“Game with Shadows” is a very successful production, which may surprise viewers who expect a classic “boring” historical series, which is something of a trademark of TVP. This time, however, an interesting (although sometimes a bit confusing) script by Anna and Maciej Świerkocki and good acting roles make us want to learn more about Helena Bielawska and her past.
Who is the doctor from Łódź?
Helena (played by Natalia Rybicka) is a doctor who lives with her mother and several-year-old son in an apartment in Łódź. The woman shares a common living space (the spacious pre-war apartment in a tenement house was divided into “clits” rented by tenants) with another family. She has a bright future ahead of her because her superior wants to send her to a prestigious internship in Leningrad. However, everything changes on the day of the patient’s death, and then Helena’s life turns into a nightmare.
This is definitely one of Natalia Rybicka’s most interesting roles and it is worth appreciating how the actress leads her character: from a slightly naive idealist to a hopeless woman destroyed by the system. In addition to Rybicka’s role, the character of Major Kosek, played by Marcin Hycnar, also stands out. In fact, it becomes clear from the very beginning that his interest in Bielawska has some hidden meaning. Viewers will learn the truth only in the seventh episode (journalists were able to preview episodes 1-3 and 5-6, the total number is 13). What officially connects these two? Investigation conducted by the Security Bureau.
Major of the Security Office
Major Kosek’s task is to find out who the agent is who is helping the British obtain information, and the trail leads to the women’s prison in Olkusz. There, a suspicious group of women are under surveillance to verify these suspicions. Kosek is a playboy, a playboy, but he also cares about his career and the good life, which he leads at the expense of the state treasury. However, after reading an article about a “killer doctor”, he does everything he can to get closer to the case and take control of the investigation.
Apart from the espionage plot, which is sometimes unnecessarily complicated, the highlight of the series is the characters from different social groups. Thus, we have a doctor and her family who are based on the spirit of the murdered surgeon’s father, an intelligent neighbor from a low social background whom the doctor’s mother contemptuously calls a “rabble”; we observe the work of the UB staff, but also the doctors and nurses of the Łódź hospital. Most of them remember their pre-war cases, seek a settlement or revenge, some want to know the truth about the disappearance of their loved ones.
In prison
The most interesting part is the prison plot. Sometimes prison scenes resemble the series “Convicted” or “Orange Is the New Black”. However, in “The Shadow Game”, the fate of the inmates is much worse and their lives are constantly in danger. It is worth mentioning the interesting cameo of Joanna Kurowska as the warden of a women’s prison. She is rude, but also ruthless, chaotic, but also shrewd and perceptive. It has been a long time since we saw the actress in such a colorful version.
The heroine of Kinga Preis is also memorable, and Bartosz Kotschedoff (known for the role of Trepa in “The Thaw”) this time plays the role of the zealous superior of the aforementioned director. The actor also recently appeared in a cameo role in the film “Boxer” (our review can be found here).
Was “A Game of Shadows” a success?
Warsaw, Łódź, 1951, 1943, Olkusz, prisoner fights, disappointed friendships, British spies – these are a lot of plots for a thirteen-episode series, but surprisingly, most of the story seen in “Game with Shadows” is absorbing and intriguing. True, the building of tension regarding the mystery of what connects Kosek to Helena takes too long and begins to distract us from the work that the hero has been doing with great zeal so far, and espionage itself is scarce in the series, but the remaining threads resonate loudly and interestingly.
The series is full of stories of women who have been betrayed, deceived, abandoned, but also of those who manage to cheat. There are also many humorous topics, although the action takes place in Stalinist Poland and few people find it funny. The highlights of “Game with Shadows” are definitely the performances of Natalia Rybicka and Marcin Hycnar. I would love to see these two in a contemporary crime series like “Cop”.
The second set is good – with Kinga Preis and Karolina Gruszka in the lead. “The Game of Shadows” is very stylish – we see beautiful interiors, but also shabby “rent houses”, beautiful dresses and modest outfits of “mobsters”, sumptuous parties and prepared soups that lack everything but water.
“Game of Shadows” just like that “Profiler”could become another successful new product from Telewizja Polska.
The series premieres on September 15th on TVP1’s 20/20 schedule.
