Katyn Aka Post mortem
by Andrzej Wajda
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DVD details
Actor: Andrzej Chyra, Artur Zmijewski, Danuta Stenka, Maja OstaszewskaDirector: Andrzej Wajda
DVD: Region Code 2
Audio: Polish (Original Language)
Format: Anamorphic, Import, PAL, Subtitled, Widescreen
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-02-26
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: TiM Film Studio
DVD Reviews of Katyn Aka Post mortem
DVD Review: An Outstanding Movie is Finally Widely Available
Summary: 5 Stars
Andrzej Wajda's masterpiece, KATYN, was recently nominated for the Oscar. It is a very moving, educational, and thought-provoking film.
The movie begins with the German-Soviet conquest of Poland in 1939. The viewer senses the actions of the aggressors through the eyes of the civilians.
But this is only the beginning of Poland's sufferings. Both enemies of Poland begin their genocide of Poles with the cream of Polish society. The Germans invite some professors to the university, only to promptly arrest them (for shooting, or slow deaths in concentration camps). The Soviets hold the captured officers and intellectuals at places such as Kozielsk, where the prisoners sing Christmas carols in December 1939. It will be their last Christmas. By spring 1940, the Soviets decide to shoot nearly all of the captive Polish officers.
The movie also shows the life of relatives of the Soviet-held men. First there are the letters, and hope for a speedy reunion. Then...silence. Finally, the Germans break the news of their discovery of the Katyn mass graves, and exploit it for propaganda purposes--hoping to divide the Allies. The relatives face the fact that their men will never return.
After the war, the suffering of the Katyn relatives continues. Information about the exact fate of the missing men is skimpy. The Soviet puppet state, using the Communist terror police (the UB), tries to force the grieving relatives to sign a statement blaming the Germans for the crime. The relatives also face pressure from others to "accept reality" that Poland will never again be free, and must align itself with Soviet dictates. They refuse. Then they have problems sending their son to the university because they won't bow to the Soviet lie about Katyn.
Polish movies tell it like it was, and often don't have a happy ending. WARNING: This movie has graphic scenes of the Polish officers being shot and blood being spilled. This may upset sensitive viewers. These scenes come near the end of the movie, as the victims are trucked to the sites of death, and, one-by-one, shot point-blank in the back of the head. The beginnings of the "Our Father" are the last words on their lips.
A superb movie! I only wish that it was translated into English, and widely used in history classes throughout the English-speaking world.
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