Signs

I love it...like a Polish Twin Peaks with less black humour(although not humourless) no cherry pie and lots of vodka and cigs. Full of shocking moments and beautiful, if at times bleak, scenery. And a WW2 conspiracy theory subplot which gets it an extra star from me. Series 2 now on Netflix

The show started off really nice as crime/detective thing. I was honestly excited and even proud that I found a decent show made in neighbouring country. But soon the "alernative" storylines completely took over while main storyline didn't really move. To make matters worse at the end of season one they completely trashed the setting by adding some scifi/fantasy elements Was "secret nazi project of gravity defying device" a thing on Trash Netflix Bingo card and someone really wanted to win? But it didn't stop there. Season two was just ton of blatant fillers, main storyline basically didnt exist, no detective work either it was just series of cuts from one to another 'alternnative storyline' which are somehow related only through 'ze nazi secret' ohh anyway.... This show had its moments, the cinematography was awesome, good acting, accurate enough depiction of rural Poland. The scene with old lady dancing on drugs had that 'Requiem for a Dream' vibe. It really had its moments. Soundtrack was also really good. But the problems I meantioned above soon made it unbearable to watch.

I was disturbingly caught up in this show, through two seasons. So many fascinating plot threads, unusual people and mysterious time shifts. I think it's best not to expect answers for everything that happens but perhaps it would be good to keep copious notes. Write down each character as you encounter them and make note of what they do and what happens to them. I would have liked a little file to remind me who X was because X hasn't been on screen for six episodes and now is critical to the story. None of my confusion was helped by the score, which is on occasion really creepy and surreal. And time is not linear. By all means, dive in!

As this Polish series opens a young woman is seen walking while talking on her phone; suddenly she is fatally shot by an unknown assailant. The action moves forward ten years; Commissioner Michal Trela has recently taken over as the head of the local police and there has been another, almost identical murder. Many suspects will emerge; a local religious group; those working at a new quarry and even people looking for rumoured Nazi technology which was apparently made during the wartime occupation. As the story progresses there are inevitably more murders and the discovery of older human remains.

I really enjoyed this series; there was a good sense of mystery... not just the question of who the killer is but also the sense that the ultimate answer to some questions could be Nazi sci-fi or even supernatural in nature. Some questions are answered at the end of the first season but more are raised before it ends. Similarly the ending of the second season left me keen for there to be a third as question marks hand over the lives of certain key characters. The cast does a fine job bringing their characters to life and the setting adds to the atmosphere... I had no idea rural Poland was so beautiful. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to mystery fans looking for something a little different.

These comments are based on watching the series in Polish with English subtitles.

A small town in rural Poland a project to develop land, a corrupt mayor, a weird parish, bones and skulls found, two girls murdered. A detective transferred from Kracow takes to investigate. This comes out as a natural crime thriller, intriguing at a proper pace, with a complex puzzle, not artificial twist and turns, not contrived situations, and on top of that not boring.