Lotna

After making his famous War Trilogy, ("A Generation", "Kanal" and "Ashes and Diamonds"), Andrzej Wajda made a very different kind of war film. You might describe "Lotna" as his 'War Horse' as it's about a great grey mare employed by the Polish Army during the Second World War. It's a visually impressive, (he shot it in a mixture of sepia and colour), near-epic account of men in battle with some scenes heavily influenced by Russian cinema, both from the period and from silent cinema. It may be no masterpiece but for some reason it's virtually been forgotten, a fate it definitely doesn't deserve. Four films in and Wajda was already proving to be a world-class director and there are moments here as fine as anything in his canon. Difficult to see now, it's worth making an effort to find.

I am really surprised at the score here. I will, in my scale give it somewhere in the range 8 to 8.5 (the extra marks are to balance for nay-sayers)

The story revolves around the heroine - a mare Lotna - in this case, and its various owners. All of them from the Cavalry - fighting their last stand against invading German Army during the WW2. Each of her owner is dogged by misfortune - getting killed in the war within days of having her under his control.

On first glance it looks as if she was the harbinger of bad-luck. But was she really ? Her original owner - had her from foal, in fact was the offspring of his own prize horse. And he didn't had any bad luck, if he died, which wasn't shown, must have been of old age. But once, with the Germans Army approaching, he gave the reins to the cavalry men (lest she became enemies property), the death started stalking - but along with the death there were also fortune/ luck. Each of the owners had it, before finally letting fate take over.

As an Allegory - it reminded me of Au Hasard Balthazar - another masterpiece - from another stable - and of course another animal, a donkey instead of the huge Arabian Mare.

In this case what did Lotna symbolise ?

As i see it - she symbolises the freedom, the pride, the spirit of a nation. It isn't limited to Poland, it is of any nation, any civilisation. One doesn't own or try to control it to his/her commands. If one attempts - the history would tell - from Alexander the Great to Napoleon to Hitler - with a great fortune in the beginning, untold misfortune (and death) will follow. The end also is apt on this angle - when the people get jealous and bicker over it, the result would be naturally what was depicted.

Probably it is necessary to watch it a few times and imbibe in, to get the message. Like Au Hasard, this too is told more like a story - which though well paced - or may be because of that - the message would be missed.

A horse. the symbols. the colors. and the war. mixture of themes and images defining the war films from the East of "50. and reflection about fatherland, heroism, illusion and sacrifice, obsession and death. the force of images as the lead pillar of a construction in which the irony and sadness, the traces of fatum and crumbs of magic are together. a portrait of a world. familiar and strange in same measure. at the first sigh, one of many war films from the same period. and far by great movies of Wajda. in fact, one of pictures of a fall of an universe. cold, precise, bitter.

You can compare it with Steven Spielberg's WAR HORSE, very close speaking of topic, story. I don't think this is a very well known Andrej Wajda's movie but it's definitely worth. Impressive scenes, such as the German invasion, with tanks crushing everything, men horses...And this scheme of the "bad luck" horse who means death for anyone riding him. It reminds me an Anthony Mann's western, doesn't it? It seems there are many things not that accurate but I don't care. That doesn't remove anything to this beautiful, powerful, gripping story made by a future giant of the Polish film industry, and not only.