KANAL Tribute to Andrzej Wajda: 40 Years of Filmmaking

Kanal is the central film in Wajda’s Resistance trilogy, receiving the 1957 Cannes Special Jury Prize. Wajda’s stark depiction of a tragic moment in Polish history, the film is set inlate September, 1944, just after the Warsaw Uprising mounted in August by Polish part sans against Nazi occupation forces. “Wajda’s film depicts the uprising as it is draining away in defeat, and the remains of a company are forced to take refuge in the city’s sewers. There, struggling for survival in groups of three or four, they are slowly trapped and eliminated. Kanai recalls the very first Polish postwar films. Yet at heart it is a romantic work, and the two love stories that run through it serve once again to throw into relief the patriotic fervor of Wajda’s nation.” -Peter Cowie