PIE # 96 - Piotr Uzarowicz "The Officer's wife"

(14.03.2015) Piotr Uzarowicz

Upon the death of his father, a son makes a startling discovery. A forgotten safe deposit box reveals his grandmother’s autobiography, old photos of an army officer and a mysterious postcard that all link to a concealed crime: the Katyn Forest massacre. Weaving dramatic interviews with bold animation, The Officer’s Wife probes the collision of truth, justice and memory in a shrouded family tragedy.

Before the start of World War II, Cecylia is happily married to a decorated Polish army officer and is an adoring mother of three young boys. As Nazi and Soviet tanks roll across Poland, her husband suddenly disappears and she is forcibly deported to a Siberian gulag. While imprisoned, she must battle the Soviets and the wild to keep her family alive. Risking a daring escape, Cecylia searches for her kidnapped husband - uncovering only betrayal, murder and a shocking Allied cover up.

After 70 years, the wounds of the Katyn massacre still bleed. The Soviets were never charged; and today, Russia is unwilling to atone for their horrific crimes. Cecylia’s story is only one of almost 2 million Poles. Interviews with the last living survivors fuse with Cecylia’s story to reveal not only the horrors but to also forge a lasting testament to the perseverance of the human spirit.Today, their journey leads to Strasbourg where the European Human Rights Court deliberates the case of the murdered officers. With this in mind, the son plunges into the depths of the former Soviet Union to retrace his grandfather’s final footsteps and to bear witness to his last moments. But can any ruling really deliver justice and heal a family 70 years after the crime?

The Officer’s Wife is ultimately a soaring celebration of humanity and its power to triumph over hatred.