Plagi Breslau

In this gritty Polish crime thriller, a policewoman delves into the past to connect a spate of elaborate daily killings. Director Patryk Vega's film is a mixture of Scandi-noir TV drama and American cop thriller, and pairs two formidable leads in Malgorzata Kozuchowska (as dogged investigating officer Helena Rus) and Daria Widawska (as her criminal profiler partner) - two no-nonsense characters whose toughness proves compelling. The key to the killer's identity lies in Polish history, which can be a little bit hard to follow as the film progresses, but provides a showmanship to contrast with the heroes' straightforward manner. Regular use of graphic violence may be off-putting and occasionally feels like shock for shock's sake. Drawing from a number of inspirations, Plagi Breslau may be too grisly for some but will be an entertaining mystery for lovers of the serial-killer genre.