''Operation Hyacinth'' ( pl, Hiacynt) is a 2021 Polish film directed by Piotr Domalewski, written by Marcin Ciaston and starring

Tomasz Ziętek Tomasz Ziętek (born 28 June 1989, Inowrocław) is a Polish film and theatre actor as well as musician and guitarist. Life and career Ziętek was born on 7 May 1989 in Inowrocław. He graduated from the Bolesław III Wrymouth High School No. 1 in ...

, Hubert Miłkowski, and Marek Kalita. The drama is based on the

Operation Hyacinth Operation Hyacinth ( pl, Akcja "Hiacynt") was a secret mass operation of the Polish communist police, carried out in the years 1985–87. Its purpose was to create national database of all Polish homosexuals and people who were in touch with them,

(

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

: ''Akcja "Hiacynt"''), which was a secret mass operation of the Polish communist police, carried out in the years 1985–87. Its purpose was to create a national database of all Polish homosexuals and people who were in touch with them. The film was well received by critics.

Plot

Robert is in his mid-twenties and new to the

Citizens' Militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

(MO). His father Edward holds a senior position and is keen for his son to follow in his footsteps. Robert and his partner, Wojtek, investigate a case in which a serial murderer has been targeting gay men in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. Robert befrieds a German-language student Arek in order to infiltrate the local gay scene for the investiagtion. As he does so, he discovers a tangle of lies, blackmail, and cover-ups.

Production

Direction and screenplay

Director Piotr Domalewski was born in 1983 and grew up in

Łomża Łomża (), in English known as Lomza, is a city in north-eastern Poland, approximately 150 kilometers (90 miles) to the north-east of Warsaw and west of Białystok. It is situated alongside the Narew river as part of the Podlaskie Voivodeship si ...

. After completing his secondary education, he enrolled at the Aleksander-Zelwerowicz Academy for Drama in

Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...

and began his study of puppet shows. After his exams, he continued his education until 2009 at the Faculty for Drama at the

AST National Academy of Theatre Arts in Kraków AST National Academy of Theatre Arts (Polish: ''Akademia Sztuk Teatralnych w Krakowie'', often shortened to AST), is a drama school based in Kraków and Wrocław, Poland. It was founded in 1946 by actor Juliusz Osterwa, who took the initial steps ...

. As an actor, he appeared in the Wybrzeże Theatre and worked with directors such as Anna Augustynowicz, Grzegorz Wiśniewski and Ewelina Marciniak. At this time he shot the short film ''Stranger'', an adaptation of

Robert Musil Robert Musil (; 6 November 1880 – 15 April 1942) was an Austrian philosophical writer. His unfinished novel, ''The Man Without Qualities'' (german: link=no, Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften), is generally considered to be one of the most important ...

's ''

The Man Without Qualities ''The Man Without Qualities'' (german: Der Mann ohne Eigenschaften; 1930–1943) is an unfinished modernist novel in three volumes and various drafts, by the Austrian writer Robert Musil. The novel is a "story of ideas", which takes place in th ...

''. His feature film debut ''Silent Night'' ''( pl, Cicha noc)'' received multiple awards including best film at the

Gdynia Film Festival The Gdynia Film Festival (until 2011: Polish Film Festival, Polish: ''Festiwal Polskich Filmów Fabularnych w Gdyni'') is an annual film festival first held in Gdańsk (1974–1986), now held in Gdynia, Poland. It has taken place every year sinc ...

. Domalewski's second feature film ''I Never Cry'' (original title: '' pl, Jak najdalej stąd;'' translates to: ''As Far Away From Here as Possible'') premiered in September 2020.
Piotr Domalewski.
' In: culture.pl. Retrieved 27 September 2021. Marcin Ciastoń drew inspiration for the screenplay from Operation Hyacinth, an action undertaken by the Polish secret services in the 1980s. The operation targeted the country's gay community, and the material gathered was used to extort men and to enforce their cooperation. Launched under the pretext of tackling the

AIDS epidemic The global epidemic of HIV/AIDS (human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) began in 1981, and is an ongoing worldwide public health issue. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), as of 2021, HIV/AI ...

and prostitution, Operation Hyacinth saw a significant number of homosexuals imprisoned, arrested, or otherwise persecuted.

Cast

as Robert Mrozowski * Hubert Miłkowski as Arek * Marek Kalita as Edward Mrozowski * Adrianna Chlebicka as Halinka *

Tomasz Schuchardt Tomasz Schuchardt (born 18 September 1986) is a Polish actor. He has appeared in more than twenty films since 2007. Selected filmography References External links * 1986 births Living people Polish male film actors Polish film ac ...

as Wojtek * Sebastian Stankiewicz as Maciek *

Jacek Poniedziałek Jacek Poniedziałek (born 6 August 1965, Kraków) is a Polish film, theatre and television actor as well as a theatre director and translator. Life and career He was born on 6 August 1965 in Kraków and grew up in the city's Olsza II District. ...

as Dignitary * Piotr Trojan as Kamil * Agnieszka Suchora as Ewa Mrozowska * Tomasz Włosok as Tadek *

Mirosław Zbrojewicz Mirosław Zbrojewicz (born 25 February 1957) is a Polish actor. Filmography Actor cast * 2018: '' My Secret Terrius'' (내 뒤에 테리우스) as spy * 2013: '' Spies of Warsaw (TV Series)'' as Marek * 2011: '' Kac Wawa'' as "Kaban" * 2010 ...

as Commander * Andrzej Klak as Agent with a scar * Adam Cywka as Professor Mettler * Jakub Wieczorek as Sleuth

Reception

Accolades

References

External links

* * {{Netflix films 2021 films 2021 crime drama films 2020s Polish-language films Netflix original films Polish crime drama films Polish LGBT-related films Gay-related films Films set in the 1980s Films set in Warsaw 2021 LGBT-related films LGBT-related crime drama films