- Series “Śleboda” tells the story of Anka Serafin, a young anthropologist from Krakow (played by Maria Dębska), who goes to the mountains in search of herself, where she accidentally discovers a corpse. Anka quickly becomes involved in solving the murder mystery, and her fate is inextricably intertwined with Bastian Strzygoń (Maciej Musiał), a daring journalist looking for sensation, and Jędrek Chowaniec (Piotr Pacek), a local policeman with whom they had a crush as teenagers.
- The first two episodes of “Ślebody” debut on SkyShowtime on December 12.
“Śleboda” is the first Polish original production of the SkyShowtime platform. The series, based on the book of the same title by Małgorzata Fugiel-Kuźmińska and Michał Kuźmiński, combines crime with folklore, fitting into the ethno-crime genre. The director was Michał Gazda (“Znachor”, “Napad”) in a duo with Bartosz Blaschke (“Sonata”), and the producer was Magdalena Szwedkowicz (“Znachor”, “Napad”).
The leitmotif of the multi-threaded plot is the mysterious murder of Jan Śleboda (Jan Englert). The main character, anthropologist Anka (Maria Dębska), accidentally becomes involved in the case, just like her long-time friend, journalist Bastian (Maciej Musiał). The duo is joined by Anka’s youthful love, policeman Jędrek (Piotr Pacek), who heads the investigation conducted in the heart of Podhale.
“Śleboda” boasts an impressive cast. In addition to the names mentioned above, in supporting and even supporting roles, from the first episode there are such actors as: Andrzej Chyra, Leszek Lichota, Tomasz Karolak, Magdalena Lamparska, Mateusz Janicki, Anna Nehrebecka, Józef Pawłowski, Andrzej Zieliński and others.
Undoubtedly, Michał Gazda has gained the reputation of a director with whom you want to work. He deserved it with two productions for Netflix: a successful new adaptation of “The Quack” and a solid psychological thriller from a few weeks ago – “The Robbery”. It was known that he was very good as a director, creating rich film worlds, but it was not known how he would cope with a full-fledged series. In the past, he directed several episodes of “Wataha” and “Keep Calm”. In a duet with Bartosz Blaschke, who knows Podhale like the back of his hand (apart from the above-mentioned “Sonata”, he directed the documentary series “Patrol Tatry”), it seemed that Gazda had found the perfect complement. Therefore, Is “Śleboda” a successful first Polish SkyShowtime series?
First of all, I would like to point out that I only received three episodes for review, so my observations or predictions may turn out to be completely wrong after the entire season is released. After watching the mentioned episodes, I still have the feeling that I am waiting for something that may not come. Narratively, “Śleboda” keeps the viewer in suspense. It seems that the action, to quote the classic, “is about to pick up”, but I’m afraid… that it may not get going at all. At the moment I miss playing with the audience’s attention. There are suspicions about the perpetrator of the murder (or actually several murders), but one has the impression that important pieces of the whole puzzle are missing. Numerous subplots create noise instead of providing clues to solve the mystery.
The thread of goralenvolk appears, but it is also developing very slowly. Moreover, with a heavy heart, I must admit that if you have seen this year’s “White Courage”, the issue is so clear that I expect what may happen in the next episodes. I wish I was wrong!
On the plus side, “Śleboda” is definitely a successful series in terms of production. Surrounded by the picturesque Podhale region, the world has been carefully created with attention to every detail. The cast is also worthy of all the praise. Maria Dębska, as usual, presents a high-level performance. Maciej Musiał plays a role similar to his previous ones, but he has a completely new energy. Piotr Pacek deserves special mention because, just like in “Kos”, although he does not play the main role, his performance is richest in detail and therefore, in my opinion, the best.
After the first three episodes, my feelings are very mixed, but I hope that “Śleboda” will surprise me positively.
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