A Mãe do Ano

A lot better than I thought this film would be. If you like action and thrills and a bit of suspense then this should hit the spot. The story is simple it seems at first, a kid is kidnapped out of revenge on the main character the mother. She is very highly trained and a master at defending herself against a pack of thugs, and it looks like she can't be beat. A little exaggerated, a little unreal but it is one of those films; a lot of fighting and a lot of gruesomeness so take it or leave it.

What I liked about this film was when I thought the story had reached its conclusion, there was more and a bit more than I'd bargained for so that's why I gave it such a high rating. The acting was fine apart from her son and it wasn't drawn out it was fast paced and engrossing. Give it a try if this is what you're after.

Nina Nowak is a former special operations agent who has crossed the wrong people. They can't get to her directly so they kidnap her son. He was adopted and has no idea that she is his mother but that won't stop her doing whatever it takes to get him back. This includes taking on assorted gangsters, agents of a corrupt foreign power and some people she thought she could trust.

This may not be a great film; the plot is hardly original and the action isn't exactly realistic but if you can put your brain in neutral for ninety minutes it is quite fun. There aren't too many let ups in the action and the fights and shoot outs do have a sense of danger. Unlike many action films our lead won't survive each encounter without getting hurt. The action is exciting and fairly bone-crunching even if there is an excess of slow-motion at times. The bad guys are all suitably unpleasant and equally expendable while our heroine is enjoyably tough yet vulnerable. The acting is solid enough; the villains ham it up ridiculously at times but that is part of the fun. Agnieszka Grochowska impresses as Nina. The locations used are mostly stereotypical dingy disused industrial buildings or night time in less salubrious areas of Warsaw. Overall I'd say this is hardly a must see but it is fun if you are a fan of the genre.

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

A movie isn't worthy with just few spectacular action sequences or a gutsy performance by its lead character's but literally it has to go plot test to get effective on whole... Agnieszka carries the whole movie on her shoulders that way ahead of its flaws and turns to be a sole survivor.... But yes the camera work are the most effective aspect that keeps it's momentum flow along with the movie while action blocks are the soul of the movie... While the villainous act are cringy and just acts as pop up character.... On whole it's not too emotional as the title suggest but just a pure adrenaline action blocks that keeps u hold until the last act... Overall skip it or see it on ur own risk...

Or a Polish badass girl, who, as the recent Netflix THE MOTHER, proceeds in the NIKITA rip-offs list. Or if you prefer JOHN WICK in skirts who would meet DIRTY HARRY. OK, watching this once in a while, I agree, but too much is too much. I was determined to watch this one, because it is Polish, and I was curious to see how Polish film industry could make such a film, and second, to review a movie without seeing it is totally idiotic, non sense isn't it? So, I saw it and that confirms what I was a bit scared about in the first place.... The villains are here totally f...up and only this could justify to watch this action flick only for what it is. An agreeable time waster but rapidly forgettable.

The big difference between the two is that this one wasn't a big Hollywood production with 3 well known prolific writers, yet this film was still more enjoyable. Sure it had some plot and technical issues, but considering it's a low budget international B film with fairly new filmmakers and an unknown cast, this one shined compared to The Mother. It had a Pulp Fiction theme, feel and overboard colorful characters, and although the lead actress Agnieszka Grochowska as Nina didn't really fit her character, this Polish actress still managed to pull it off and be more convincing than J-Lo in the action scenes. And I will also say, the action scenes were pretty impressive and well-styled and choreographed for a non-Hollywood production. Had some of the nonsense that attempted to be funny (that wasn't, more like cringe) been omitted, and the colorful overboard characters toned down a bit, I would've easily given this an extra star. Nevertheless as an international B action thriller, flaws and all, it was still more fun and entertaining than the J-Lo version. So it's a decent one-time watch, and a good way to redeem your entertainment experience after being disappointed as much as I was after watching The Mother. This mom film was awesome in comparison.