by Mark Deming
synopsis
In Twenty-First Century Warsaw, the more things change, the more they stay the same. As the sun rises over the city, documentary filmmaker Magda Kowalczyk captures a surprising sight with her camera -- a team of workmen with axes cutting down brushwood and using it to repair the dams that prevent the Vistula River from flooding the city. By The River is a short non-fiction film that chronicles a near-daily occurrence that suggests modern-day Poland is still learning practical lessons from its past. Przy Rzece (aka By The River) was screened in competition at the 2007 Hot Docs International Film Festival.
