A lively comedy of low-life and petty swindlers in Poland under the Martial Law of 1981 this seems full of jokes that can be enjoyed here in the modern-day. As the crafty tricksters pass through railway stations announcements can be heard saying "All trains are cancelled until further notice", and the scenes of the brutal military cops called ZOMO laying in to our heroes look just like the 'kettling' done by our police in Oxford Circus and elsewhere more recently.
Although there is a retro look to the costumes and everywhere there are queues in the streets, the colour and the photography look more contemporary and the pace seems a lot faster and livelier than in the original film which apparently was such a hit in Poland 15 years ago.
This has some of the same actors but you don t need to have seen the original to enjoy the trickery, or the lovely locations in some of Poland's best resorts, whether the mountains of Zakopane or their Scarborough, Sopot. The main actor I think was in a film shown at the Bradford Film Festival a few years ago,and he seems to be a big deal in Poland, now- Cezary Pazura-but I recognised the crooked cop Krolik from several films by Wajda- Boguslaw Linda is his name and he gives a very funny performance, especially when high on
hash cookies. It certainly makes a change from Hollywood heist movies.
Nice to see the multiplex showing something different from the usual mainstream releases, and with very readable sub-titles too.