This is something different. It’s in Polish with English subtitles, so requires a lot of concentration, but it’s interesting. It’s a crime drama set in Warsaw in 1937, and the protagonist is Jakub Szapiro, a Jewish boxer and member of an organised crime gang, whose aim is to become head of the gang – and therefore be the “King of Warsaw”. It’s set against a background of clashes, some violent, some just psychological, between right-wing groups and left-wing groups, Catholics and Jews, and secular Jews and ultra-Orthodox Jews. Meanwhile, a young lad from the ultra-Orthodox community aims to join a gang after the murder of his father. And Jakub’s wife wants to emigrate to what was then British Mandate Palestine, but Jakub feels that Warsaw is his city and can’t bear the thought of leaving it.
The first episode was really just setting the scene, but it looks promising. Warsaw was such a mixture of cultures and factions at the time. And it’s the same issue as with Peaky Blinders – members of a community which is marginalised, but not isolated and set apart by religion, may well be drawn to organised crime. And at what point do you feel that you’re actually a stranger in your own city, as well as being a stranger from the Establishment? Without going too far into the unpleasant scenes before the Cup Final, feeling estranged from the Establishment usually leads to a stronger sense of regional identity, and that seems to be what’s happened with Jakub Szapiro – but his wife can see that they’d be safer away from Warsaw, rather than trying to rule it.
A promising start.
setinthepast 