They loved life = Canal = Kanal

The second of Wajda’s unplanned war trilogy (with “A generation” and “Ashes and diamond”. A grim depiction of a defeated Poland is the central theme of this moving story of the tragic heroism of a platoon of the underground national army who were loyal to the government in exile of Poland based in London. Based on actual events, this powerful movie shows the Resistance fighters’ descent into the sewers of Warsaw to escape the Nazis during the uprising in 1944; also shown as a psychological descent into the minds of a crushed people; and a times a slow descent into hell, reminiscent of Dante. The extreme situation of their journey through the ‘kanal’ brings out the true values of their characters: their generosity, pettiness, love, courage - and the price they must pay for their faith. This film is a skilful blending of suspense with social realism and poetical vision and, following its release, became instrumental in focusing world attention on the Warsaw uprising, the Polish experience and the arrival of a new national cinema. In Polish with English sub-titles. Winner of the Silver Palm in Cannes (1957) and Gold Medal at the Moscow Film Festival (1957)