Varsovia 1944

It's a little stylised in parts but otherwise this Polish production is very well made. It tells the story of a group of young adults who join in the Warsaw uprising of 1944.

Fully expecting it to be a two day, patriotic adventure, with the Russians (allies of their allies) at the outskirts of the city, they attack the Germans with little more than small arms and a few grenades. But.. the Russians didn't advance and, perhaps more importantly, the Germans didn't retreat.

What followed was the absolute destruction of Warsaw, the slaughter of 200,000 of its 900,000 inhabitants and the imprisonment of all but 1,000 of the rest of them.

It's gritty and violent and sometimes even disturbing, but it's also a part of history that needs telling and seeing. Watch it for that reason if nothing else. 7.5/10.