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| by Joel W. Barnett |
Date Added: Friday 15 August, 2008 |
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Rather than review each of the three films included here, let me say something about them as a whole, and they are packaged together for a reason.
The three movies, "A Generation", "Kanal, and "Ashes and Diamonds" focus on young people involved in the Polish resistance, in the first two movies to the Germans, in the last to the Soviets. In all of them our heroes and heroines fail. They are dealing with events far bigger than them, but they must do something.
The Poles did their best, but were overwhelmed, militarily. The resistance faced enormous odds. These movies are very powerful accounts of the resistance, including heroines as well as heroes, esp. in the first two. The first two movies deal with the uprsising in Warsaw, from diffent perspectives.
I like "Ashes and Diamonds" the best of the three. It's the last day of the war, 1945, a commisar of the USSR is coming to town to take over. Our young hero's job: Kill him. While our hero waits, he falls in love with a local girl. She wants him to abandon the job and go away with her and be happy. He agrees with the going away part, but feels the need to carry out his job first. As good movie goers, we know how that is likely to end.
"Ashes and Diamonds" is an interesting take on the traditional American rural gangster movie, e.g., "High Sierra", "You Only Live Once", "They Live by Night", etc. Wajda's approach is more overtly intellectual, and also more passionate, as he is filming a story of his countrie's history which he lived, a history which included his fathers murder by the Germans at Katyn.
Wajda is, in my opinion, the greatest living movie director, not perfect by any means, but at his best, he can't be beat. These three films are worthy of your attention.
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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