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Maja Ostaszewska, Artur Zmijewski, Andrzej Chyra, Danuta Stenka, Jan Englert ... see more see more... , Magdalena Cielecka , Pawel Malaszynski , Agnieszka Glinska , Maja Komorowska , Wladyslaw Kowalski , Siergiej Garmasz , Antoni Pawlicki , Krzysztof Kolberger , Krzysztof Globisz , Anna Radwan , Agnieszka Kawiorska , Joachim Paul Assböck , Stanislawa Celinska , Sergei Garmash

Celebrated Polish filmmaker Andrzej Wajda takes the helm for this Oscar-nominated drama detailing the harrowing events surrounding the 1940 massacre of captured Polish army officers in the Katyn Fores... read more read more...t. A unique blend of conventional narrative and documentary-style filmmaking, Katyn opens in the spring of 1940, just as the Soviet Secret police execute a group of Polish officers. On September 1, 1939, Germen forces had descended upon Poland, paving the way for the Red Army to occupy east Poland as part of the Hitler-Stalin pact. As the Red Army assumed control of east Poland, all officers in the Polish army were placed in Soviet custody. Determined to remain loyal to the army despite the growing danger, Polish officer Andrzej refuses to flee with his wife, Anna. It isn't long before invading forces begin arresting professors in Cracow, and as the detainees languish in prison camps, their families start to fear that they'll never see their loved ones again. Flash forward to April 1943, and the Germans announce the discovery of mass graves. While Anna is relieved not to hear her husband's name on the list of bodies discovered, countless others are left to grieve their losses with no explanation or consolation. January 18, 1945: Cracow is liberated by the Red Army, and propagandist newsreels from the Soviet Union blame German forces for the massacre at Katyn. It is at that point that the fine line between collaboration and resistance within the People's Republic of Poland becomes exceptionally blurred. As the details surrounding the massacre gradually begin to emerge, Wajda reveals precisely how this horrifying massacre unfolded by flashing back to the spring of 1940 for an extended sequence in which Polish officer internees are transported by railroad to Smolensk and methodically dispatched before being casually buried in a mass grave. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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75% liked it

4,957 ratings

Critics

92% liked it

64 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 1 min.

Directed by: Andrzej Wajda

Release Date: February 18, 2009

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DVD Release Date: August 11, 2009

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Flixster Reviews (380)

  • fb1216165431
    September 10, 2011
    fb1216165431
    Katy? is a brilliant exposition of the evil in the Polish-Russian history, the Katy? Massacre; with impressions of hope, lies, and struggle for identity, honor, and pride. Elegant despite the content. Serious, packing a powerful emotional punch. History made timely, interesting, ... read moreand relevant.
  • imrealgod
    July 20, 2011
    imrealgod
    Appreciate it for the historical knowledge it offered (you can blame my knowledge if you're a know-it-all), but the fictionalization and dialogues weren't quite effective.
  • flixsterman
    April 18, 2010
    flixsterman
    "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." -George Santayana

    I have an affinity for true stories, especially those that bring to light an injustice or atrocity. Katyn is a powerful film about the war crimes of the Soviet Union on the people of Polan... read mored, specifically the slaughter of Polish officers in the Katyn forest, 1940. Deeply moving.

    God bless Poland.
  • gor41
    October 24, 2009
    gor41
    Worthy if plodding account of WWII atrocity which generates an unsettling sense of foreboding as the 'climax' approaches.
  • gator681
    February 23, 2009
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]"All governments are liars and murderers." - Bill Hicks[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]"Katyn" is a heavy-handed and ponderous movie about the slaughter of 20,000 Polish POW's by Soviet troops in the Katyn forest in 1940. Take for ... read moreinstance the first scene which has everything except for a baby carriage going down a staircase. On September 17, 1939, the Soviet Union invades Poland, 16 days after Nazi Germany has also done so, and Anna(Maja Ostaszewska) is going in the opposite direction of traffic, desperately looking for her husband(Artur Zmijewski), a major in the Polish army who has just surrendered.(A similar scene was much better depicted in "Europa, Europa.") She eventually finds him along with other prisoners of war, just before they are shipped off to a prison camp run by the Soviet Union.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]While "Katyn" does improve, it also gets to a point where I was wondering exactly where it was going, as tangents spontaneously head off in all directions from the original massacre. Disappointingly, the movie is far more concerned with the cover-up than the crime(The cliche of the victor writing history is especially true in this case) which the Nazis exploited as propaganda before the Soviets turned the tables. This all happens before a spectacularly gratuitous finale. But since we all now know the truth, wouldn't you also like to know why the Soviets committed this atrocity?[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
  • merlynsprankling
    June 26, 2009
    merlynsprankling
    Katyn takes us back to the late 1930's as Word War 2 was unfolding, geographical borders were being pulverised and enemies were approaching from all sides.

    There has been a wealth of films about this period of time, thanks to a wide range of Jewish film makers ensuring that th... read moree world never forgets, like the revered Polish director Andrzei Wajda, who is now in his 80's, but still making top quality films like this one. Perhaps because he lived it and survived.

    It was September of 1939 when Poland faced it worst--from the west the German Nazis had invaded and were setting up concentration camps in Cracow. From the east, Stalin's Soviet Red Army were heading in. The Poles were caught flatfooted about where to run and who to trust.

    Wajda tells the story of this time, through the eyes of women who are left behind as their husbands are held in POW camps. One of these women is Anna (Ostaszewska). She flees alone with her daughter Nika, after her attempt to convince her husband, Polish Captain Andrzej (Zmijewski), to escape with them fails because of his conviction of not leaving his men. The film unfolds through to 1943, when a list of names of 12,000 soldiers found slaughtered in the Katyn forest. And the list turns out to be far from accurate.

    Katyn is structured to leave us as much in the dark about the fate of the missing men and women. It reminds us again how much WW2 material has remained hidden during the communist years, with the Soviets accepting blame for the massacre only in the 1990's.
  • lizzardb72688
    September 24, 2009
    lizzardb72688
    The story of the Polish Officers murdered during WWII by Soviet secret service, the film is quite slow moving in that it takes place over a span of around 5 years yet seems to focus on a lot of not so important events. The true point of the film isn't entirely revealed until the... read more last 5 minutes of the movie when the massacre is revealed in a sort of flash back moment. I haven't seen a lot of Polish films, but I suppose it could just be part of the culture to be a little long and a little boring.
  • smootysveen
    April 27, 2008
    smootysveen
    A horrifying event, somewhat confusingly told, but beautifully photographed.
  • GabrielKnight
    November 27, 2010
    GabrielKnight
    The movie seems to drag a bit and the acting is uneven (clearly a made for TV production). However, the graphic documentary-style ending more than makes up for that. I was familiar with the story, but reading about it is one thing, and seeing such a graphic re-enactment is someth... read moreing entirely different. The mass execution in the end is 100% realistic and shocking, even if you know what to expect. I'm glad the director had courage to portray it that way - the story of Stalin's atrocities needed to be told as they happened.
  • jam233
    August 9, 2009
    jam233
    Excellent story, exceptional cinematography and a keen eye for period detail make this a remarkable film.The story is very moving, disturbing as well. The cast is terrific and Andrzej Wajda's direction is superb. Fine art direction and costumes.

View All Katyn Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
July 23, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

[Director] Wajda has brought some small measure of rest to their names, to Poland, and to history. Full Review

James Adams
July 17, 2009
James Adams, Globe and Mail

Katyn is remarkably concise and (if one may say this about a cinematic commemoration of mass murder) elegant. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
June 19, 2009
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Wajda's intensity and passion, as well as his intelligence and craft, are unmistakable from the very first sequence. Virtually from the first shot. Full Review

May 28, 2009
Boston Globe

The great filmmaker's urge to show generations of his countrymen what they were told not to think about is what moves him, and while "Katyn" rises above didacticism, you can feel the director keeping ... Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
February 27, 2009
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

A richly absorbing and intensely painful drama with a tremendous, mostly female cast. Full Review

David Denby
February 23, 2009
David Denby, New Yorker

A stunning, epic film. Full Review

Kirk Honeycutt
February 20, 2009
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter

Some sequences sear the mind.

Lisa Schwarzbaum
February 18, 2009
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

The great Polish director Andrzej Wajda musters the power of classical filmmaking and personal emotional investment 
to dramatize a stunning atrocity long covered up. Full Review

Leslie Felperin
February 18, 2009
Leslie Felperin, Variety

This plays almost like an academic master class, meticulously exploring the event's ramifications but only catching full fire at the end. Full Review

Joshua Katzman
February 18, 2009
Joshua Katzman, Chicago Reader

Andrzej Wajda has spent much of his long career dramatizing major events in Polish history, and this poignant feature depicts the circumstances surrounding the Soviet Union's massacre of thousands of ... Full Review

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