| Kanal (movie) |
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“Watch them closely, for these are the last hours of their lives,” announces the disembodied voice of a Narrator , foreshadowing the Tragedy that unravels as Wajda guides us through a Claustrophobic tale of a ravaged 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 , which includes the earlier '' A Generation '' and the later '' Ashes And Diamonds ''. It is September , 1944 , the last days of the Warsaw Uprising , and Lieutenant Zadra ( Wienczyslaw Glinski ) is commanding a Platoon of 43 Soldier s 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 Corporal Korab ( Tadeusz Janczar ) wade through sewage and support each other to the bitter end. Kanał was the first film made about the uprising, earning Wajda the Special Jury Prize (the second most prestigious after the Palme D'Or ) at Cannes in 1957 and 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 losing of control allowing the film, "showing the tragic fate of those who followed the wrong orders," as the press put it at the time, to be made. Polish Critics state that the film paved the way for other films of the Polish School of filmmakers. Also appearing is Vladek Sheybal who plays Michal, The Composer. He is better known for many roles in English and US films and TV ranging from James Bond movies to Doctor Who , Shogun (where he plays the Captain of the Black Ship) and Z-Cars . SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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