Kanał (film)
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| Kanał | |
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| Directed by | Andrzej Wajda |
| Produced by | Zespół Filmowy Kadr |
| Written by | Jerzy Stefan Stawiński |
| Starring | Teresa Izewska Tadeusz Janczar Wienczysław Gliński Tadeusz Gwiazdowski Stanisław Mikulski Emil Karewicz Vladek Sheybal Teresa Berezowska |
| Distributed by | Zespół Filmowy Kadr |
| Release date(s) | 1956 |
| Running time | 95 min |
| Language | Polish |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Kanał is a 1956 Polish film directed by Andrzej Wajda. It was the first film ever made about the Warsaw Uprising, telling the story of a ragged company of Home Army resistance fighters escaping the Nazi onslaught through the city’s sewers. Kanał is the second film of Wajda's War trilogy, preceded by A Generation and followed by Ashes and Diamonds.
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[edit] Plot
“Watch them closely, for these are the last hours of their lives,” announces the disembodied voice of a narrator, foreshadowing the tragedy that unravels. It is September, 1944, the last days of the Warsaw Uprising, and Lieutenant Zadra (Wienczyslaw Glinski) is commanding a platoon of 43 soldiers in a desperate battle amidst the ruins of the Mokotów district. Facing a German offense and cut off from their comrades, Zadra is ordered to retreat through the sewers ('kanał' is the Polish word for sewer) to the downtown district. Reluctant to admit defeat but determined to survive, the men and women of the platoon slog through the hellish labyrinth, only to become separated. The lovers Daisy (Teresa Izewska) and wounded Corporal Korab (Tadeusz Janczar) wade through sewage to the bitter end.
[edit] Production
The script was written by Jerzy Stefan Stawiński who himself survived in the sewers as a soldier of Armia Krajowa (the Polish underground resistance army) during the Warsaw Uprising. It was made by P.P. Film Polski at its production unit, Zespol Filmowy "Kadr"
[edit] Releases
Kanał earned Wajda the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 1957 (the second most prestigious award after the Palme d'Or), solidifying his position as Poland's premier director. Censorship remained strong in Poland, but the fall of the Stalinist regime of Bolesław Bierut following the death of Joseph Stalin led to a loss of control allowing the film, "showing the tragic fate of those who followed the wrong orders," as the press put it at the time,[who?] to be made. Polish critics state that the film paved the way for other films of the Polish School of filmmakers.[who?]
[edit] Cast
- Teresa Izewska as Daisy
- Tadeusz Janczar as Jacek Korab
- Wienczysław Glinski as Lt. Zadra
- Tadeusz Gwiazdowski as Sgt. Kula
- Stanisław Mikulski as Smukly
- Emil Karewicz as Lt. Madry
- Vladek Sheybal as Michael, the composer (credited as Wladyslaw Sheybal)
- Teresa Berezowska Tereska
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Kanal at the Internet Movie Database
- Andrzej Wajda on Kanał
- Kanal: essay on the Criterion Collection website
| Preceded by The Mystery of Picasso |
Special Jury Prize, Cannes 1956 tied with The Seventh Seal |
Succeeded by Mon Oncle |
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