Furioza (2021) Movie Ending Explained & Themes Analysed: Directed by Cyprian T. Olencki, ‘Furioza’ is a tense action crime drama released on Netflix. The title of this Polish-language film translates to ‘furious’ and the film does justice to what it promises. Furioza is not just a circumstantial term being used. The range, the fury is omnipresent. But the action is not just a means to provide thrill by its mere showcase. It is a crucial element of the script, which dictates the pulse of every turn of events. The approach to the action sequences is naturalistic, which creates thrill through the messiness of the fights. The focus is firmly on the character arcs throughout such sequences, which, on the director’s part, is highly commendable. The film obtains its grittiness and raw energy due to the same.
It is also important to note that Furioza cannot be dismissed as just an action drama, interested to elicit reactions by the mere existence of crime. It is a highly resonating human tale that weaves a complicated narrative with characters intertwined in the world of crime. We encounter an arc of romance, an arc of brotherhood, family bonds, and much more while looking at people sinking deeper into the depths of immorality.
Furioza (2021) Movie Summary & Synopsis:
The story is about three friends who were part of the same criminal group. Dawid (Mateusz Banasiuk), Kaszub (Wojciech Zielinski) and Dzika (Weronika Ksiazkiewicz) head on to their different paths. Unlike his brother Kaszub who decides to stay as a gang member, Dawid leaves and starts working in a hospital. Dzika, his ex-girlfriend, goes on the opposite side of the law by joining the police force (because of her brother – Daro’s death). With this entanglement of brotherhood and romantic relationship, the plot follows them in the present.
Dzika visits Dawid at his workplace (the hospital) and makes him an offer that would be impossible for him to refuse. She tells him about his brother caught up in a drug-related case, and if he (Dawid) does not cooperate with the police as suggested, his brother will go to prison. She tells him to infiltrate the gang to give the inside news, which will help the police force with the drug-related case. At the same time, it will help save Kaszub from 20 years of imprisonment. The goal for her is to jail a hooligan gang leader, Marcin Mrowczynski (known as Antman), who’s wanted on several counts of crime.
Dawid is apprehensive to go back to the hooligan group and the life of crime. He does not want to spend his days mindlessly fighting. However, he returns due to his love for Kaszub and his family. Meanwhile, he becomes part of an event of bloodshed where his brother’s group fights with their enemy group. While Kasbuz, at the beginning of the fight, is not interested in the idea of his brother’s return, he accepts Dawid’s arrival with an open embrace by the end. Their bond becomes stronger and stronger over the period.
While Dawid is present at the hood gatherings, his mind is not ready to accept the idea of switching back to the criminal life. He has become comfortable with his life as a medical professional and returns strictly as a snitch, which will help his brother. However, the later situations put him in guilt and remorse for not standing up for his peers during a fight. That guilt manifests itself in his mindset, which makes him want to get his mojo back – to be the hooligan that he once was. The journey shows him confronting his fears, and being a part of the gang not just by the body but by the mind. It creates friction between him and Golden (Mateusz Damiecki), who sees Dawid as a threat to his position as the most influential person in the gang. But, that dynamic shifts to the one of the brotherhood since they stand for the same cause.
On the other hand, Dzika and the police force make some unsuccessful attempts at convicting Antman and his peers. Meanwhile, Dawid makes efforts to persuade his brother to inform the police about the wrongdoings. But it was too late to save Kaszub from the web of crime. He gets killed for disrespecting Antman in one of their verbal spats. This leads to a fuelled gang heading with the spirit of revenge.
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Furioza (2021) Movie Themes Explained:
Through Dawid, we meet a person stepping into the pitfalls of sinful life. Crime is something that he had willingly stayed away from – despite knowing the perks of the position of strength and power. Furioza examines the insides of a criminal group through the lens of morality – inspecting the choices every character makes. With the central character’s journey of self-exploration, the film gives its themes a personal touch, which makes the journey his kaleidoscopic view of looking at this immoral world.
We see the lengths that a person can go for his family through Dawid’s commitment to his brother’s safety. Through his example, the film separates a ‘normal’ life from the criminal one – where we see the tug-of-war happening in Dawid’s mind about which one he should stick to. The strength and power of merely being in such a gang can make these qualities almost addictive – easy to get enveloped in and hard not to be enamored by them.
To get honor and respect through masochistic practices, these people showcase a surprisingly shallow projection of strength. The need to assert themselves in every other place and circumstance makes the environment mentally taxing and adds to its toxicity. The definition of manliness and masculinity is explored without spelling it out through the dialogues. Their constant seeking of approval for their strength through their actions reaffirms their toxic masculinity.
Furioza (2021) Movie Themes Explained:
After Kaszub’s death, Golden gets the sense of his position of power and since Kaszub is not a threat anymore to the same, he joins hands with the party of Antman to strengthen it. Later on, when he meets his gang, he informs them that Antman is not a threat anymore. This ruffles some feathers and makes the members furious for how Golden can easily forgive the death of his friend – the one who brought him in in the first place – and the one who was always an integral part of their group. Then he explains a plan to be an insider to know Antman’s whereabouts – which will allow them to take revenge. His thought process basically works as one of the most quoted lines from The Godfather – Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
Through a set of circumstances, we get to know it was Golden who was behind the murder of Kaszub. While Dawid gets violent and starts beating him, Dzika pulls him back from the place (the bar where Golden worked along with Antman) and saves him from being imprisoned. In the process of trying to convict Antman, the police become unsuccessful yet again despite their plan. They get hold of a significant amount of drugs which serves as an achievement for the police force. Yet what it actually serves is just a medal of honor. And due to a piece of inside news from the government officials helping out Antman, he does not get caught.
After this, the film ends on a note of Dawid – freed from the criminal life, traveling on a boat along with Dzika and Kaszub’s family. However, when he is alone on a beach, he gets stabbed repeatedly by a gang member opposing his gang from the past. The end explains how once you get involved in the criminal world, there is hardly an escape. Your actions and your destiny get tied to their workings, and how the possibility of successfully escaping can be a myth for most.
Furioza (2021) Links – IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes
Furioza (2021) Cast – Mateusz Banasiuk, Weronika Ksiazkiewicz, Mateusz Damiecki
