80 milionów

"In an action film you act in the action. If it's a dramatic film you act in a drama" (Jean Claude Van Damme).

Having seen 80 MILLION directed by Waldemar Krzystek on the big screen, I experienced something not so common when applied to Polish cinema: smiles of satisfaction. 80 MILLION, selected for the Best Foreign Language Oscar, proves a considerable achievement as a drama but foremost as an effective action movie. 80 MILLION beautifully meets the standards of any American film with some portion of violence, sex but, above all, thrilling action. Although the film tells a story of true events that took place in historic (for Poland) December 1981 when the communist regime announced the martial law (the action is set in Wroclaw and the film is shot on location there), the content of the film does not require a viewer to be much knowledgeable about the historical events. Why?

80 MILLION, in its background, is a depiction of People's Republic of Poland in the early 1980s - the gray lives of people oppressed within regime. This historical backdrop, however, is used by the director as a clever conceit to frame the plot. Mind you that there is not one protagonist that would make a film a sort of appraisal of one person's heroism. It is neither a documented depiction of Solidarnosc movement and its ideals. There is, nevertheless, Lech Walesa in the background but, rightly so, he appears on TV - idea rather than a concrete character. Nothing is 'heroic' but rather 'humane' there are more people, more simple members of Solidarnosc who are not afraid to oppose to the cruelty of those in power. In that respect, Joanna Morena in her review on the film nicely observes that "people are in the foreground." Wladyslaw Frasyniuk (Filip Bobek), Maks (Marcin Bosak), Staszek (Wojciech Solarz) represent those 'brothers in arms' - indefatigable in their fights. Much happens in their lives in these days and much is being photographed...They have their shortcomings, sure, but their mutual target makes them solidarity, united. Their stories incorporate a wide range of experiences from courage to fear, from loyalty to treason.

80 MILLION is, on the other hand, a fine example of human complexity cinematically personified. It seems that villains, though we don't like them, are most 'unforgettable.' Are there any villains in this film? Here I would like to highlight the character of Sobczak skillfully and memorably played by Piotr Glowacki. He is seemingly the incarnation of the communist power...however, in the long run, it occurs that he is driven more by some personal, hateful motives than ideals he hardly believes in. Sobczak shocks us as a character but, at the same time, he perfectly stimulates viewers to psychoanalyze a man who has 'some' power over other people. What hidden drives come out of him, indeed, his character reinforces the duality of human nature and his character is more complex than some viewers would expect. Consider the scene at the archbishop's palace and his vulgarism that works as a disguise of inner fear. He spills the beans about the state of communist regime of the time but, foremost, the state of his inner self...Full credit for the actor!

80 MILLION is, foremost, an intriguing and thrilling detective story. The set of the gray People's Republic of Poland does not constitute any obstacle to execute an excellently absorbing action drama. The title 80 million Polish zloty, which belongs to Solidarnosc, is taken from the bank (a huge sum for the time) a few days before the martial law and hidden at the archbishop's palace. The tension that keeps a viewer in a chair while every little step is being counted is convincing. At the same time, humor may leak through the walls of gray censorship. Many scenes, in that respect, make the film highly worth seeing.

Riveting entertainment and a new glimpse of quite a depressing period of Polish history that did not lack creative and brave people, anyway. Poland's effective story and an interesting gift of thrill to international audiences.

In the early 1980s the Solidarity movement was at its strongest, forcefully creating an opposition to the communist government. While the international focus was placed on the workers, like Lech Wałęsa, who jumped over fences to punch straight at the crumbling system, it was actually the intelligentsia of Wrocław, who arguably were the operational brains behind the defiance. The local Solidarity movement was run by Władysław Frasyniuk (Filip Bobek), who helped organise an underground movement that help the union-based anti-communist force to survive delegalisation and persecution.

Flung back into 1980-1981 we see the final moments that led to Russian-influenced Warsaw government to enact martial law, that brought about catastrophic political tidal waves throughout the country. Already most of the society was too embattled with everyday life struggles, such as constant standing in line to buy a loaf of bread or some toilet paper (a centrally imposed tactic employed in order to distract people from the struggle). With the State of Emergency about to crack down on opposition movements, one of the dreariest periods in Polish communist was about to occur.

Within this backdrop writer-director Waldemar Krzystek delivers a political heist movie, which incorporates history with a truly enthralling action. The story itself centres around four key figures of the Wrocław Solidarity labour union, namely Frasyniuk, Józef Pinior (Krzysztof Czeczot), Piotr Bednarz (Maciej Makowski) and Stanisław Huskowski (Wojciech Solarz). With a very down-to-earth character presentation, which presents them as ordinary blokes, who per chance deem themselves obliged to stand up for the everyday citizen and initiate a systemic fight, each separately being a small cog in a societal behemoth (the union had 10 million members before delegalisation). When the local structures are informed by an enigmatic Tadeusz Markuć "Stary" (Mariusz Benoit) that any day now the powers that be will clamp down on the opposition and instate a state of national emergency, effectively cordoning off the country with the aid of Russian forces, the key question remains: how will Solidarity function in this quasi-war state? Necessity will force them into the underground, but in order to have money for paper, printing machines to forward the struggle and general operational funds - money will be a necessity. With Union funds, counting at about 80 million złotys, deposited in the state bank, the easiest option was to withdraw the money and store it away for safe-keeping. With the local secret services, led by the crass foul-mouth captain Sobczak (Piotr Głowacki), following there every move and such a withdrawal bound to cause a stir amongst the communist elite, this wasn't just an ordinary bank operation, but in essence was more of a heist.

Krzystek knowingly avoided spicing up the entire plot with more ludicrous concepts, instead sticking relatively close to the original caper, which was pretty simple in execution and may have never worked were it not for unforeseen allies of the highest order working for the benefit of a free, democratic Poland. This keeps the story face front, bringing credence and realism into proceedings. The grey Polish outdoors of a communist winter are juxtaposed with the light-hearted heroes, wider story of hope through perseverance and a competent, if at times unpolished, script. To the movie's credit we thankfully move away from the typical, and so irritatingly widespread, tendency to pompously eulogising the struggle, instead bearing the nitty-gritty. Coupled with some rewarding humour, mostly focused around the bumbling secret service officers Czerniak (Sonia Bohosiewicz) and Zubek (Adam Cywka), "80 Millions" is a rewarding low-intensity feature, that engages, but also functions as a superb period piece for those unacquainted with the reality of 1980s Communist Poland.

A separate word of acknowledgement to Piotr Głowacki who as Sobczak delivers a riveting performance as the villainous scrupulous agent, aided by what seems to be the best written character in the story.

Not bad movie. In fact, quite a good one. It is based on a political conspiracy that occured in Poland in the early 80s. The movie focuses on one particular event of funding the huge revolta against militia. Good Polish actors are nicely picturing some true underground activists of that time. Great value of details like: cars, buildings, banners, posters and the way people dressed. However the movie is for people who lived in that times so they can recollect things and understand the message.