First a quick in-deep synopsis. This movie is about probably the blackest hour of the history of Poland: it shows the Warsaw Uprising in the summer of 1944. The underground resistance movement after 5 years of Nazi occupation brought an open fight to the streets of capital. They planned for a 2-3 days struggle, but the battle went for 2 months; while the Russians forces driving the Germans back to the III Reich territory stopped at the Vistula river on the other side of the city (not crossing it for another 4 months). But this is not a biographical movie or chronicle account of historic events. The Uprising is (not so merely) a setting for a love triangle between a boy and 2 girls. And that is historically correct: many teens and children took active part in that WW2 battleA love story in a war environment can very easily turn into a blockbuster soap opera. A movie about the national tragedy can easily turn into an obituary overloaded with shallow patriotic clichés. A well financed war picture can be an empty festival of special effects and explosion. But the "Warsaw '44" (in Poland entitled "City 44") does not. The director / screenwriter Jan Komasa swiftly avoided all of those traps. The viewers may also think that this movie will be boring, because of the slow pasted beginning of the story. But after seeing on the screen the first dropped body and some time later the first fantasy-like kiss scene, this is all but gone: we are fully pulled into this epic war and love story. Also stereotypical mines like "all Polish people are good / heroic and all Germans are evil / cowards" are nicely diffused through the entire picture. Of course the viewers are shown scenes like an execution of civilians by Germans soldiers and accounted for polish medical personnel taking care of wounded Germans; but we also get to see a polish officer pulling his rank to have a free sex with a polish girl, as well we see a German soldier vouching for some Poles in front of a Wehrmacht sweep commando. Viewers are also left with questions like: did the main charter kill a defenseless German soldier or was a mercy shown to him?The technical level of this picture is at the top. If you like big budget Hollywood films, then this one is for you. Albeit it was made in Europe, there is very little in terms of special effects that could be done better in it. And this movie is like "The Matrix" (1999): in that (aside from the use of bullet time) it probably does not come up with anything new (with the exception the aforementioned kiss scene). But it does combine all of the well know elements (from both action / war genre and the chick flick features) and creates out of them a whole new quality, with attractive visuals and sound effects. For example the putting of a camera on a barrel of a hand held gun you could already see in the "9th Company" (2005); but here it still feels quite fresh and puts you in a middle of that action like when playing a computer game (an attempt that landed quite flat in he same year in the "Doom" movie, based on a eponymous first person shooter). And the confrontation between the two girls is made in such crafted and unexpected fashion, with bitter words painting how a post war existence will most likely look like for one of them, that it is just heartbreaking. And there are many memorable scenes of battle, joy, death and sex; with the most disturbing being the one showing a panic attack in the city's sewer systemAs for the music- it plays a vital role. But do not expect a typical symphonic background, an all to epic choruses or some cheap jump scares; because the score is often quite simplistic. The composer Antoni Lazarkiewicz created both pure piano and neo-classical tracks but also a modern fusion of strings, guitars and electronic sounds, matching the screen events. And on top of that they have put various songs into this picture; including among others: a track by The Ink Spots from 1940's, a track from 70's by Czeslaw Niemen and to a much more surprise a piece of dub step. Without giving away the details, that dub step fits perfectly in those visually and emotionally crafted two scenes (kind of like the "All Along The Watchtower" reworked by Bear McCrery, written in 1967 by Bob Dylan, fitted nicely into a season finally of "Battlestar Galactica" s-f series in 2007). So not only is the original score great but also the music supervision deserves a kudosAnd for those who say that the presented story is chaotic: you are half right. War (and love) can be a chaotic thing, so the movie simply reflects that. But also how and what we see simply comes out from the given style: the camera always follows one of the three main characters; and as such you do not get to see for example the landing of (very limited number of) regular polish army troops (equipped by the Russians), sent to boost the morale of the ongoing guerrilla fight in the surrounded city. Those troops just kinda show up on the streets one day- as they would for you, if you were a simple resistance movement combatant just doing your thing. But this and others actual events (like a scarce parachute drops made by western Allies, explaining to some point how could possibly the fighters survive for 2 months on scarce supplies) could be more and / or clearer incorporated into the story. It would give some more info to the less historically educated viewers and make "Warsaw '44" also a little longer than just over two hours. And because of that the rating of this great movie is only 10/10, and not 11/10

I must say I am humbled by the experience that I went through, to be transported back to Warsaw uprising in 1944, during the 63-day struggle to liberate World War 2 Warsaw from Nazi/German occupation. Historically Warsaw could have been first city liberated from German oppression, however due to various military and political miscalculations, as well as global politics which played among Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt, Red Army stopped at the line of the Vistula River letting the rest of the Polish resistance to bled out. Kevin Spacey once famously said that the theatre is actor's medium, film is director's. It is indeed director's taste and sensibilities as well as his background that creates the style of the filmmaking he/she often shows in his/her movies. Polish writer/director Jan Komasa achieved something very moving and special at the same time, in creating a world that feels truly authentic in it's depiction of violence and sacrifice Poles had to go through, in their fight with German occupying force. It can be said that perhaps "Warsaw 44" might be a little bit too rough and does not leave too much to imagination, being very graphic in its battlefield scenes, constantly holding the audience in state of tension, but there is more depth here that essentially meets the eye at first. I think that was indeed the purpose of this film to experience the horror of what it had to be like, to participate in those tragic times. By focusing on a microcosmos of few characters, the director created a sense of comradeship with the characters. Essentially it is a story of 18-year-old Stefan who works to support his mother and his younger brother. The Home Army command decides to attack the weakened Germans withdrawing to the West. Stefan wants to fight the enemy with his friends and his loved one by his side. The first days of the uprising are joyous, the enemy retreats. But their happiness doesn't last long. The German army enters Warsaw, the uprising is doomed. There is a love triangle between Stefan (Józef Pawłowski), Alicja (Zofia Wichlacz) and Kamila (Anna Próchniak) that adds to the intensity of the piece. Above mentioned actors are relatively unknown and by casting them the viewer can easily identify with their struggle.The battlefield scenes are second to none comfortably capable to compete with any Hollywood blockbuster productions of the last few years. Komasa utilizes the music and sound design to truly put you in a place of our protagonists. There are some questionable stylistic choices, including a sex scene between Stefan and Kamila, which could have been taken out of "Matrix: Reloaded". Where dub step music inter cut together with slow motion of the soldiers surrounded by fire, can be more fitting in a music video, instead of serious war drama. On few occasions Komasa uses a game like, first person shooter point of view, that can feel bit gimmicky and self- indulgent, as well as out of place in piece of this sort. This is where directors stylistic immaturity and balance between the substance (visual techniques) over the content (narration of the story) takes charge, though they can be overlooked due to the overall quality of the production. Apart form those few minor stylistic mishaps I must say "Warsaw 44" or "City 44" (the film can be identified by both titles) is wonderfully refreshing look at the atrocities of WW2, told through the perspective of a young mans eyes which indeed can be seen on the screen. The production and the costume design as well as sheer scope are absolutely breathtaking. Considering the subject, emotionality of the acting and concentration of heroism on Poles, versus movies that are often noticed by the Academy of Motion Pictures, with subject of the holocaust or stories of struggle by Jewish people, sadly this film will not receive the attention it rightfully deserves and it is pity indeed, because movies of this quality are created once in a blue moon. If you have the opportunity I highly recommend this film and you don't have to be Polish to truly enjoy it. Well done Jan Komasa, well done indeed. Highly RECOMMENDED!

If I can summary this movie I would have to do that in two category:Historical accuracy - 10/10 Story and emotional roller-coaster - 9/10This film is a short introduction to the real history of Poland. It speaks through the the young people whose real live in Warsaw between the end of July 1944 and the beginning of October 1944 looked exactly how it was shown in the movie. Absolutely amazing accuracy of the depicting of some events and episodes of the Warsaw Uprising 1944. If you think it's exaggeration, IT'S NOT (even the scene with blood and humans' remains falling out of the sky is authentic)!!I know the famous scene with the kiss looks strange from first view, but this is 'ars poetica', it was (and it's) to show what's going on in the hearts of those young and inexperienced people.What film is not - it's not documentary movie and above all, it's not another fake-story Hollywood-like movie (see e.g. absurd and actually stupid series of war movies with Brad Pitt).I could not sleep after watching of this film and there were many like me. I don't think there is a normal person who would see this movie (knowing that the story inside is the real depict of real events) without any emotional reactions. I really recommend it. YOU MUST SEE IT !!!

There are much better films about world war two events. This movie combines some historical information with an improbable love triangle and battle scenes with matrix-like visual effects. The sound is fine, camera work is good and the visual effects are competent, but taste is lacking in the way it was all put together. The scene where the protagonist first meets his main girl is very weak. The scene of their first kiss is ridiculous. For some unexplained reason, the main girl goes off on a walk, in the middle of a battle zone. The protagonist sees that there are Germans nearby and instead of shooting at the Germans from his vantage point or telling his mates that there is a problem, he goes after the girl, saves her from a bullet and when they kiss, rockets and anti-aircraft bullets suddenly fly around like it was Vietnam.It's probably good enough for mass markets accustomed to Hollywood blockbusters, but it's not a good film.