Katyn (15) **** Dir: Andrzej Wajda With: Andrzej Chyra, Maja Ostaszewska In the opening scene of Andrzej Wajda's magnificent wartime drama, nominated for a best foreign film Oscar last year, fleeing crowds of Polish civilians are crossing a bridge from both ends.
Behind the first lot of panicked elderly men, women and children are German soldiers; breathing down the necks of the others are the Soviets. At a stroke, Andrzej Wajda shows himself capable of bringing history roaring back to life. He uses the same skill to devastating effect in exposing one of the big lies of the period - the 1940 massacre of 15,000 Polish officers in the Katyn forest. Blamed on the Germans, it was in fact the work of the Soviet secret police, on the orders of "Uncle Joe" Stalin. The cover up was to continue till 1989. Wajda, whose father was among those murdered, tells the story through the eyes of the mothers, wives, daughters and sisters left behind to wait and wonder if their loved ones were ever coming home. An unforgettable picture about an unspeakable act.
Filmhouse, Edinburgh, June 29- July 9.
