'Ashes' stands as perhaps the most wildly entertaining film Andrzej Wajda ever made, even as it gets increasingly disturbing, pessimistic, and sad. The story, encompassing a wide canvas of 1800s Polish life and Napoleonic warfare, is suffused by turn with hope and despair, beauty and horror, sustained for nearly four hours. It's a long epic, but there's so much happening that the time flies past, and Wajda gives the pacing an effective boost by breaking the narrative up into multiple chapters.
The narrative follows two friends: Rafal (the truly ubiquitous Daniel Olbrychski in his debut role, later the star of the later, even huger Polish epic 'Potop') and Krzysztof (Boguslaw Kierc). Their adventures as they meet, join the armies of Napoleon, and split up to fight different battles comprise the bulk of the narrative, and lead to many memorable sequences. The opening sleigh-ride scene. The alcohol-infused partying in 1800s Warsaw high society. A chase across a river of ice floes. Rafal ends up being inducted into the Freemasons (some shades of War and Peace there), and during the ritual he encounters an old love interest. And Napoleon towers over all in his few cameos, misplaced as a figure of hope and freedom.
The most notable scene that doesn't work is the infamous one of the horse death. Wajda actually threw a horse off a cliff (killing it immediately) for this scene, but all we end up seeing is a close-up of the head of Krzysztof's horse falling out of frame, and then the rider staggering forward on foot. I'm not sure if this scene was censored on the print I watched, but if you're going to kill a horse for a movie, at least show it. Otherwise the horse dies for nothing.
Outside of a few moments like that the film is incredible on a technical level. It's gorgeously shot in crisp black and white (which the director later regretted, thinking it made the film look dated, an opinion I cannot agree with) and the overall cinematography looks incredible. The production values are through the roof, especially during the battle scenes with their hundreds of extras.
The first battle is the weakest, with the Polish soldiers marching forward and politely stabbing at the enemy soldiers, but by the time we get to the Siege of Zaragoza all bets are off. As the soldiers march through the city there's a scene where some asylum is opened and a horde of gibbering madmen and women descend on them; it's unbelievably creepy. But then what follows is even worse: a riot of pillage, sacrilege, and rape that plays like something out of the Fourth Crusade. It all leads up to what is possible the most effective scene in the film, when Krzysztof's superior officer becomes disillusioned and leaves the city for Poland, only to be betrayed by his guide, robbed and killed. The other men mock the dead man as a cowardly traitor and leave the body lying, with Krzysztof as the only one trying to bury it as the wind foils his efforts. It's difficult to describe the heightened sadness and emotion of this scene; it seems deliberately reminiscent of Antigone burying her brother in the Sophocles play. Moments like this are when Wajda's opulent, baroque style really soars.
But overall, even with the dazzling displays of images and emotion, this is a dark, even embittered film, and becomes more so by the sucker-punch coda. One could accuse Wajda of simply taking a wreaking ball to Polish national mythology, which may perhaps be a valid interpretation of 'Ashes'. However, I believe the point of the film is to illustrate how Poland has been manipulated and abused on the historical stage, often through the weaknesses and faults of her own people. And who knows?-given how Poland today is beginning the slow but inexorable slide into dysfunctional EU agendas, maybe that message will remain relevant in the future.
It's a pity that the film has lapsed into obscurity and has become quite difficult to find. This is Wajda's third best film, after 'The Promised Land' and 'Kanal'.
The narrative follows two friends: Rafal (the truly ubiquitous Daniel Olbrychski in his debut role, later the star of the later, even huger Polish epic 'Potop') and Krzysztof (Boguslaw Kierc). Their adventures as they meet, join the armies of Napoleon, and split up to fight different battles comprise the bulk of the narrative, and lead to many memorable sequences. The opening sleigh-ride scene. The alcohol-infused partying in 1800s Warsaw high society. A chase across a river of ice floes. Rafal ends up being inducted into the Freemasons (some shades of War and Peace there), and during the ritual he encounters an old love interest. And Napoleon towers over all in his few cameos, misplaced as a figure of hope and freedom.
The most notable scene that doesn't work is the infamous one of the horse death. Wajda actually threw a horse off a cliff (killing it immediately) for this scene, but all we end up seeing is a close-up of the head of Krzysztof's horse falling out of frame, and then the rider staggering forward on foot. I'm not sure if this scene was censored on the print I watched, but if you're going to kill a horse for a movie, at least show it. Otherwise the horse dies for nothing.
Outside of a few moments like that the film is incredible on a technical level. It's gorgeously shot in crisp black and white (which the director later regretted, thinking it made the film look dated, an opinion I cannot agree with) and the overall cinematography looks incredible. The production values are through the roof, especially during the battle scenes with their hundreds of extras.
The first battle is the weakest, with the Polish soldiers marching forward and politely stabbing at the enemy soldiers, but by the time we get to the Siege of Zaragoza all bets are off. As the soldiers march through the city there's a scene where some asylum is opened and a horde of gibbering madmen and women descend on them; it's unbelievably creepy. But then what follows is even worse: a riot of pillage, sacrilege, and rape that plays like something out of the Fourth Crusade. It all leads up to what is possible the most effective scene in the film, when Krzysztof's superior officer becomes disillusioned and leaves the city for Poland, only to be betrayed by his guide, robbed and killed. The other men mock the dead man as a cowardly traitor and leave the body lying, with Krzysztof as the only one trying to bury it as the wind foils his efforts. It's difficult to describe the heightened sadness and emotion of this scene; it seems deliberately reminiscent of Antigone burying her brother in the Sophocles play. Moments like this are when Wajda's opulent, baroque style really soars.
But overall, even with the dazzling displays of images and emotion, this is a dark, even embittered film, and becomes more so by the sucker-punch coda. One could accuse Wajda of simply taking a wreaking ball to Polish national mythology, which may perhaps be a valid interpretation of 'Ashes'. However, I believe the point of the film is to illustrate how Poland has been manipulated and abused on the historical stage, often through the weaknesses and faults of her own people. And who knows?-given how Poland today is beginning the slow but inexorable slide into dysfunctional EU agendas, maybe that message will remain relevant in the future.
It's a pity that the film has lapsed into obscurity and has become quite difficult to find. This is Wajda's third best film, after 'The Promised Land' and 'Kanal'.