the rules and regulations of their organization, and that Gliński was not faithful enough towards the original novel.
Should ‘Kamienie na Szaniec’ have been
filmed in the 21st century? For wartime
children, and those in the nineteen fifties,
the novel must have read like an Indiana
Jones adventure. However, for the youth
of today the stories appear a little stilted.
Thankfully, the film version of ‘Kamienie
na Szaniec’is free from the poetic, pretentious
speeches about the nobility of patience
and comradeship that appear in the novel.
Some unfortunate aspects of the book remain
in the film version, however. Rudy and
Zośka’s girlfriends are as insipid as their
printed page characters, and provide too
weak material for Sandra Staniszewska
and Magdalena Koleśnik to bring to life on
the screen. There are also moments of
unnecessary pathos, as when Rudy’s father
tells his beaten and bloodied son, “I am
proud of you”.
The most memorable scenes are those of
torture: Rudy is burned, scolded with boiling
water and beaten to unconsciousness.
However, it is the diabolical evil of the Naz
i torturer (Wolfgang Boos) that creates a greater impression than the cinematic clichés of blood and guts.
Gliński manages to smuggle some awkward questions into his film. For example, why was Rudy saved, and not others? Was the price the civilians paid in the German revenge for his rescue not too high? And why had his rescue been delayed for so long?
There can be little doubt that Gliński’s film recreates the youthful exploits of Polish partizans in the minds of present-day youngsters more vividly than Kamiński’s novel. Where rational arguments fail, heroism has a neurotic, emotional appeal to youth, who are all too willing to chase myths. Poland and Polish patriotism are merely slogans and symbols. Gliński, however, succeeds in portraying a group of young people whose prime loyalty was to each other.
Kamienie na szaniec 7/10 Patriotic Polish war drama for the 21st century. Directed by Robert Gliński. Starring: Tomasz Ziętek, Marcel Sabat, Kamil Szeptycki, Magdalena Koleśnik, Sandra Staniszewska, Wojciech Zieliński, Andrzej Chyra, Krzysztof Globisz, Danuta Stenka, Artur Żmijewski.
film trailer (Polish)