Kanal was the second feature by Andrzej Wajda, who is remembered as the master of Polish new wave, and the second film in his 'war trilogy'; in between of Generation and Ashes and Diamonds. Kanal tells the story of the desperate Polish uprising against the Germans in 1944 and the tragical failure of it. Not only film scholars but the people in 1957 saw Kanal as a political statement. They saw it as a description of the bitterness Polish people had for the Soviet troops who didn't help them early enough to beat the Germans. But Andrzej Wajda has said that he didn't want to get mixed up with political nor social backgrounds. He wasn't interested in making a film with a direct message or to point the finger at the ones responsible for the tragedy of the uprising. He only wanted to tell the story of a resistance group whose withdrawal grew out to be a modern parallel for Dante's hell.
The screenwriter of Kanal, Jerzy Stefan Stawinski, took part in the events of 1944 and, through that, brought a realistic touch to the film which probably meant a virility test of some kind for him. His approach to the subject was mature and brilliantly balanced. His sympathy was clearly for the soldiers but he offered a contrast - another side; there is clearly strong skepticism for the desire and price of the soldiers' heroism.
The film is divided into two separate acts and the division is precisely considered. In the very beginning this division is made clear to us; the realistic prologue of the battle on the ground is instantly followed by a long surreal sequence in the sewers. It is a metaphorical poem; a combination of realism and fantasy. The realism of the filthy sewers and the faces of the soldiers soon turn into surrealism of obscure sounds, suggestive music and figures walking in the mist.
"These are the tragic heroes: watch them closely in the remaining hours of their lives." A company is desperately fighting against the Germans but soon gets an order to retreat to the center through sewers. The moment when the soldiers move down, from the hell above to the hell beneath, is very important; the soldiers go through their final battle of life and death, love and heroism. In this particular scene people are shoving each other and rushing down to the sewers - the road for the damned, the river of death.
The screenwriter of Kanal, Jerzy Stefan Stawinski, took part in the events of 1944 and, through that, brought a realistic touch to the film which probably meant a virility test of some kind for him. His approach to the subject was mature and brilliantly balanced. His sympathy was clearly for the soldiers but he offered a contrast - another side; there is clearly strong skepticism for the desire and price of the soldiers' heroism.
The film is divided into two separate acts and the division is precisely considered. In the very beginning this division is made clear to us; the realistic prologue of the battle on the ground is instantly followed by a long surreal sequence in the sewers. It is a metaphorical poem; a combination of realism and fantasy. The realism of the filthy sewers and the faces of the soldiers soon turn into surrealism of obscure sounds, suggestive music and figures walking in the mist.
"These are the tragic heroes: watch them closely in the remaining hours of their lives." A company is desperately fighting against the Germans but soon gets an order to retreat to the center through sewers. The moment when the soldiers move down, from the hell above to the hell beneath, is very important; the soldiers go through their final battle of life and death, love and heroism. In this particular scene people are shoving each other and rushing down to the sewers - the road for the damned, the river of death.