Odwilz

This HBO production is the first Polish, and for me the first Polish crime series I have ever seen. From what I saw, there must be more to come. The series is very good. The environment and characters may be reminiscent of similar Scandinavian series, but still have a different expression, which makes it stand out. The action unfolds in a Polish city, with a female protagonist (investigator) struggling with her own troubles and problems. Her fierce struggle to find the truth rubs off on us who watch, and I think that every single one of the 6 episodes was both engaging and not least very exciting. The script is good, the plot seems involving and everyone involved is believable. Will there be a new series? Hope so.

The cinematography was great, the pace was fine, although yes it is slow, I just don't mind that in this instance. The problem with this series is a police detective who does not notice that she is being followed day after day by the same car? That it is her young daughter that notices? And maybe it is just the polish culture but the detectives behavior toward each other and their suspects was inexplicable to me. Overall, it could have been great but the behavior of too many of the main characters was just, well, lame. Hence only 5 stars and that is mainly for the cinematography. I fast forwarded the last three episodes just to see what happened. Not a good indication.

The Thaw is well-written and acted, esp. Kataryna Wajda as Det. Zawieja. The cinematography featuring a dreary Polish port city is suitably creepy. My main criticism is the "bad mother" motif. The single mom detective who can't look after her child is the most tired trope in Euro-Noir. It slows everything down and adds nothing except canned bathos. There's always a dead husband who the woman is grieving and the kid is a mess because of it. Then there's the mother or grandpa guilt-tripping the bad mom. Really annoying and unnecessary. Grieving and torment are fine for noir leads but the whiney kid has to go.

I am at episode 3 now and am still interested in the plot of this series.

My biggest compliment is that this has been dubbed into English so I do not have to read it. It seems like Poland and Norway do not have any problem dubbing their series or films.

I like the series and films coming out of Europe a lot, but I do not like to read the dialogue while I am trying to watch the action on the screen.

There should be a way for viewers can opt to have all films and movies dubbed just by clicking in icon. I am sure the technology exists somewhere.

Anyway, I do like this series and the mystery within the story line. I do also agree that it was not necessary to add a daughter to the main character.

But just hang in there and keep watching even if it gets a bit slow sometimes.

... good Polish crime drama... entire cast is very solid and production values equal any top notch shows being made anywhere today... yet this series works as well as it does because of Katarzyna Wajda... she is outstanding through each and every episode... guarantee you'll be searching for some-any of her other screen work... ending was slightly muddled and predictable, but overall it's a series well worth searching-out-watching.