As far as films that serve no purpose other than simply existing go, Lukasz Kosmicki’s *It Takes a Village* (or *Podlasie*) is a distraction worthy of inducing yawns.
As far as films that serve no purpose other than simply existing go, Lukasz Kosmicki’s *It Takes a Village* (or *Podlasie*) is a distraction worthy of inducing yawns. I won’t even bother going into detail about its plot. Instead, I’ll reproduce the official Netflix synopsis to save myself the trouble: When a bad investment puts Halina’s (Anna Seniuk) home at risk, Jan (Artur Barcis) and the village hatch a plan to turn Bodzki into a trendy tourist hotspot and thus save her from financial ruin. This information is more than enough.
Director: Lukasz Kosmicki
Writers: Katarzyna Frankowska, Katarzyna Golenia
Stars: Artur Barcis, Angelika Cegielska-Swiatek, Filip Gurlacz
Does it matter if I mention that the bad investment has something to do with Bitcoin? No. Does it matter if I mention that the plan Jan and the villagers devise involves marketing Bodzki as a place visited by aliens? No. One could, for a second, put on their "intellectual hat" and argue that screenwriters Katarzyna Frankowska and Katarzyna Golenia squander an opportunity to expose just how fickle and superstitious some people are—to the point of believing all manner of supernatural nonsense; however, the filmmakers never show even the slightest hint of having intended to create anything clever. Searching for "meaning" in this insubstantial triviality would be like putting on clown makeup. Oh—does it matter if I mention that *It Takes a Village* is a sequel to Bartosz Prokopowicz’s *Nic Na Sile* (or *No Pressure*)? Of course not.
Incidentally, I haven’t seen *No Pressure*. In fact, I only found out that *It Takes a Village* was a sequel when I returned to the Netflix page after watching the film and found it included in a "No Pressure Collection." But based on a brief IMDb description and a trailer, I believe I’ve deduced what happened in *No Pressure* and how the story continues in this film. In that 2024 romantic comedy, Oliwia (Anna Szymanczyk) gives up everything and moves to Bodzki to save Halina’s farm. Halina, by feigning her own death, tricks Oliwia into coming to the village; but—well—all such manipulative games seem to be fair play, provided the woman manages to reunite with her lover. That lover would be Kuba (Mateusz Janicki); and having saved the farm (her culinary skills reportedly played a part in the solution) and met this boyfriend, it would make sense for the sequel to open with their wedding. I believe this is precisely what *It Takes a Village* wants you to believe with all those opening lines about a young couple’s wedding celebration.
As it turns out, Halina isn’t the only one who enjoys deceiving people. The film plays a similar card by revealing that it isn’t Kuba and Oliwia, but rather Jan and Halina, who are about to tie the knot. The characters refer to them as a "young couple" primarily to ensure this plot twist lands effectively—though, come to think of it, Jan and Halina are, in fact, just as immature as any young people. She is impatient and has a terrible temper; he claims to trust Halina, yet quickly accuses her of infidelity based solely on a few photographs, without waiting to hear her explanation. Of course, on the other hand, Halina doesn’t exactly rush to try and resolve the issue herself. She is grumpy, proud, and rigid. It is amusing to see a character like Halina get the full romantic-comedy treatment—a narrative arc usually reserved for younger faces. However, both she and Jan commit the sin of recycling the same old clichés we’ve seen time and again. She fails to listen to the phone conversation through to the end; he makes wild deductions based entirely on his own imagination. Much like other couples belonging to this romantic genre, all Halina and Jan needed to do was sit down and have a good, thorough, face-to-face conversation. That would have saved a great deal of time—for both the couple and the audience.
Nor is it exactly breaking news that the former lovers are surrounded by a cast of insipid extras. The supporting characters do little more than provide "local color." The village looks beautiful, but the lovely scenery adds little value when the entire production seems to be running on autopilot. Events simply unfold to create the illusion of a bustling atmosphere. Tourists arrive in droves to view the circular mark left by the "aliens," yet such a sudden intrusion into the village's quiet life fails to significantly disrupt the residents' daily routines. At no point does one get the sense that two distinct types of crowds are mingling or interacting with one another. Aside from basic exchanges—such as asking for directions—the villagers and the city folk do not mix.
It comes as no surprise, then, that both *No Pressure* and *It Takes a Village* tell stories about characters who, in essence, trade the urban lifestyle for the peace offered by rural settings. While in *No Pressure* it is Oliwia who decides to settle in Bodzki, here it is Ewa (Joanna Trzepiecinska)—Oliwia’s mother—who takes that very same step. One detects a certain whiff of condescension on the part of the filmmakers toward city dwellers—the same cliché some fall back on when waxing poetic about the greenery, the silence, and the supposed innocence of small towns and their inhabitants, as if rural residents were somehow devoid of lustful, wicked, or corrupt desires. Such beliefs are nothing more than nonsense concocted by urbanites who view reality through rose-colored glasses. It is a trite and superficial perspective; but then again, it’s not as if *It Takes a Village* is exactly "fresh" itself. It is about as insightful as a marble.
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