Ashes and Diamonds

It's easy enough to get wrapped up in Hollywood and all the American-made movies that saturate the market.  They're all around us, and you can't help but pay attention, but one of the best things I've come to realize as a movie fan is that there are hundreds and thousands of movies made outside the United States worth watching. It sounds so simple, but the perception among so many studios is that us slow, dumb Americans only enjoy movies with sex and violence. Therefore, we don't always see all the amazing movies out there. Over the last couple of weeks thanks to TCM's Sunday Night Imports programming, I've been able to catch up with an amazing trilogy of WWII movies from Polish director Andrzej Wajda, concluding most recently with 1958's Ashes and Diamonds.

Where America had James Dean before his tragic death at 24 years old in 1955, Poland had star Zbigniew Cybulski, a young actor who rose to fame with his starring role in Wajda's trilogy-concluding WWII story. For starters, there is a physical resemblance between the two young actors. Cybulski was slim, had a similar hairstyle, and his style had this casual cool quality to it, not to mention some seriously badass sunglasses. More than that, he played similar roles; rebels that did not go along with the societal norms, ratcheted up even more in a story set in the closing days of WWII.  Above all else though, Cybulski died at a young age (39 years old to Dean's 24 years), adding to the appeal and interest in a star who was taken well before his time. This was the first movie I've seen with him, and if it was any indication of his talent, he's got a fan in me.

A member of the Polish resistance fighting the Communist government in May 1945, Maciek (Cybulski) and fellow freedom fighter, Andrzej (Adam Pawlikowski), are part of an ambush gone wrong. Their target was a Polish communist, Szczuka (Waclaw Zastrzezynski) who's returned to Poland after years in the Soviet Union. He wasn't in the car he was supposed to be though, and Maciek and Andrzej end up killing two innocent workers. Just hours later though with pressure from their superiors to finish the job, Maciek finds out that Szczuka is staying in a hotel in the city. Andrzej gives him his orders. They have to leave town by the next day, and the Communist leader is only there for a short time, giving him a small window of opportunity to get the job done. Maciek meets a waitress, Krystyna (Ewa Krzyzewska), as he waits and begins to question the point of all this killing. What does it accomplish? What does it say about him? Can he go through with it?

A few months ago, I had not even heard of Wajda or his movies, but am I ever glad I stumbled across his name in an anthology of must-see war movies.  The trilogy is unlike any other grouping of war movies I've ever seen.  'Ashes' is a fitting end as probably the most polished and stylized of the three.  Like the others, Wajda films in black and white, taking advantage of some incredible lighting situations, playing with darkness, light and shadow to bring his story to life.  The story, the situation, the characters, those are still the main focus. Setting his story on May 8, 1945 certainly adds a different element to the story. Germany has surrendered, but in Poland the fight is just beginning as many Poles refuse to go along with their Communist rulers.

Like the other two movies in the trilogy, 'Ashes' has an ability to drop you into these war-time situations and immediately sympathize and feel for these characters.  Cybulski's Maciek could be Dean ripped straight out of Rebel Without a Cause, physically and emotionally.  In a movie where I'm sure this wasn't the original intent, Maciek is an incredibly cool if tragic character.  A veteran and survivor of the Warsaw Uprising, he's been part of the Home Army for years, killing and fighting in a hopeless fight for Polish freedom. With no end in sight of fighting anytime soon, Maciek keeps on fighting, the killing, the death, the blood seemingly not taking an effect on him.  He takes on the tasks as they come, but each man has his limit. There's only so much he can take, and as the order comes through again, Maciek decides that maybe this is enough.

His issue comes after he met Krystyna, a beautiful young waitress.  Maciek immediately is attracted to her, but it quickly turns into something else with a genuine emotional connection.  This is where the character is taken to a higher, better level, catapulting him into the realm of the tragic character. He went along for so long fighting because he knows nothing better. Now with this girl, he sees a future, something better. What about his duty though? A confrontation with Andrzej throws his conscience into turmoil. What should he do? He did agree to kill this man, but what will one more death mean in the grand scheme of things?  Knowing this character and his beliefs and convictions, you know how it will end. In a world where there is no black or white -- just shades of gray -- there are no easy decisions, and the cost may be too much in the end. Cybulski does an incredible job with this character.

My only complaint with this final installment in Wajda's trilogy (other than the Polish setting in WWII there's no unifying link) is that it drifts a little more than the previous two films.  Both 'A Generation' and 'Kanal'  are right around 90 minutes long, incredibly streamlined movies that don't depart from their focus, that final message. Surprisingly, 'Ashes' does take little detours here and there, especially some middle scenes with Maciek and Andrzej's source in the Mayor's office (Bogumil Kobiela) and a drunken reporter (Stanislaw Milski) attending the mayor's dinner banquet. Those scenes tend to drag a little, and while they're not unnecessary, it takes the story away from Maciek and his situation which I found infinitely more interesting. Minor complaint, I can't always be positive now, can I?

As I know I mentioned in my reviews of Wajda's other two movies in the trilogy, I love his brutal honesty, his realistic portrayals of the waste and dumb luck in war. How is that one person can make it through an entire war unscathed? Another person can be in the wrong place at the wrong time and a bullet finds them, ending their life in the blink of an eye. SPOILERS STOP READING SPOILERS 'Ashes' follows suit with the previous two movies. Maciek ends up completing his mission, killing the Communist leader in one of the most stunningly gorgeous shots I've ever seen.  He's killed the next day though when freedom is within reach as he accidentally bumps into three soldiers who see he's carrying a gun. Mortally wounded, he escapes, struggling through a garbage dump, finally collapsing in a trash heap as he bleeds out. This is no glamorous death. It's just death. An incredible ending in its honesty and realism. END OF SPOILERS

If you can find Wajda's Polish WWII trilogy, I can't recommend these three movies enough. A Generation is the weakest of the three, but that's not saying much. It's better than 95% of the other war movies much more readily available on DVD.  Kanal is the best of the three, but 'Ashes' isn't far behind.  Read it however you want, but they're just good movies. Snobs who don't want to see subtitled foreign movies are missing out. Movie fans -- any movie fan at all -- needs to see these movies.

Ashes and Diamonds <---TCM clips (1958): *** 1/2 /****

Kanal

Just a few weeks ago, I reviewed a 1955 Polish film, A Generation, from Polish director Andrzej Wajda. I loved it for all its unique storytelling techniques and a generally downbeat, honest look at the resistance movement in Poland during WWII. A quick Google search about Wajda revealed he's most well-known for an unofficial trilogy of WWII movies, starting with A Generation, continuing with 1957's Kanal, and wrapping up with 1958's Ashes and Diamonds. Thanks to TCM's scheduling, I'll be able to review all three so here goes with Kanal, an incredible war film unlike anything I've ever seen.

One of history's largest events in terms of how it changed the world, WWII nonetheless has stories that have been lost in the history books. One of the biggest omissions was the Warsaw Uprising in 1944 as the Polish resistance rebelled against their German occupiers, fighting a losing battle that would ultimately cost the lives of over 16,000 Polish resistance fighters and over 100,000 innocent civilians brutally massacred by German forces.  It is a story of courage in the face of impossible odds, a really incredible story when you think about it in terms of the sheer lunacy of the conflict. Courage, honor, bravery, impossible odds, all seems like the perfect blueprint for a feature film.

It is the closing days of the Warsaw Uprising as the German forces close in on the remaining Polish resistance in the city. One company of resistance fighters is commanded by Lt. Zadra (Wienczyslaw Glinski) who has seen his ranks ripped to pieces, where there were 70 fighters the day before are now 40 walking wounded and under-supplied fighters. Holding back one last German advance, Zadra receives orders from headquarters to withdraw, retreating further into the ruins of downtown Warsaw.  The only relatively safe way to fall back is through the sewers under the city. His few remaining fighters drop down to the sewer and all its horrors, always trying to stay one step ahead of their German pursuers.

As was the case with Wajda's A Generation, I was incredibly impressed with the tone of the movie, brutally honest and not at all interested in any easy answers, happy endings or genre conventions. SPOILERS STOP READING SPOILERS The opening monologue introduces Zadra's company and its more notable members.  The narration pauses, explaining the situation and stating simply "These are the tragic heroes...watch them closely in the remaining hours of their lives." Surprised much? Seconds into the movie we're told as an audience that all these people will be dead by the end of the movie.  You just don't see that reckless abandon in storytelling in so many American films. In a sick sense, you're drawn in. What will happen to these men and women? How will they die?  It's a brilliant little touch that immediately rips you into the movie.

I don't remember being struck on so many levels watching a film as I did with this movie. Visually, it is stunning in its darkness, starting with the ruins of Warsaw before descending into the filthy horrors of the sewers (Kanal is translated as 'sewer,' hence the title). Wajda films in black and white, adding such a feeling of stark reality that a color film would have struggled to do. Wajda shoots in long, unedited tracking shots that are impressive in their simplicity. We see a long line of feet and legs moving as Zadra's company moves into position. Another follows the weary faces and bodies of the survivors as they trudge through the sewers. The best is the opening shot, a long scene that introduces many of Zadra's fighters. No quick cuts, no close-ups, just one shot with no edits. There's nothing flashy about any of this, just a focused, moving look at this little told part of history.

In its simplicity, Kanal caught me by surprise in its presentation of its characters.  As was the case with A Generation, I had no personal background with almost all of these actors and actresses.  You don't see them as their other roles, just the people they're playing here.  Glinski as the commanding officer is the unquestioned lead, the driving force of the movie. Some of his company include Korab (Tadeusz Janczar, also starred in 'Generation') and Daisy (Teresa Izewska), two lovers trying to help each other survive. Korab is wounded and quickly losing any touch with reality. There is also Michal (Vladek Sheybal), a composer turned fighter searching for his family, Emil Karewicz as Lt. Wise, Zadra's quickly disintegrating second in command, Tadeusz Gwiazdowski as Sgt. Bullet, the note-taker and documentarian of the company, Stanislaw Mikulski as Slim, one of the company's most capable fighters, and Teresa Berzowska as Halinka, a teenage girl who finds love as death nears. I apologize if I confused the names. The print I saw had different names in the subtitles than the IMDB cast listing.

The first 30-45 minutes are classic on their own, but the movie reaches elite status once Zadra's company retreats into the sewers.  If you're claustrophobic, this is not the movie for you. It is an unsettling, uncomfortable movie to watch. It looks like the cast is actually walking through excrement up to their waist. You can feel the heat, smell the stench, know the horror these men and women went through. Avoiding their German pursuers, the company is separated into smaller groups, many getting lost in the winding, poorly marked sewers. The violence when it comes is not graphic, just shocking and surprising. Blood squibs and limbs being ripped apart when a movie connects on an emotional level, and there Kanal succeeds on so many levels.

With his movies, Wajda clearly had an agenda, a message he wanted to get across.  There will be no happy endings, no ride into the sunset with everything tied up nicely with a bow.  SPOILERS again SPOILERS  The opening monologue gives away the fact that all of Zadra's company will be killed so there's not a huge surprise by the end. Somehow though, the shock still hits home that each of these men and women will be dead soon.  Realities of war certainly hit home. Korab and Daisy walk in a daze, Korab bleeding out with each step. Michal loses his grasp of reality, marching off into the sewers playing a flute. Halinka kills herself when she realizes Wise has lied to her about his family. Wise reaches safety only to find the rest of the survivors captured by the Germans, execution waiting them all. Slim is killed trying to dismantle a German grenade booby trap.

Last, Zadra reaches safety with Bullet only to find out that his sergeant has lied about the whereabouts of the long-since separated company. Solely driven by his desire to save his company, Zadra guns the man down, and with a chance to move on instead makes a decision that will kill him. Armed with only a pistol, he descends back into the sewer to search out his company that no longer exists.  One of the most moving, unsettling endings I've ever seen in one of the best war movies I've ever seen. You can watch it at Youtube, starting HERE.

Kanal <---TCM clips (1957): ****/****

A Generation

A guide to war movies I read years ago had a perfect list of stereotypes and staples of the genre.  Each specific example had been used several times before, some of them repeated over and over again. One of my favorites discussed French resistance fighters. The women would always be beautiful and wear very tight black sweaters. The men would always have a thin mustache and wear a beret. The reality of course concerning resistance fighters was that it was a horrific, fear-filled life that so often ended in death.

Making his directorial debut, Polish director Andrzej Wajda told his story of the Polish resistance in 1955's A Generation. It was part of an unofficial trilogy about Poland in World War II that has now been released through the Criterion Collection. All of the films are held in high regard as much for their brutal honesty as their impressive film-making. Telling the story of resistance fighters is almost always interesting, but seeing foreign films and their perspective is more interesting. You're going to get a different perspective, and as is the case here with Wajda's debut, an understated honesty that is so often missing in war movies.

It is early in World War II, and the German army is occupying Poland. Life moves on for most under their German occupiers, including young Stach (Tadeusz Lomnicki), who finds a job in a small factory making furniture and doors with his friend, Sekula (Janusz Paluszkiewicz). Stach begins to see other workers and supervisors working and moving around secretly, and finally he meets a young resistance leader, Dorota (Ursula Modrzynska). Stach is intrigued -- partially by the conflict and partially because of a crush he has on Dorota -- and joins up. He recruits his own small squad of fighters, helping to slow down the German war effort in any way they can. But as time passes, Stach begins to climb through the ranks. His reputation might grow too much though as the Germans (especially the Gestapo and the SS) are closing in.

Is it possible to get spoiled by the polished films that are released from American studios? And no, I don't intend that as some elitist dig at other countries' films.  I can't say I've seen many Polish films, much less those released over 50 years ago in 1955.  Wajda films in black and white, and the years haven't aged his movie well, producing a grainy, even washed out look at times.  The movie was shot on location in Warsaw, but not in any glamorous, pretty locations. Wajda shoots in the slums, the run-down housing, the dark back alleys and claustrophobic factories and buildings. The Polish people are struggling to get along under their German occupiers, and visually, it is easy to see their plight.

Call it a romantic portrayal or mental picture, but resistance fighters -- regardless of nationality so this isn't exclusive to Poles -- often did tasks that had no major impact on the war effort. They shot individual officers, they threw coal from trains bound for German troops, and they transported guns in small quantities, not grosses of guns. That is the brutal honesty of Wajda's resistance film. Stach's group, and Dorota's on a bigger level, will not change the course of the war through their actions. Instead, they make smaller efforts. On their own, maybe those events meant little. But combined over the course of weeks, months and years, it would add up. All the while, their efforts put them on watch lists of the Gestapo and the SS. So often, it ended with individuals being dragged away never to be seen again, almost certainly dying after hours and days of painful torture.

That is a major reason I enjoyed this movie. Stach almost gets in trouble because he stole a pistol. That's singular. Just one pistol. His squad accomplishes little, or at least little to what we see.  Dorota continues to try and recruit new members to the cause, the young people coming out more and more. The one slightly Hollywood touch comes in one of their few attempts at resistance. One of Stach's men, Jasio (Tadeusz Janczar), has already shot a German officer and struggles with his actions, the guilt tearing him apart. He's separated from the other fighters and leads his pursuers on a chase through the ruined city. It  is a chase that cannot end well because eventually the pursuers will corner him. Uncomfortable and exciting all rolled up into one scene, it is a remarkable sequence with an incredibly moving ending. You can watch it HERE with obvious SPOILERS. 

Almost always a positive watching lower budget foreign films is little background or experience with the actors and actresses. The acting here is incredibly natural, nothing forced or over the top. Lomnicki's Stach is the heart of the movie, a quiet but determined fighter who joins the cause. Janczar also delivers a great performance as Jasio, the emotionally torn fighter, and Modrzynska as Dorota ends up representing so much more to the cause, more than just a leader. Even look for a young Roman Polanski as one of Stach's squad. All the performances are like that, understated and effective. No stagey, nothing flashy, and nothing theatrical. Just a bare bones, moving story of individuals fighting a doomed battle.

A Generation <---TCM clips (1955): ***/****