_**Hell on Earth in a crumbling city during WW2**_

After five years of German occupation, youths in Warsaw in 1944 rise up to resist at great cost. Józef Pawlowski, Zofia Wichlacz and Anna Próchniak play the main protagonists.

“Warsaw ’44” (2014) combines the setting of “The Pianist” (2002) with the basic situation of “Enemy at the Gates” (2001) and the brutal action of “Saving Private Ryan” (1998). Like “Pearl Harbor” (2001), it establishes a youthful romance and then follows the players through the carnage. In its own unique way it’s pretty much on par with any of these earlier movies.

Once the uprising starts the storytelling becomes pretty chaotic due to the frenzied state of affairs, which might turn off some viewers. There are also 2-3 artistic flourishes, which struck me as curious, but I just rolled with them and enjoyed the cinematic art thereof. In other words, don’t let these eccentric embellishments ruin the experience but rather the opposite. The close that creatively showcases the burning, collapsing city juxtaposed with modern Warsaw is excellently done.

At the end of the day, “Warsaw ’44” is enlightening, shocking and… unforgettable.

I should add that this is a Polish production with the characters speaking mostly Polish. Needless to say, if you don’t speak Polish you’ll have to utilize the subtitles.

The film runs 2 hours, 5 minutes (minus the opening 2.5 minutes of tedious studio credits), and was shot in Warsaw, Poland.

GRADE: A-/B+