am watching it now.

[Takoma11]

Have you seen Ashes and Diamonds?

[hownos]

Have you seen Ashes and Diamonds?

Yes, I have seen that one. Haven't seen the first in the trilogy One Generation.

[hownos]

My take for what it's worth

A great look at the Warsaw Uprising and the Polish underground resistance movement of 1944. My second movie from the director (Ashes and Diamonds being the other). The movie starts with a group of resistors on the run and it gets worse as they go underground to the sewers where it gets so dirty we can almost feel the sludge and smell the stench of the sewage. We follow an array of interesting characters as they try to survive the sewers and not go crazy from the fumes. We see conflict and love and not much of the omnipresent Germans. It's not going to end well for anyone and we know it. The Daisy character stands out being very resourceful and sexy while wading through the sewers. Not sure what her background was.

The movie stays away from any mention of Stalin and his lack of help for the Polish underground movement and also avoids classifying them as Communists as many were not and were supporters of the government in exile in the UK. Always amazing to see how the Nazis were willing to kill right to the last moment. It was obvious by the fall of 1944 they were going to lose but continued to kill civilans.

Note that the movie wasn't well received in Poland. Might have been a bit too real and fatalistic. Love the detail in this movie of war torn Warsaw and the determination and even optimism at times of the doomed characters. 7.5/10