Kanal (1956) Review

Title: Kanal

Year: 1956

Director: Andrzej Wajda

Country: Poland

Language: Polish

The Warsaw Uprising was a major World War Two event that happened in the Polish capital during the Summer of 1944. The Polish Resistance, led by the Home Army, attempted to liberate their city from German Occupation. The timing of the uprising was meant to coincide with the Russian Red Army advance into German territory, but unfortunately plans became quite distorted. Kanal is the first film to be made about this event. 

In 1944, during the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, Polish Lieutenant Zadra (Wienczyslaw Glinski) and his resistance fighters use Warsaw's sewer system to escape the German encirclement.

With Kanal, Andrzej Wajda  shows a monumental battle between despair and determination that is inflicted on the emotional and psychological stability of the resistance fighters which proves quite haunting as time goes by. The claustrophobic nature of the sewer canal, wherein the majority of the film takes place, takes on an eerie atmosphere, which makes this film feel like a horror picture. World War Two is horror and Wajda does not hesitate to show us this. 

We observe the result of war via the dilapidated condition of once proud Warsaw, the depression and anger in the eyes of many members of the resistance, and the physical price many victims of war must pay. The omnipresence of death and decay, which in turns shatters the spirit of many of our heroes, is what truly attacks the protagonists on all fronts. Of all the World War Two films I've seen, Kanal tries its hardest not to glorify the war. 

Wajda, who experienced this chaos as a civilian, does a tremendous job at making his audience empathize with the Polish people. Teresa Izewska does a standout job being the exact opposite of what Nazis thought Polish women could/would/should be. She's a strong and smart woman, who ends up being stronger than the men in this film! Kanal, though depressing, is a remarkable picture.