Source: www.theofficerswifemovie.com
Piotr Uzarowicz's 2011 film strives to provide a new perspective on the contentious topic of the Katyń massacre
There have been a number of films on the Katyń massacre of Polish officers by the Soviet forces in 1940, most notably Andrzej Wajda's Katyń in 2007. After initially blaming the killings on Poland's wartime Nazi occupiers, in 1990, the Soviet Union accepted responsibility for the killing of 22,000 Polish military and police officers and members of the intelligentsia in a remote area in present-day Russia. However, the investigation was abandoned in 2004 and some Russian documents regarding the massacre and the later investigation remain classified and inaccessible to the Polish side. The topic is still evokes emotions in present day Poland. Filmmaker Piotr Uzarowicz, basing his fiml on interviews with the last living survivors of that massacre, presents the story of a woman.
Forging a final testament to the memory of those who perished and their families, and a tribute to the perseverance of the human spirit, the film's director Piotr Uzarowicz has a personal connection to the story:
I heard about the Katyń massacre only because my grandfather was one of the officers murdered. It interested me in the sort of way that you think, "Oh, that’s interesting." It was a long time ago, it was wartime, it was Stalin, it involved a man I knew nothing about and no one in my family discussed. Katyń is not in any American history book in schools and it wasn’t in any Polish textbooks until after the fall of the Soviet state in 1990. For me, Katyń was just another massacre among the millions of other murders that Stalin committed during his reign of terror. It wasn’t until I attended a unique presentation about Katyń did I really begin to understand the breadth of what happened and the international fallout it generates to this day. It shocked me to learn to what extent the West, meaning Britain and the United States, were involved. They may not have pulled the trigger but they are most definitely accomplices after the fact. It was at that point that I realized this story needed to be told.
In the film a young man makes a startling discovery after the death of his father. A forgotten safe deposit box reveals his grandmother’s memoirs, old photos of an army officer and a mysterious postcard that all link to a concealed crime: the Katyń Forest massacre. Weaving dramatic interviews with bold animation, The Officer’s Wife probes the collision of truth, justice and memory in a shrouded family tragedy.
Before the start of World War II, Cecylia is happily married to a decorated Polish army officer and is an adoring mother of three young boys. As Nazi and Soviet tanks roll across Poland, her husband suddenly disappears and she is forcibly deported to a Siberian gulag. While imprisoned, she must battle the Soviets and the wild to keep her family alive. Risking a daring escape, Cecylia searches for her kidnapped husband – uncovering only betrayal, murder and a shocking Allied cover up.
Dr. Zbigniew Brzeziński, Former Director of the US National Security Agency praises the film, saying, "I watched The Officer's Wife with gripping intensity and outraged emotions. It is a most effective presentation of the overall context of the crime". Alex Storozyński, President & Executive Director of The Kościuszko Foundation says, "The Officer's Wife presents Katyń and its aftermath like no other film – it is deeply moving."
Of particular note is the film's musical score composed by Academy Award winner Jan A.P. Kaczmarek, who worked on films such as The Visitor, Unfaithful, War & Peace, Aimée & Jaguar, The Third Miracle as well as the highly acclaimed Finding Neverland by Marc Forster (2004). The director says that Kaczmarek's input was crucial to the success of the film,
The real magic happened when Jan A.P. Kaczmarek agreed to compose music for the film. I screened a cut of the film with his music from other movies as a temporary soundtrack and was able to show him that his style of music is perfect for this movie. Jan jumped on board immediately and asked to take on a producer role with the film. I could not refuse; his passion opens many doors. Admittedly, it also helps that Jan is a patriot and sees the value in this movie as a means to reach a larger audience with a bit of Polish history that no one knows. Even within Poland, the story of Katyń and what happened to over two million Polish citizens is relatively unknown because of Communist rule in Poland after World War II.
The film debuted at the 2010 Camerimage Festival in Poland. It began touring the U.S. in April 2011, gracing such festivals as the Chicago International Film Festival, Three Rivers Film Festival, Ann Arbor Polish Film Festival and the Seattle Polish Film Festival. In November 2011 it the Jury Award for best non-fiction film at the Ann Arbor Polish film festival.
The film has been touring the United States, with screenings in New York scheduled for the 28th of April in Rochester and in Buffalo on the 29th of April 2012.
The Officer's Wife
US /Poland. Directed by: Piotr Uzarowicz; Cinematography by: Joseph Urbanczyk; Edited by: Brian O’Hare; Music by: Jan A.P. Kaczmarek; Illustrated and animated by: Dave Spafford; Produced by: Piotr Uzarowicz, Jan A.P. Kaczmarek and Julie Janata. Starring: Władysław Byrdy (Narrator), Piotr Uzarowicz (Narrator), Beata Pózniak (Cecylia, voice). Running time: 80 minutes. English and Polish with English dubbing.
For more information about the film, see: www.theofficerswifemovie.com