I like watching TV series from various countries, especially from Norway, Iceland, Poland, Spain, and France. I can say that I liked Krucjata. It is really nice to see such a TV series coming from the Polish film industry.
On the other hand, I noticed that the series could have been better if the director, Kulasz Ostalski, had considered some issues. In this production, there is a serious lack of directorial management.
The acting of most of the cast shows some deficiencies. I am sure they have no problem with their acting skills, but it seems that their performances were deliberately limited by the director. Deep, characteristic performances were not encouraged. Instead, the director preferred a simple and effortless style of acting. As a result, the reactions of the actors in some scenes look rather unrealistic or synthetic. For instance, when a character is supposed to be surprised by what he hears, the reaction appears far weaker than it should be. That feels strange. I don't think this is cultural-I am sure Polish people's gestures are more or less the same as everyone else's.
There are many setup mistakes in the series regarding criminal methodology. The policemen enter crime scenes without taking precautions, and they touch evidence with bare hands. Even during interrogations, they abruptly cut off witnesses who are still speaking. I can understand that TV series should not necessarily reflect the entire procedure, but audiences today are highly familiar with criminal dramas and expect more careful setups in such scenes. At the very least, the director might have hired some criminal consultants to help in shooting these parts.
The flow of the scenes sometimes shows inconsistencies. The storytelling could have been handled more effectively. The mysteries scattered throughout the story are not successfully connected with the main structure of the series.
Nevertheless, I still recommend watching this series. Despite all my criticisms, I enjoyed it.
