Starring: Wiesław Komasa, Izabela Kuna, Leszek Lichota
Directed by: Krzysztof Łukasiewicz
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Director Krzysztof Krauze’s Dług (Debt, 1999), which dealt with two wannabe entrepreneurs wiping out a loan shark portrayed by a formidable Andrzej Chyra, was an immediate success in Polish cinemas. The question of self-defence in the absence of a state has traditionally been addressed in Hollywood by genres such as the Western, but Debt is one of the few Polish movies to have tackled a story about ordinary people taking the law into their own hands.
Krzysztof Łukasiewicz’s debut takes on the same topic by bringing the true story of the Lynching of Włodowo to the screen. Poland was shocked in 2005 when six villagers massacred a recidivist who had terrorized them for years with his beloved machete. Łukasiewicz exploits this episode to build up a rigorous thriller that also looks at the legal consequences of the murder. The empathy shown towards the killers removes any doubt about the director’s own views on the legitimacy of self-defence in a part of the country abandoned by both god and police.
Playing the moustached 60-year-old terror, Wiesław Komasa delivers a first class Jack Nicholson-esque performance – surprising, considering that Komasa admits that this was the first evil character of his career. From now on, Polish cinema will be able to draw on his charisma as a villain-hero whenever required.
Originally published by The Krakow Post on July 10, 2011