Operation Hyacinth

Wow, just wow. This movie was everything I expected and so much more. Amazing. It is a must watch. Had me so invested, will be watching it again. Good job Netflix on this one.

!980's Poland. The cracks in the repressive system are showing everywhere. This is a time when Solidarity, the trade union becomes a force to reckon with. The era of ideals has long gone, nobody believes in the Communist "paradise", least of all communists themselves. All that's left is naked repression. And they certainly knew how to repress. Among many other monstrous ideas was to make list of known homosexuals and force them into collaboration. "Operation Hyacinth" is an impeccably done film-noir. The set-up might be quite familiar, lone wolf policeman fighting for justice, but this drab, gray world of the Iron Curtain Poland is starting to shift and change giving a glimpse of things to come. Long path from Communism to ultra-catholic right-wing nationalism might seem like a colossal waste of time, but the bare fact of this movie being made, shows that better things are coming. The old repression didn't win in the end, the new one will fail too. Sooner or later.

It's still in the news today how badly the LGBT community can be treated in Poland, and this fact is echoed in this thriller set during the latter years of communist rule in that country (1985-7) when, apparently, a campaign was set up against the community by the authorities. Those looking for a straight forward thriller will be disappointed, as although those elements are there, and are grittily and realistically done, it seems to me that the film is a lot more to do with identity, freedom, and of course sexuality, focusing as it does on the central character, a young policeman sent by his prejudiced superiors to investigate the murder of a known gay. The end result is a drama on many levels which some might feel is heavy handed, but which I found quite absorbing.

Glad to be just a newborn during that period of time (1985-1987) from what I saw on this movie.

It is successful in painting bleak and grimy days of communist Poland and it is respectful to every party involved, even the police/militia lol.

Good job to everyone involved. IMO this is better than other similarly themed Netflix original movies: Dance of 41, Dear Ex and I Am Jonas.

And a fly on the wall look at how lbgtq+ where treated as criminals in communist republic of poland, it hasnt nescesarrily changed so much but it tells the harsh climate back then.

Props and production design are very good, filmographically its from the best of polish traditions, and the story and plot is extremely different from hollywoods.

So take a deep dive into the groin of polandish homophobia, its dark, wellacted and pretty groundbreaking silver screen art from east of the old iron curtain. Grumpy old man recommends.