The movie tells the story of Polish Legions that fight for the reestablishment of their motherland after 123 years of the Partition of Poland. While the historical aspects are presented quite well, underlying the patriotism and bravery of the Legionairies, the romantic plot that emerges between a deserter Jozek, a Legionairy Tadek and a young fighting woman Ola seems to lack some resolution. Female lead acting isn't the strongest, the emotional aspects seem to be missing, and the character of Ola ultimately appears to be bland and shallow, especially in the way she treats Józek in the end. Jozek is a much more complex character: withdrawn, brave, distant and a bit of a loner, he makes an intriguing individual. The actor definitely delivers. He deserves a better confrontation with Tadek and Ola as the way the love story ends seems like an unfinished business, something that was nice when it was needed but was ultimately shrugged off by the girl in a surprisingly emotionless way. All in all, it's a great movie about Polish people and their incredible patriotic spirit. I just wish the romance was at least half as powerful as the will of the Legionaries to recover their home.
9 Reviews
Not bad! Not bad at all!
r-fronimides13 December 2021
I didn't knew about the Polish Independent War against Russia.
I've hear about it, but didn't knew much.
I liked this movie. Good, strong, dramatic, with lot of warfare good scenes, a not so important romance plot, but overal good film.
I've hear about it, but didn't knew much.
I liked this movie. Good, strong, dramatic, with lot of warfare good scenes, a not so important romance plot, but overal good film.
Discombobulated and entirely Predictable
chasnuhrd26 August 2023
Warning: Spoilers
So, I watched this movie in Polish because... I'm Polish, but my review is in English. Btw, the Netflix English subtitles were full of errors... I'm shocked how simplified and misspelled they were. Anyway, on to the review:
If you're looking for the predictable, already seen this before, with the plot quality of a Hallmark Xmas movie, but you're looking for something set during WWI, look no further! A love story between 1 woman and 2 men, one appears to have died, so she falls for the other (typical), and then the one who supposedly died returns, look no further! Also there's a slew of other characters who don't matter at all.
I checked the writers on this movie and I'm pretty sure it started like this: The 'supporting writers' were the main writers to start the plot. The movie starts interestingly enough, I guess. And then... at about the 30min mark, the movie loses, in my opinion, any form of artistic authenticity in terms of plot value, character development, sequencing, context, and authenticity; I almost started to laugh at the end with how kitschy it was. My hunch is that Gajewski, the director, was basically like 'no, we need to simplify this for lowest common denominator' at about the 30min mark... And so this is the fine rotten tomato of a movie we got thereafter.
Why do I say this? Ok, so let me pick one of the 20 or 30 'scenes' that I can chose from that had no value: So, there's a scene where the main female character is set on a mission with her friend, ... the other female character. Before they set off on the mission, the 'other female' meets up with the 'twinkle in her eye' soldier, to let him know she likes him. Anyway, so one would think 'ok... so I guess this is important.'. Well, long story short, the 'other' female character gets killed 5 minutes later (movie time), and the soldier, seeing his dead 'amore', starts running at fortified positions out of anger and gets shot himself. WOW. Who wrote this? Scorsese? Polanski? Tarantino?
*Shall I also say that as these women were -crossing the bridge to plant explosive (ooohhh we didn't know of this), they had to get past the russian guards, and have enough time to get down the side of the bridge, plant the explosives firmly, run the wire up to the base of the bridge, and hop back up to the bridge, all within 1 minute. (this is besides the point).
Just to let you know, this movie is riddled with events that have little to no connection or significance to the main plot, or character development. You are introduced a character, and then think 'ok, someone new', and then they either disappear in the plot or die; and have no overall significance.
The other part that was annoying was how the film did not show progression of time/place very well at all. One day they legion is in a forest, the next in a city, the next somewhere else. There's no 'helpful narration' which is a technique used in some movies as if they were written as a memoir, to help the person watching understand what's going on and why there's a change. In one scene the legion is supposedly near the Polish city of Lodz, the other of the two main 'male characters' is recruited into the Uhlan cavalry by order (because... you know, I guess a foot soldier is born with mastering the Uhlan/cavalry technique), and then 2 minutes later (movie time), it goes right in the prep for the Charge of Rokitna... which took place near Kiev; pretty far from Lodz. How did they get there? Ooohhh, details details my dear.
In a few words. The whole film is discombobulated, predictable, and with a Mad-Lib generated plot. A complete waste of excellent cinematography (possibly the only redeemable value). How this movie got nominated for best movie in Poland 2019 is beyond me; unless the next best movie was a 2 hour film about watching paint dry. The movie had a chance to follow elements of "Chekhov's gun" style storytelling (given it's national importance of an event, and all the poetry/literature borne from it, and national pride, and decent budget), but it fell flat and kind of even a mockery in itself. To make such a simplistic and little thought-through movie about events leading up to the revival of Poland as a state... is a mockery of it all.
***on an interesting note, Fabjanski has the same eyes and general look as a young Daniel Olbrychski... make one wonder?
If you're looking for the predictable, already seen this before, with the plot quality of a Hallmark Xmas movie, but you're looking for something set during WWI, look no further! A love story between 1 woman and 2 men, one appears to have died, so she falls for the other (typical), and then the one who supposedly died returns, look no further! Also there's a slew of other characters who don't matter at all.
I checked the writers on this movie and I'm pretty sure it started like this: The 'supporting writers' were the main writers to start the plot. The movie starts interestingly enough, I guess. And then... at about the 30min mark, the movie loses, in my opinion, any form of artistic authenticity in terms of plot value, character development, sequencing, context, and authenticity; I almost started to laugh at the end with how kitschy it was. My hunch is that Gajewski, the director, was basically like 'no, we need to simplify this for lowest common denominator' at about the 30min mark... And so this is the fine rotten tomato of a movie we got thereafter.
Why do I say this? Ok, so let me pick one of the 20 or 30 'scenes' that I can chose from that had no value: So, there's a scene where the main female character is set on a mission with her friend, ... the other female character. Before they set off on the mission, the 'other female' meets up with the 'twinkle in her eye' soldier, to let him know she likes him. Anyway, so one would think 'ok... so I guess this is important.'. Well, long story short, the 'other' female character gets killed 5 minutes later (movie time), and the soldier, seeing his dead 'amore', starts running at fortified positions out of anger and gets shot himself. WOW. Who wrote this? Scorsese? Polanski? Tarantino?
*Shall I also say that as these women were -crossing the bridge to plant explosive (ooohhh we didn't know of this), they had to get past the russian guards, and have enough time to get down the side of the bridge, plant the explosives firmly, run the wire up to the base of the bridge, and hop back up to the bridge, all within 1 minute. (this is besides the point).
Just to let you know, this movie is riddled with events that have little to no connection or significance to the main plot, or character development. You are introduced a character, and then think 'ok, someone new', and then they either disappear in the plot or die; and have no overall significance.
The other part that was annoying was how the film did not show progression of time/place very well at all. One day they legion is in a forest, the next in a city, the next somewhere else. There's no 'helpful narration' which is a technique used in some movies as if they were written as a memoir, to help the person watching understand what's going on and why there's a change. In one scene the legion is supposedly near the Polish city of Lodz, the other of the two main 'male characters' is recruited into the Uhlan cavalry by order (because... you know, I guess a foot soldier is born with mastering the Uhlan/cavalry technique), and then 2 minutes later (movie time), it goes right in the prep for the Charge of Rokitna... which took place near Kiev; pretty far from Lodz. How did they get there? Ooohhh, details details my dear.
In a few words. The whole film is discombobulated, predictable, and with a Mad-Lib generated plot. A complete waste of excellent cinematography (possibly the only redeemable value). How this movie got nominated for best movie in Poland 2019 is beyond me; unless the next best movie was a 2 hour film about watching paint dry. The movie had a chance to follow elements of "Chekhov's gun" style storytelling (given it's national importance of an event, and all the poetry/literature borne from it, and national pride, and decent budget), but it fell flat and kind of even a mockery in itself. To make such a simplistic and little thought-through movie about events leading up to the revival of Poland as a state... is a mockery of it all.
***on an interesting note, Fabjanski has the same eyes and general look as a young Daniel Olbrychski... make one wonder?
I loved the sweeping and dramatic musical score
trinaboice27 October 2023
IN A NUTSHELL:
In 1914, shortly after the start of World War I, the Polish Legions were formed to fight for a sole purpose; independence. Battling against vast empires, the young, quick-witted legionnaires endured the onslaught of world powers to secure Poland's sovereignty. The story follows Joseph, a deserter turned warrior, and Ola, an intelligence agent, through this tale of love and sacrifice in the face of great odds.
The film is a winner of the 2019 Polish Golden Lions award. Legions is presented by Janson Media in North America. This production from Poland is a thrilling tale of the legionary generation of 1914-1916 during WW1, which won Poland's Independence. Legions tells the story of young people who did not hesitate to join the vortex of struggle for regaining statehood and a free Poland.
THINGS I LIKED: I hadn't seen any of the actors in the cast before but I thought they did an outstanding job. The cast includes Sebastian Fabijanski, Bartosz Gelner, Wiktoria Wolanska, Miroslaw Baka, Jan Fryzc, Karolina Kominek-Skuratowicz, and more.
I'm fascinated by war movies.
Beautiful cinematography I loved the sweeping and dramatic musical score Decent special effects.
The love triangle reminded me of Pearl Harbor At the end of the movie, we get to see photos of the real men and women in Poland who fought in the war to secure their country's autonomy.
My husband has ancestors from Poland! We'd both love to visit the country someday.
I don't know anything about the specific battles that are enacted in the movie, so I can't tell you how accurate they or even the costume design are, but they all seemed believable.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Sometimes, it's hard to understand what people say. I watched the movie dubbed in English, so it was usually because the voice-over actors talked so quietly or quickly.
Some of the dialogue is pretty cliched.
TIPS FOR PARENTS: Kids will be bored.
Violence Blood Super high body count. People die, often in gory, brutal ways Weapons of various kinds
!
In 1914, shortly after the start of World War I, the Polish Legions were formed to fight for a sole purpose; independence. Battling against vast empires, the young, quick-witted legionnaires endured the onslaught of world powers to secure Poland's sovereignty. The story follows Joseph, a deserter turned warrior, and Ola, an intelligence agent, through this tale of love and sacrifice in the face of great odds.
The film is a winner of the 2019 Polish Golden Lions award. Legions is presented by Janson Media in North America. This production from Poland is a thrilling tale of the legionary generation of 1914-1916 during WW1, which won Poland's Independence. Legions tells the story of young people who did not hesitate to join the vortex of struggle for regaining statehood and a free Poland.
THINGS I LIKED: I hadn't seen any of the actors in the cast before but I thought they did an outstanding job. The cast includes Sebastian Fabijanski, Bartosz Gelner, Wiktoria Wolanska, Miroslaw Baka, Jan Fryzc, Karolina Kominek-Skuratowicz, and more.
I'm fascinated by war movies.
Beautiful cinematography I loved the sweeping and dramatic musical score Decent special effects.
The love triangle reminded me of Pearl Harbor At the end of the movie, we get to see photos of the real men and women in Poland who fought in the war to secure their country's autonomy.
My husband has ancestors from Poland! We'd both love to visit the country someday.
I don't know anything about the specific battles that are enacted in the movie, so I can't tell you how accurate they or even the costume design are, but they all seemed believable.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Sometimes, it's hard to understand what people say. I watched the movie dubbed in English, so it was usually because the voice-over actors talked so quietly or quickly.
Some of the dialogue is pretty cliched.
TIPS FOR PARENTS: Kids will be bored.
Violence Blood Super high body count. People die, often in gory, brutal ways Weapons of various kinds
!
Not to good ending
georgesalangka2 July 2020
Polish history
hof-423 September 2023
By the beginning of WWI Poland did not exist as a country; it was partitioned among Russia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire and Prussia.. When war broke out Poland's nationalists saw an opportunity to to use the upheaval to procure the reinstatement and independence of Poland. The first priority was to defeat Tsarist Russia. The Poles were no supporters of the Central Powers but believed that the rest of the occupying powers could later be persuaded (or forced) to leave.
The formation of the Polish Legions was declared by Marshall Józef Pilsudski in August 1914 as independent formations of the Austro-Hungarian Army. The Legions only existed for two years (in 1916 they merged with other military formations) but participated in many battles and became one of the founding myths of modern Poland.
This movie covers the beginnings of the Legions and some of its initial battles, centering on three fictional characters, Legion members Józek and Tadeusz and Aleksandra, fighter and war nurse. There are Hollywood echoes, such as the heroic exploits of Józek and Tadeusz, and credibility is strained here and there such as in the blowing up of a bridge. The film does not really come together into a coherent whole, and it feels at times slow paced and overlong. It omits history, which possibly means it was aimed towards the Polish public. On the positive side, it does not preach or propagandize and contains some stirring war scenes such as a cavalry charge over enemy trenches. Production values and acting are of high level. It amply deserves to a watch.
The formation of the Polish Legions was declared by Marshall Józef Pilsudski in August 1914 as independent formations of the Austro-Hungarian Army. The Legions only existed for two years (in 1916 they merged with other military formations) but participated in many battles and became one of the founding myths of modern Poland.
This movie covers the beginnings of the Legions and some of its initial battles, centering on three fictional characters, Legion members Józek and Tadeusz and Aleksandra, fighter and war nurse. There are Hollywood echoes, such as the heroic exploits of Józek and Tadeusz, and credibility is strained here and there such as in the blowing up of a bridge. The film does not really come together into a coherent whole, and it feels at times slow paced and overlong. It omits history, which possibly means it was aimed towards the Polish public. On the positive side, it does not preach or propagandize and contains some stirring war scenes such as a cavalry charge over enemy trenches. Production values and acting are of high level. It amply deserves to a watch.
Wonderful story about love and war
liberation3617 October 2022
The overall low rating is a disgrace. No it's not a straight forward hero action movie. It is a beautiful story, great filming and superb acting. It attracted me from the first to the last minute. It is a little bit in the tradition of love and peace of Tolstoj. Watching this movie it learns you why Poland always have such a difficult relationship with Russia. The struggle to fight for freedom against a stronger opponent.
Perhaps some remember the great views of Tarkovsky and blanc, bleu and rouge of kieslowsli. Polish films often give a deep and lasting impression. Go watch it for yourself..
Perhaps some remember the great views of Tarkovsky and blanc, bleu and rouge of kieslowsli. Polish films often give a deep and lasting impression. Go watch it for yourself..
Great epic film !
info-980-52762328 May 2022
The low ratings for this film are unfair.
This film deserves much more appreciation.
Cinematography, acting, music and overall great movie and meeting, dare to say, exceeding Hollywood war films. Also respect for the Polish nation and people who had to fight so many wars to be independent.
This film deserves much more appreciation.
Cinematography, acting, music and overall great movie and meeting, dare to say, exceeding Hollywood war films. Also respect for the Polish nation and people who had to fight so many wars to be independent.
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