O 'W' da Questão

Magda, downtrodden housewife, nursing a sorrow from the past (her best friend from high school, Weronica, has been missing for 15years), discovers a murder victim while walking the dog.

Another school friend, Jacek, is the detective in charge of solving the murder.

All sounding a bit dark?

Well the film actually is quite quirky and takes on an Agatha Christie type feel. Magda becomes the amateur sleuth and Jacek is more of an inspector Clouseau, even though it is Magda who has the Pink Panther ringtone.

The pace keeps up and you really do like Magda and Jacek and the situations they find themselves in make you laugh.

It is an enjoyable film that makes you smile.

Scenario: the town of Podkowa Lesna about 50 kilometers southwest of Warsaw. Characters: Magda, her husband Tomasz, Jacek (Magda's childhood sweetheart, now a police officer), Dr. Walczak (a veterinarian), Robert (a pnony clairvoyant and healer), etc. Plot: Magda takes her dog for a walk in a park and finds a body, A piece of jewelry (a W-shaped gold pendant) links the victim with Magda's best childhood friend Weronika, who disappeared without a trace 15 years ago.

For the rest of the movie Magda tries to solve the enigma with varying success, helped/hindered by Jacek, Robert, Dr. Walczak and other town characters. At the end, everything falls into place like in an Agatha Christie novel. A subplot (which also finds solution at the end) is Magda's relation with her cold, borderline abuser husband.

I liked this movie. Production values are high including music (which quotes several times Bernard Herrmann's themes for Hitchcock). Acting is good all around (not unusual in Polish movies). Anna Smolowik playing Magda carries the movie (she is in almost every scene) with the help of her considerable charisma. Credibility is strained here and there and some comedy sequences (including a little slapstick) are perhaps not as funny as they should be but the result is an entertaining movie, well worth watching.

It's a very well done "light" who-done-it that cleverly uses a number of conventions of Hollywood films of the fifties. The cinematography is excellent with some really beautifully constructed scenes. Anna Smolowik as Magda is wonderful as is Pavel Domagala (Jacek), Przemyslav Stippa (Tomasz) and the supporting cast. Congratulations to the entire team that brought this entertaining and well-crafted film to Netflix!

But who is, am I right? That aside, if you are into crime and whodunnit movies ... trying to figure out, what happened, who is the culprit and actually guilty ... well you are in for a treat with this movie. It's not great but it is funny and light overall. And it has quite the charismatic lead character.

Of course you may feel different about her, but overall I think most will take a liking to her. That being said, if you find her annoying, the movie won't work either. Her character is meant to be a certain way - all in the name of entertainment and fun of course. Not great by any account, but fun if you let it be.

This is Polish version of Pink Panther series in the 60s and 70s, in a nostalgic way. In W JAK MORDERSTWO (2021), the police officer is the replica of Jacques Clouseau. However, he is just the appearance of Jacques Clouseau. The real, inner part of Jacques Clouseau is our heroine here. (It's obvious. The clue? The ringtone of her phone is, yes, Pink Panther's theme.)

What's more interesting about this movie is that the protagonist is more than the nosy, slipshod, kindhearted inspector in Pink Panther. She is actually the fragile girl (in the form of a wife/mother) in SHIRLEY VALENTINE (1989). Being mistreated by people around her, she propels herself in search for redemption of her life. From this angle, WJM is bittersweet, uplifting, as well as entertaining.

The music department has done an excellent job. Whoever responsible is wonderfully Henry Mancini-an. Great to listen to his style of music in modern day cinema after he perished a quarter of century ago.