I saw "Korczak" for the first time in the late 1990s when a young teen, and even then I remember cringing at the amateur way the production had been handled.
Why? Because I also saw "Schindler's List" prior to it and realized that, by comparison, "Korczak" feels like a high school video project...a very bad one at that!
I've recently rewatched it and the impression was even worse.
Now, don't get me wrong, the subject matter is important, the story is incredible and this film needed to be made, just not by the people it was...unfortunately.
I think Wajda is hugely overrated. His movies always struck me as excessively "theatrical"...as in they look like someone only knew theater but wanted to try cinema for a goof; sort of "let's put the camera in front of the stage and hope for the best" approach.
"Korczak", by comparison with the rest of Wajda's movies isn't the worst actually...if it wasn't for the horrendous production value!
And it's not even about the budget; it's more about the craft.
I realize it's a 1990 movie but only three years later a true timeless cinematic masterpiece followed - "Schindler's List"! And Spielberg spectacularly achieved what he had intended by using his groundbreaking and innovative imagery (credit to the great Janusz Kaminski here) - he wanted the film to look and feel so no one could tell when it was made. "Schindler's List" stomped "Korczak" to a pulp.
My main criticisms are:
- Horrible sound
- Horrible cinematography
- Horrible editing
- Just bad directing overall, which reflects on acting
I honestly think someone should reintroduce Korczak's story to world cinema in a manner it deserves as the 1990 film looks like something hastily put together in 1950.
