Katyn - 2007

Kinda not the movie I wanted to be watching at 10am this morning, but nevertheless, I stuck with it and gave it a go... And while is was not the best viewing or the easiest, it was certainly something that stuck with me and shed some light on a moment in history that I had no idea about.

For those of you out there like me, shocking with history, Katyn is a town approximately 19km west of Smolensk in Russia where in 1940 it's estimated that 22,000 people were murdered and buried in shallow graves by the Russian Soviet Secret Police. Some really heavy fucking shit.

Now, I won't go into the details of all the history of that... firstly because I would probably be the worst person to talk to... and secondly, this is a film blog... not a National Geographic blog.

Directed by Academy Award winning director Andrzej Wajda and based on the book Post Mortem: The Story of Katyn (by Andrzej Mularczyk) the film is told through the eyes of the mothers, wives and children of the officiers that are killed. The plot is fairly straight forward here... and i guess Wajda isn't really interested in detailed and heavy narrative to get the message of the truth out there...

When father Andrzej is captured by the Soviet Army, he keeps a detailed journal of the events that are taking place; complete with the names and rankings of people being taken away. On a particularly cold night, a man named Jerzy lends him a jacket that just so happens to have his name sewn into it. When Andrzej and Jerzy become separated, Jerzy is sent home just before a Nazi Propaganda list is released, showing that Jerzy in fact died... and Andrzej is still alive. In 1943, when Germany discovers the mass graves, they blame the Soviets... However, in post war Poland, history was re-written by the Russians... Finally, the truth can be told.

Enough of my shocking attempts of history lessons... I haven't seen any of Wadja's previous films, although his name is definitely one I have heard of. Considering he made this film at the ripe age of 81, he is a true craftsman.. and his efforts are all on display here.

This is a fine film, an important one... One that you can't really fault. The cast are all superb and convey all the horrible emotions of the time... The film looks and feels amazing. I was lucky enough to have bought this on blu-ray and the HD transfer makes everything look incredible. The locations are all beautifully photographed with some great tones of grey, blue and brown and the shots are all classically and choreographed elegantly.

The music reminded me a bit of a Hans Zimmer score... Although that would be the only thing I could really fault... As I said, this is an extraordinary film maker at the top of his game... I think you can honestly tell the emotional investment in this film that Wadja has... (his father was an officer killed in Kaytn) so, the film has that honesty and isn't really pulling any emotional manipulation strings. It simply speaks for itself.

So, if you're a fan of Schindler's List, Downfall or just history in general, this film is certainly one that should be seen... And now thanks to Andrzej Wadja, a new generation will know the truths behind one of histories greatest lies.