LOTNA

After making his famous War Trilogy, ("A Generation", "Kanal" and "Ashes and Diamonds"), Andrzej Wajda made a very different kind of war film. You might describe "Lotna" as his 'War Horse' as it's about a great grey mare employed by the Polish Army during the Second World War. It's a visually impressive, (he shot it in a mixture of sepia and colour), near-epic account of men in battle with some scenes heavily influenced by Russian cinema, both from the period and from silent cinema. It may be no masterpiece but for some reason it's virtually been forgotten, a fate it definitely doesn't deserve. Four films in and Wajda was already proving to be a world-class director and there are moments here as fine as anything in his canon. Difficult to see now, it's worth making an effort to find.