Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, in 1940 the Red Army single-handedly slaughtered 15,000 Polish POWs deep within Katyń forest. Katyń (2007), Andrzej Wajda’s Oscar-nominated film based on these events, is wrenching even before you discover that the director’s father was among the casualties. Incredibly, the film manages to be both intimate and objective, revealing the story largely from the perspective of the surviving family members. Katyń chronicles the life of Andrzej, a Polish Captain, who leaves behind his wife and daughter only to be executed alongside his fellow officers. Demonstrating the power of propaganda and self-delusion, Katyń reveals the Soviets’ mass cover-up (including blaming Nazi Germany) that ultimately robbed the Polish people of their history and prevented them from commemorating those who had perished. When Captain Andrzej’s journal, which documents his experiences in the internment camp, is discovered among the rubble and returned to his family, his haunting words come flooding back – “As they say, diaries don’t burn.” The Soviets may strive to rewrite history and bury past transgressions, but the truth remains etched in the minds of survivors and executioners alike, as well as the pages of a tattered old journal. (Liesl Swanbeck)
Opens at the Sundance Kabuki Cinemas Friday, June 19th
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment