This is a wonderful animated short-film by director Tomasz Baginski and IMO far superior to his Oscar-nominated work Katedra from 10 years ago. In less than 9 minutes, it narrates the whole history of Poland and does a magnificent job doing so. The animation succeeds, especially when it comes to the people which is always a difficult subject. But also the landscapes and houses are very well done and the music and sound effects work well together with what you see. History teachers in Poland should include this short film in their courses. I believe it's a great idea to show this to your students and discuss all the different sequences afterward.
I believe every country should pick one of their most talented animation directors and have them make a film like that one. I'm truly surprised it didn't get any awards attention at all, especially as the director already merited high honors before in his career. I won't go into detail about the particular historic events that are depicted, but let me say as much that Baginski's portrayal of recent history, i.e. of the ghettos during World War 2 and the Polish efforts towards independence in the 1980s made my eyes wet. In my opinion this is one of the best animated short films (you could probably even cut the "animated") of the last 5 years. Very much recommended and I hope the director will soon get a chance to make his first full feature movie.
I believe every country should pick one of their most talented animation directors and have them make a film like that one. I'm truly surprised it didn't get any awards attention at all, especially as the director already merited high honors before in his career. I won't go into detail about the particular historic events that are depicted, but let me say as much that Baginski's portrayal of recent history, i.e. of the ghettos during World War 2 and the Polish efforts towards independence in the 1980s made my eyes wet. In my opinion this is one of the best animated short films (you could probably even cut the "animated") of the last 5 years. Very much recommended and I hope the director will soon get a chance to make his first full feature movie.