Pogodno group from Szczecin is one of the leading bands of Polish alternative music at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries. Founded in 1996 and debuting four years later with the album “Pogodno”, the band released seven of its ten albums between 2000 and 2007, and songs such as “Pani w obowniczy”, “Perfect Man”, “Orkiestra” and “Paparara” have entered the canon of Polish songs. However, no, even the most extensive, encyclopedia entry will reflect the phenomenon it was Jacek “Budyń” Szymkiewicz, leader of the band, died in 2022 of a heart attack at the age of 48.
Created by his friend, author of many Pogodna music videos, documentary by director Sebastian Juszczyk “It’s a pity that it’s finally over” tries to describe this colorful character, with whom in Poland he can probably only compete in terms of creative energy, creative madness and defying patterns. Tymon Tymański.
From the on-screen memories of the members of Pogodna, as well as the band Babu Król co-created by Budyń and those who had the opportunity to cooperate with him, emerges the figure of an extremely colorful bardfixated on lyrics and music, who in his creative mania was able to create entire albums in one night and in which it is impossible to find a false note. A crazy poet whose surreal rhymes were as virtuosic as the guitar solos with which he stunned his friends and fans.
Watch the trailer of the film “It’s a pity that it’s finally here”.
The chronologically told story, richly illustrated with fragments of music videos and animated inserts, tries to cover nearly three decades in an hour-and-a-half story – from high school guitar rehearsals to the posthumous Golden Fryderyk. It is therefore necessarily brief and anecdotal. Luckily Sebastian Juszczyk does not build a film monument, also showing the dark side of constant “life on the road” and the mental price one pays for hypersensitivity and this special way of seeing the world that allows you to see what is hidden beneath the surface of everyday life.
At the same time, though focuses exclusively on the musical and stage image of Jacek Szymkiewiczin no way trying to look behind the curtain of private life to confront the story of Pogodno and Budyń with the artist’s relatives. You can also feel that at times the document was made “freshly” after Budyń’s departure no distance from the story being describedand the need to tell it takes precedence over the film form, which could more creatively bind the screen narrative together.
This is the view of a friend and fan addressed primarily to those who know and love Pogodna’s music. Juszczyk talks about Budyń as a sound that still resonates. His film is filled with respect, melancholy and nostalgia. All the more so because Among those who remember Jacek Szymiewicz is Stanisław Sojka, who died this year. “It’s a pity that it’s finally over” hits cinemas just before All Souls’ Day. And this is certainly not a random date.
6.5/10
“It’s a pity that it’s finally over”dir. Sebastian Juszczyk, Poland 2025, distributor: Against Gravity, cinema premiere: October 31, 2025.