Dlug

`Dlug' is a psychological thriller/drama based on a true story. Two young entrepreneurs from Warsaw wanted to start up manufacturing of Italian scooters in Poland but they needed money in order to get things going. After the bank refused to provide them with a loan, they thought their whole plan would never work out. Then Stefan met an old friend of his Gerard and things changed drastically. At first Gerard promised that he would help them out financially with a loan. The two young soon-to-be businessmen were excited about this prospect yet they later decided that he was asking for too much share in their future profits and dropped the proposal. This is where things took a turn for the worse. Gerard started harassing them for the money that he never lent them, saying that he was already too far into the negotiation process to back out. Everyday it got worse as Adam and Stefan found out that Gerard was obviously a member of the mafia. He tormented and threatened them to the point where they did not know what to do. They knew the police was helpless because they couldn't even provide the law enforcers with the man's last name- and what charges could they file against him without any evidence? As this is a true story, it must have its real life consequences. The two men Adam and Stefan are currently in jail with sentences for 20 years imprisonment each…how did this happen you might ask? Watch the movie to find out. This film is primarily about right and wrong choices, about what one will do when under pressure, without a straight-forward way out, without hope. This movie is one after which the audience will leave the cinema and talk about for weeks. It deals with real places, real life people, and the atmosphere that director Kszysztof Krauze has captured is eerie and enthralling. The acting is magnificent and the camera work makes it look very realistic. I personally recommend this movie to everyone who wants a movie-going experience that they will remember for a long time. But be warned- this is by no means a film for the faint-hearted.

Remarkable movie with a transcendent (and frightening) content: How far a normal and reasonable person could go when facing a critical situation.

One of the positive features of the movie is it's low budget, so the director can focus on deliver us a raw, shocking and realistic movie.

The point here is something which we are not willing to face, but as the matter of fact, it happened to a couple of regular guys.

As you can imagine, the approach of this movie is quite philosophical and psychological. A good chance to looking at ourselves in the mirror as human beings.

8/10

Krzysztof Krauze's "Dług" ("The Debt" in English) is an intense movie in and of itself, focusing on a pair of men whose involvement with a gangster has some VERY unpleasant consequences. But even more unnerving is that it's based on a true story (read about Sławomir Sikora and Artur Bryliński). It sounds as though the movie is also an allusion to Poland's rapid transition to a market economy in the 1990s, which was essentially a shock doctrine. But moreover, anyone could make the mistake that these men make in an attempt to get rich.

I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, but it's a good cautionary tale about moneymaking schemes that spin out of control. If your aim is simply to get rich, expect some bad things to happen. The Gordon Gekko types may idolize greed, but what's it done for the rest of us?

This one is actually shocking. It's based on a true story, but it's directed as well as Hitchcock would do it - the first scene makes you tense and the whole movie keeps you like this. You don't stop thinking "why it has ended like this (after the first scene there's a retrospective)? what has happened?". The director Krzysztof Krauze plays with you decently, because you make your own vision of what will happen and after awhile you see you were not right. But "Dlug" is not only thrilling. It has a lot to think about. Some say that there are a few illogical things in the scenario, but anyway it seems realistic. There is no happy end, and there is no good character in whole picture. Everyone makes tragic go even more tragic. As good as it gets, actors make great creations, especially Andrzej Chyra as the "terrorist" (I live in Poland and believe me that's actually how illegal borrowing does finish).

Based on true events, the movie shows the dilemma faced by law-abiding people confronted by ruthless, petty criminals. The Police is simply not interested - there is not enough evidence to get a conviction, so why bother. In the meantime, the victims and their families are being gradually destroyed as the criminals are trying to force them to re-pay an imaginary debt. This movie will make you think - how would you react - what would you do differently to avoid the final tragedy. Excellent acting, strong plot, high quality DVD with excellent English subtitles - well worth watching.