POLISH FILM ACADEMY

50 Years of Polish Film School, Warsaw 2008

The Canal

Marek Hendrykowski

"The Canal" directed by Andrzej Wajda in 1956, and Andrzej Munk's "The Man on the Railroad Track" – produced a few months earlier – mark the launch of the Polish Film School. However, it was Andrzej Wajda who opened the world gates to the Polish film productions and became a guarantee of their success. Furthermore, Wajda's masterpiece marked the political and social breakthrough of that era which gave Poland the hope of overcoming the evil of Stalin's rules. "The Canal" was released following years of silence about the Warsaw Uprising; at the same time it provided a new look at our contemporary history and the 1944 tragedy of Warsaw. The shadows of dead and murdered demanded its own voice to speak out the testimony of the truth about the Polish bitter experience.

These aspirations meant, in the first place, the rejection of the propaganda lies and the restoration of the national memory for many millions of Poles, as well as of the true history of Poland. In the public life of the Polish Socialistic Republic, the overwhelming terror and fear were gradually replaced by the courage and truth expressed by means of speaking openly about how Poles used to fight for their independence. The walls of silence were falling down; and the history lies fabricated for the use by the communist rulers were being discarded.

As many other films produced by the Polish Film School, this one was also inspired by literature; however, this time it was not just fiction, but rather a documentary recording of human experience based on the private experience of one man. The "Canal" screenplay was written by lt. Jerzy Stefan Stawiński (the underground pseudonym: "Łącki"); the short story of the same title was written in 1955 and first published in 1956 in the "Twórczość" literary magazine; in August 1956, it was published by the PIW publishing house in a book form together with other two stories, i.e. "The 'W' hour" and "The Hungarians".

Tadeusz Konwicki – then an associate at the "Kadr" Film Studio (created on the 01. day of May 1955) and its literary director since 1957 – was the first to perceive Satwiński's novel as a promising material for a film production; in fact, it was Konwicki who came up with an idea of turning this novel into film. The first version of the "Canal" screenplay – called then "For the Country…" – was written with a breathtaking speed at the end of 1953. Following this, the project was sent for evaluation to the film authorities.

According to the shorthand notes, the meeting of the Film and Screenplay Evaluation Board, taking place on the 24. day of January 1956, took a very dramatic course. Kawalerowicz, Konwicki and Wajda defended the project unwaveringly. For the "Kadr" Film Studio. "The Canal" was very important since it outlined the aims of the associated film makers, as well as the level of their artistic aspirations. Generally speaking, the context of the political thaw and then the heating-up atmosphere of the period between 1955 and 1957 were quite favourable to the artists. Just the fact alone that such a film could be produced, following years of silence and propaganda lies, aroused great social expectations. Being the first film about the Warsaw Uprising, "The Canal" took a brave step into the social space devastated by the propaganda lies of the Stalin era. Undoubtedly, Wajda and Stawiński were looking for a golden rule; the details of personal encounters and experience on one side, and the attempt to create some generalizations in order to cover the vast scale drama of the city and hundreds of its inhabitants. A fragmentary nature of the film could pose a danger of losing a wider spectrum of the general picture. Too many generalizations, on the other hand, could lead to superficiality of perception, and result in the loss of everything what was authentic, profoundly encountered and experienced. Hence the choice: the film should not show anonymous insurgents following the monumental convention, but people made of flesh and blood who taking part in an uprising. This strategy was being followed consistently from the first to the last scene of the film.

The political context of Poland between 1955 and 1957, so complex and full of meanders, exerted a considerable impact on Wajda's film. Only now we are able to understand fully and judge fairly what was then possible, and to what extend the authors of the film were capable of overcoming the limitations and crashing the barriers created by the censorship imposed on this topic. Everything what could be seen on the screen, shall be perceived today as the artistic bravery of the authors, as well as a result of an ideological compromise enforced by the circumstances of the time; without this compromise, "The Canal" would not have stood a single chance of being filmed.

The final version of the film is fundamentally distant from its initial concept which was then still deprived of any appropriate power of expression. From the artistic perspective, it is filled with an impressive power of youth and an creative energy of creation that breaks all barriers in order to form something truly modern. The young graduates from the Łódź Film Academy and their older colleagues, gathered around this project, had already had a great artistic potential and a lot of professional experience needed to make such a daring attempt and accomplish it successfully. And indeed, it was a difficult task, requiring great professional abilities, and even greater workmanship.

Wajda picked the best by gathering a very creative film crew. The position of a second director at the "The Canal" production was given to Kazimierz Kutz who was seething with ideas; one of Wajda's assistants was Janusz Morgenstern. The director of photography was Jerzy Lipman – an acclaimed master of light; a camera operator was 26 years old Jerzy Wójcik who was then just about to make his own debut in a feature film. A significant artistic contribution was also made by Roman Mann, an experienced set designer, and Jan Krenz, a film music composer.

It was an extremely difficult challenge to embrace the entire subject matter in which hope blended with despair. The dying world of Warsaw, tormented by the war and occupation, the city which a few years back was still a normal European metropolis – a proud capital city of an independent country, boastful of its own development and perspectives, having its own chic and charm, and now by being left defenceless turns into an apocalyptic ruin. The agony of the dying out uprising which was to bring freedom. Only those brave people still stay around and desperately want to save lives with the last shreds of energy. The civilization of collapse is struggling for survival, which is so difficult to secure not only day by day, but almost second by second.

"The Canal" tells the story of defeat and shows the collapse of the world which is thrown into chaos; but if one looks at this film from the perspective of its making and production and at what is being actually shown on the screen, it turns out to be a film which was organized with a painstaking perfection.

Produced in summer 1956, the film was made in the environment requiring a lot of extraordinary effort; furthermore, the production time was very short. At the site, the film crew had to struggle with a number of obstacles and limitations. Their efforts, however, were not wasted at all; quite on the contrary, these efforts resulted in some internal power embracing this movie masterpiece.

After some years, Wajda would say: "We knew we were the voice of our dead, and it was our responsibility to give testimony about these horrifying years, untold damage, and terrifying fate which were inflicted upon the Polish nation, and even worse, upon those who were the best."

The production of the film telling the story of the Warsaw Uprising at the time of a very hot political atmosphere of 1956 became a very motivating factor for many people, including those who did not have anything in common with the film making industry. The year 1944 was back on the film site yet again. The outdoor location scenes were shot in the authentic Warsaw scenery, which in fact made the city – together with its ruins, landscape and local flavour – an equal and rightful entity of this film drama. The personal experience shared by Stawiński and Lipman, the participants in the uprising, triggered an unprecedented dedication and involvement among the entire film crew; this was then coupled with the devotion offered by the inhabitants of Warsaw who were assisting the production of "The Canal". Individual memories triggered the revival of the collective memory.

The film premiere was held on the 20. day of April 1957 in Warsaw. The first ever film made about the Warsaw Uprising absorbed the attention of a wide public opinion and became to some extend an issue involving the entire nation; and by doing so it attracted an audience which could be counted in millions. The reception was extraordinary, but so were the expectations. What followed was the clash of extremely opposite opinions. Both the screenwriter and the director were aware that the internal dynamics of "Kanal", in artistic terms, does not necessarily have to defend itself against a powerful external pressure exerted by the social contexts resulting from the situation in which the country found itself at that time. The true significance of the film was yet to be discovered later on.

A turning point and a true breakthrough took place after this memorably competition screening at the International Film Festival in Cannes. The film was first met with an outstanding reception and wide-spread recognition; and finally, there was the verdict announced by the festival jury chaired by Jean Cocteau: the Silver Palm followed by the ultimate triumph. Since then, "The Canal" became a great export hit of the Polish film making industry; between 1957 and 1958, it was bought by 24 countries. In 1958, the film was released at the same time in over one hundred cinemas across Great Britain. Until now, "The Canal" enjoys the unchallenged reputation of being the best known and appreciated Polish feature film ever.

Wajda's film was also received enthusiastically and with great interest by the local audience. In the first year following its release, a record-breaking number of 4.2 million people saw the film in cinemas across Poland. The success would have been complete if not for the above-mentioned misunderstandings and controversies. Press commentaries were published endlessly; some reviewers attacked the film openly, while others defended it with full conviction: "Wajda achieved something which seemed almost impossible. He found the truth. His film presents the authentic taste of the uprising days, their bitterness, bloody irony and excruciating pathos; but what is even more important, all these are presented preserving right proportions which do not deform or minimize the subject matter," once wrote Jan Józef Szczepański.

The nation-wide discussion about "The Canal" was dominated by a fierce dispute about the historic truth. However, all these digressions about Wajda's film, and the heated discussions surrounding it, apparently remained just substitute issues. What in fact the audience did care about was the shared trauma caused by the long-repeated propaganda lies about the uprising, and not the film itself. The majority of those taking part in the discussion treated the film as a historical documentary, or even as a specific interpretation of the Warsaw Uprising, which may seem surprising today; however, they did forget that the film was just a fictitious story presenting an uprising drama shared by certain people. All these happened in fact against the will of the film authors. In early 1957, Wajda wrote: "The film is not about a historic epic; it is about the experience shared by a certain group of people. Only from this perspective, the film can be assessed and interpreted in order to comply with the intentions of the authors."

"The Canal" presents the pit, the finale and downfall of the uprising and marks the end of the dreams associated with it," Wajda wrote in his "Director's notes"; and being aware how serious the accusations were, during the discussion following the pre-release screening of the film, he added: "I was not concerned about the Uprising, but about the process of dying experienced by the people who were sentenced to death." To express this tragedy of the Warsaw Uprising, the director of "The Canal" did not use "words", but rather "created images" in the most skillful manner. The final scene presents a gutter lattice flooded with light and two people approaching it - Stokrotka and seriously injured Jacek. Beyond this lattice, the view of the opposite bank of the Vistula River stretches out. Suddenly we can notice two heroes being trapped by the deadly cobweb of history.

Here the image alone speaks out. Not a single comment or a verbal declaration about the uprising is uttered by the author. The truth about the Warsaw Uprising, which could not have been expressed openly until then (namely, the truth about the insurgents awaiting in vain the help of the Russians stationed on the opposite site of the Vistula River), could now be unfold by other means thanks to the art of film-making. The scene with the gutter lattice becomes so moving and meaningful simply because it was based on making oblique statements. The rule of "expressing something implicit by adopting explicit means" which Wajda used in directing this heartbreaking scene, protected it against any censorship interventions and at the same time, opened the imagination of the audience. The audience was supposed to make the conclusion themselves by decoding this symbolic memorable image which soon gained an icon status not only for the film but for the entire Polish film-making.

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