The Getaway King

For a foreigner, watching a movie about Poland's well-known escape artist in the dying days of communist Poland is a curiosity.

But beyond this, it's an average movie with the obligatory car chase, pursuing detectives and love story.

The story of zgz, a man known for his daring getaways is an interesting one. A genrally good cast and I thought the plot flowed well. Its pretty cool seeing the creative ways he makes escapes along with his crew. Not much else to say really. It was just a good crime film and pretty enjoyable with a couple laughs and and ending I didn't see coming.

This nostalgic action comedy brings you back in time to the last days of the PRL. Where food shortage is part of everyday life, toilet paper is a luxury product and you need to wait in long lines to finally get to the shop where only with bribe money you can get the last piece of fresh meat which the butcher carefully hid under the counter waiting for the best offer so he can also make ends meet.

This is where we join the main character in his endless struggle to beat the system in their own game and with pretty great success. However the setup of the film doesn't show the cliché which one would expect. We can experience a very different and pretty shiny Polish nightlife and the everyday life of a criminal who can afford to buy 10 movie tickets or watch his 9 TVs in the same time. Even though he is getting caught by the police again and again, he always escapes and continues his illegal business until someone slowly changes him and his attitude to life.

The story is not a Coen mystery but it's sufficient to keep the events flow. The main characters are well written and complementing each other. The acting is great and the editing is superb. The cheesy visual aesthetic is probably not going to be some viewer's cup of tea, but I personally enjoyed a lot and I believe it really adds to the comedic atmosphere. The recurring visuals and phrases are well placed. The DP plays well with the lights, camera angles, while during the car chases we get the good old schematics of the 2000s action movies. I would highlight the work of the art director and costume designer doing a great job bringing back all the details of this emblematic era.

Overall it's obvious that the crew did their best to show what they are capable of and if you are willing to buy into the director's view of comedy, you are going to get an unforgettable experience.

A funny movie, well directed and very good actors. The story doesn't follow strictly the real events, but you must appreciate the mood which is present.

As a Pole raised abroad, it's completely understandable to me when people judge post-soviet filmmaking on it's dissimilarities to western media, but this movie recreates an iconic time in Polish history in it's full truth. The set design and character costumes are beautiful reproductions of Soviet Poland, and the movies subtle references to the time period through architecture, interiors, props, language and even the use of fonts make the movie a genuine treat to watch.

Najmro is a cunning crime/heist film that utilises techniques from the 1980's it portrays in its production in genius ways - the use of lighting in all scenes, the convoluted and minimal dialogue and the films iconic soundtrack are a treat to watch and I personally feel sorry for all non-poles unable to enjoy it in its true original.