I watched “Tarantino in Polish”. “Kos” is “Pan Tadeusz” on steroids [RECENZJA]

“Blackbird” is played very efficiently and skillfully, the costumes and decorations are beautiful, the makeup is realistic and yet aesthetic, the cinematography is very picturesque, the direction and sense of humor in the dialogues are sharp, the fights and battles are almost Hollywood-like smooth, and the villains are almost comic book evil. It’s really a very pleasant and entertaining film, but I have no idea what the author of the script “had in mind”, or rather what he wanted to tell with this story. Paradoxically, it doesn’t really bother me at all, because apart from the annoyingly (for me, of course) nervous music (too many parapsychedelic double basses for my ears), the rest of the production elements are very good.

“Kos” means Tarantino in Polish

“Kos” is definitely a thriller and adventure film, set more than loosely in Polish historical realities and with very nicely period-stained costumes. Here, the story is focused on making things happen – a lot, intensely, daringly, never mind what and why. The fact is that the director did a great job with the cast. I think that Andrzej Wajda himself would probably be proud of such a set and such playing. Why am I mentioning his name here? Because “Kos” reminded me of “Pan Tadeusz”, which I unironically love. But he’s like “Pan Tadeusz” on steroids of action and humor.

I won’t deny that it’s a pleasure to watch him play the role of Russian Captain Dunin, who was rightly awarded in Gdynia. He looks a bit like an overgrown and red from drinking dwarf without a full beard, but oh my, how he plays! He seems to be cruel and sadistic, but at the same time he is full of malicious perversity, he has a lot of well-executed bon mots and overall it is clear that the actor had a lot of fun with what was written for him in this script.

I am also charmed by the fact that he did not go into any emphasis or exaggeration and is wisely balanced in his interpretation. His Kościuszko thinks first, then acts quickly. He doesn’t get carried away by emotions, keeps his nerves under control and creates strategies when necessary. There is also a hint of unforced humor and a pleasantly non-injuring English sound. Jason Mitchell is quite good at playing the role of Domingo, as he actually carried the brunt of most of the scenes – he looks quite natural and even charismatic.

In the “Kosa” script, the character of Tadeusz Kościuszko is also an excuse to show how unkind the Polish nobility was to the serfs, who here share a fate almost identical to that of American slaves at the same time. How much this has to do with historical truth is beyond me to judge, but this film hyperbole certainly triggers emotions in the viewer. The nobles are nasty, the peasants are oppressed and at the same time a little ennobled by this martyrdom. Especially persecuted by his half-brother Ignac (), who, knowing that he is a noble bastard, suffers a doubly cruel fate because he is aware of what he is missing out on.

A fantastic surprise for me were the smaller roles of Michał Balicki, whom I had previously seen in the comedy series “Emigracja XD” and “1670”, and Dobromir Dymecki, who also appeared in “1670”. They are very talented dramatic actors and here they coped with the archaized dialogues in such a way that there was no sense of falsehood, but genuine emotions were visible.

I am absolutely impressed by the fact that, for example, Stanisław Duchnowski, a character created by the rather nice-looking Piotr Pack, is a slimy and nasty guy. It is not much inferior in such mindless cruelty and rather caricatured arrogance of the nobility, narcissistic self-absorption and stupid sadism, played with almost bravado by Łukasz Simlat to Wąsowski. Both of them have something terrifyingly repulsive about their faces, but I can actually believe that such people actually used to travel around the world. And by the way, they are dressed so beautifully, which definitely contrasts with their unbeautiful behavior. Rather funny in their stereotypical nature, the nobles from Zieliński’s gang are more sympathetic (Michał Czernecki can really be funny without bending convention), and the heroines played by Agnieszka Grochowska and Matylda Giegżno are wise, charismatic and arrogant.

I also watched with great pleasure all the scenes of duels, fights and brawls, as they were very well written and had an unobtrusively danceable quality to them. Ultimately, what appeals to me is the director’s statement, which in June 2022 said that “Kos” is a combination of an anti-Western film and a cloak-and-dagger film. Yes, and it works quite well. For a Polish film about an important historical figure, it is endearingly dynamic, amartyrological (though of course the Russians are nasty here, most of the noblemen are not much better either) and generally relaxingly witty. It wouldn’t be bad if we had more productions like this.