Wajda is an old friend of Polansky. I'm sure that the latter has seen this movie. The realism so well acquired in the Lodz school of cinema shows here with an intensity that I've only seen later in "The Pianist". It is true that Korczak (the jewish doctor that prefers to die with his orphan children) is too much of
a saint. In the beginning is attitude is seen as naive, but is in fact a moral rectitude unfound in hard times. I suspect that Korczak knows that the end is inevitable, and he makes a promise from the beggining to follow his childrens anywere (at least he doesn't look as an stupid man). It is interesting how similar are the events depicted in this movie to some pictures seen on television about the "security wall" that Ariel Sharon has built here in Israel. And more interesting is how nobody seems to realize that connection. Probably the most accesible Wajda film that I've seen, because of the known subject and the clear and direct treatment. Some remarks about the Jewish Commission that helped the Germans run the ghetto are original. Watch it.
January 19, 2004
