1983 (2018) User Reviews (52)

not bad, but could be better

[lobash · 8/10 · 2 December 2018]

Strong good sides:

• scenography and pictures. Nicely done. Fictional communistic Poland in 2003 looks great. Grey and gloomy remains of old times with monumental new sceneties, that look like from the Blade Runner. I like that.

Bad sides:

• plot - some storylines are... dispensable, just making unnecessary mess,
• dialogues - full of pathos, not natural, idiotic sometimes. It is visible that even actors have problems with playing that, and some of then sound like a speech synthetiser,
• bonds between particular characters is not understandable. It is not sketched properly, so it is hard to 'feel' them, and immerse in the world.

Still, it is really interesting and one of the best Netflix production this year. I hope for more in the next season.

More than good "what-if" series

[BeneCumb · 8/10 · 8 February 2019]

For me, it is the first series to watch dealing with events springing from the preservation of the Soviet bloc - I know some series-films dealing with the fictional results of WWII... And as a contemporary and still remembering how-what was it living under a so-called socialism, I could follow the events in "1983" with seemingly bigger understanding and those always living in a democratic country.

Yet, it is intriguing to combine oppression and spying with smartphones widespread among the population, and some other things related to technology, that is why the script includes some odd shifts and solutions. But as the performances are good (particularly the main male ones), the general story adds up, the mood is well captured and the country of origin is Poland (not some wealthy and known film-industy country), I can easily rate it with 8 points and recommend to all them fond of related topic.

It is watchable. And good.

[ebermudezarquitecto · 8/10 · 4 December 2018]

Very good acting and uncanny atmosphere. It may not be big-budget, but the mix of contemporary architectural details and somber exteriors will seduce you if you like this type of subdued, yet, misteriously absorbing political thriller. Never mind the dialogue, which I don't find necessary to enjoy the plot.

To the person who says "unwatchable".

[v-thea · 2 December 2018]

My review is based on just the first episode of this series which I felt totally immersed in from the very start. Do not follow others opinions, not even myself. But surely don't take that review (from the guy who found it unbearable") too serius. Series has a great photography and dinamism. I found it quite entertaining and beautiful. Also very much Orwelian, and there are a few hints to the work too, not only from the title but also in some scenes. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Interesting journey to the world of What-If

[cpastucha · 7/10 · 4 December 2018]

"1983" is a look to the alternate timeline of the world's most recent history - it answers a question - What if the Iron Curtain was still in place? To get to this point Joshua Long created a world in which a terrorist attack in Poland, in 1983 had united a Polish Nation, taking away the "Solidarity" movement - the first domino of the Fall of Communism.

There is much to say about this production - from the captivating world to it's chaotic and often redundant storylines. The acting leaves a somewhat lot to be desired - besides few roles (a small role of Sandra Korzeniak as a custodian of the Villa or Zofia Wichlacz as a daughter of a government minister) the acting is a bit stiff and dialogues seem unnatural (but it may be just a problem of the Polish version).

However, all the problems mentioned above didn't spoil the entertainment of experiencing the alternative history of '1983'. Overall it's a solid political fiction with, a nice noir vibe to it. Worth a watch.

Disjointed, Mystery over explanation, but fun to watch with huge potential

[ThomasJeff · 6/10 · 4 December 2018]

I don't think it's fair of me to judge this without a season 2, because of how much the writers/director seem to put mystery-above-all. We still don't know what the "sides" or factions are by the end of the show. There's a cold war still going on, but at the same time some Orwellian system continues although it hints that Poland is somehow free of USSR Orwellian control yet still behind Iron Curtain? Makes little sense. The story is very disjointed and doesn't flow.

Too many backstories, flashbacks, character mini-dramas. It's like we're trying to follow the lives of 10-20 people and they're all so selfish and only care about themselves and won't explain anything about what they're doing. Again, mystery above all.

The TV show and its plot has ridiculously high potential! The setting, the amount of factions is very high, but it's not clear who's side is on who's. This could mean they could make an incredible 2nd season, but in the 1st season we just have no idea what's happening most of the time...

The potential is there, the cinematography is there, the costumes are great, the "wise quotes" are good.

However, it constantly leaves the audience confused. The funny part is this TV series seems more like the history of Russia after 1999 (apartment complex false-flag attack that Putin did on his own Russian citizens)...

Grim Polish hriller

[stephenpupa-89338 · 10/10 · 4 December 2018]

I've been a fan of Polish Cinema for over 50 years. 1983 reminds me of the black and white movies from the 60's and 70's. Very tightly directed and it's great to see so many talented young Polish actors and actresses. Special shout out for Agnieszka Zulewska who plays Maja, Katejan's mother. It's heartbreaking to see her try to survive. Robert Wieckiewicz is one of my favorite Polish Actors. Great choice for this role. I hope there's another season and I hope to see more Polish Productions on Netflix. Poland has a rich history in cinema and there is so much talent.

A Slow Burn

[pb9921 · 7/10 · 25 August 2019]

While some of the dialog can be stunted and unnatural they are trying to build up a world of alternative Poland and the screen writers are using exposition a little too much to explain circumstances.

Ive noticed a theme that is prevalent in Eastern European Sci_Fi that is repeated here. That one almost irredeemable character that's a muck raker, epitomized by the Detective. Must be a cultural thing influenced by the many years spent under the so called Communism of the time. It permeates this heavily so western audiences may not fully understand that the psychological impact that has even today.

A good effort and I hope that there is a 2nd season.

Tough, gritty, taut with a standout performance from Robert Wieckiewicz

[msghall · 8/10 · 12 January 2019]

This is a confounding series, sometimes puzzling, other times enthralling, but with tight pacing that makes the show rarely boring. I will admit to being lost at different times - the going and forth between modern times with the 80's can get one confused about where you're at. But you learn to just go with the flow. Most of the credit goes to Robert Wieckiewicz, whose tough exterior and tougher interior are wonderfully conveyed and keep you watching him. It's an extraordinary performance. The rest of the cast is top notch, too. There are also nice touches in the dialog, some unexpected twists and turns, and moment or two of levity to keep you off balance before the next grungy bit of ultraviolence gets your heart beating again. Of special note is the obvious tip of the hat to Blade Runner, especially in the rainy, neon-lit Asian alley way with bike riders where the lead character is interrupted from eating his noodles while two cops stand on either side of him. Sound familiar? Yeah, I loved it and I like this series quite a bit. It's inscrutable at times, silly at others but always fascinating.

Nice!

[claranowak · 7/10 · 5 November 2019]

Nicely done throughout. Some areas could have been better but a tight and interesting Show!

I really gave it a chance....but it's disappointing

[themishupishu · 5/10 · 20 December 2018]

Good innovative idea and quite good shoots. Camera man did a good job. Apart from that it's is a boring and disappointing experience. The worst part are the dialogues. Very forced unnatural and suggestive. Surely you can direct the plot in a way so you don't have to include descriptive dialogues in almost every scene... sometimes it felt like an amateur creation with a big budget or simply a tv series made for kids but with occasional nudity and an attempt to make it intellectually sophisticated which failed miserably making it just boring and I was not able to finish it ...

Surprisingly good political thriller set in Orwellian universe

[tomas-pruzina · 8/10 · 5 December 2018]

Tl;dr: This might be one of the best depictions of Orwellian nature of corrupted government. The story paints the interesting picture of communism, nationalism and rebellion in their dark, deeply flawed natures. If that sounds like it might interest you, give it a try.

I loved: Excellent acting in main roles as well as their character development as the story progressed. Scenic design was awesome, lots of right angles and concrete and glass, typical of commie Europe. The story takes bunch of left turns along the way, develops on multiple fronts and keeps you guessing. Have anyone told me this was based on Tom Clancy's novel - I would have believed it.

I disliked: Plot is organically developing in discovery and further complicated by two timelines (83/03) which makes it hard to follow. Dialogues seem to lose something in translation at times, which isn't uncommon in foreign cinematography but makes me wonder who did Netflix target by this show.

Do not wacht it as related to the Polish history

[kms-91461 · 7/10 · 3 December 2018]

It is just a thriller and political fiction. I watched all 8 episodes and rather enjoyed it. The plot is much too complicated, unclear to the very end in some parts, but in some parts it's quite atractive. The best part are actors and incredible vision of non existent Poland. Lights, buildings, city panoramas, interior designs - all is just a pleasure to watch. Some scenes dated before 1983 are very, very real, as I remeber them from that time. The vision of the country with its Asian quarters seems borrowed from US but again design, costumes, filming make them all really worth seeing. And yes I VERY MUCH AGREE with v-thea - it is very Orwelian. The book is one those shown at the beginning in an illegal print hole and I suppose it is not without the reason. I truly recommend watching it. Give it a chance, just let it take you for some kind of a special ride.

Not bad but too slow

[jnrb71 · 5/10 · 27 June 2023]

It is not bad but neither is it very good. The plot seems a bit far-fetched and the casting choices are questionable. For example, the leader of the resistance movement (Light brigade) is a teenage girl who doesn't strike me as an intimidating military type of person. It doesn't work. The law student and his girlfriend and all their little shenanigans are just a distraction. (Then he hooks up with the leader of the resistance movement quite coincidentally). The only person whose character is interesting is that of the detective. The actor played this part very well and he was convincing in this role. Then there are the constant flashbacks to the past which just seems to kill time and does so very slowly. I don't know why the pace is so slow, but I got to episode 6 of 9 but just couldn't continue any further. It had potential initially but just couldn't hold my attention. They could have made a shorter movie and then it would have been more of a success.

Difficult to follow sometimes. Dark

[manugw · 7/10 · 18 December 2018]

Many simultaneous storylines of different subjects at different spaces and times makes it a bit confusing. Slow paced at the beginning with many conspiracy storyline openings, turns to speed up on second half episodes when all pieces fall in their places and action begins. If you like drama and crime suits you

Good show, too much going on

[j238 · 6/10 · 4 January 2019]

Everything I like in a European tv series. Great production values, interesting characters, good performances all around. Sometimes there's too much of a good thing. There are a few characters I'm not recognizing, and plot elements I can't follow. Liking the main plot, presuming I'm getting it all.

Captivating

[iconians · 9/10 · 30 December 2018]

The story is set in alternative universe where Iron curtain did not fall. Without explaining plot, the story shows a conspiracy within the government that used mass attacks in 1983 to reshape the country's political and civic destiny.

The story has many personal elements. The plot is pretty complex and you never know who is on what side and why. I def had some questions or some things were unanswered, so hopefully series 2 will come, but so far, it was very refreshing.

Dubbing wasn't great; subtitles were horrible. Otherwise, it's was very good overall.

First 45 minutes are terrible, get ready for that

[galkowskit · 7/10 · 2 December 2018]

This is a review after the first episode. There are three main issues with it, one might be irrelevant to you. EDIT: edit after the whole season at the bottom.

1. The dialogues are terrible. 90% of them are boring exposition dumps in which characters talk about history or what they will do in next few seconds. Then you watch them do it. And repeat. Long, boring, repeated over and over.

2. The dialogues are terrible. The actors are either bad or their lines are way over the top, full of patos. All the talk about freedom, justice, law and principles... terrible. If you are not a native Polish speaker - this might not be that big of an issue.

3. The plot has potential. It might really be a solid piece of a story. But for the first 42 minutes (out of an hour) I was sitting there thinking "when will it finally start...?".

EDIT: the second half is really worthwhile. The plot shows potential, the scenografy is very good. Great parallels to historical characters, nice easter eggs. I actually change my score to 7/10. I'd give it an eight if not for the super-slow and clumsy first two episodes.

Great job.

[artur-niedzielski · 10/10 · 3 December 2018]

First of all I must say, that I'm polish, and I was born at the time of comunism, and remember all this 80's here. For those who standing that dialogues are bad - I was watching whole series in polish with an english subtitles, and must say, that translation into english is terrible, and sometimes yuo can lost a point what the actors really say. There are many other things which can be understood only for polish. Anyway as a serial which is set in paralel history is really great. Nice story. Worth to see.

Great pictures and climate...

[djreeser · 6/10 · 20 December 2018]

...but that's all. It seems like it missing something. The plot is not gripping at all and sadly I'm not looking forward to the next season.

Strange

[bud2mac_03 · 5/10 · 7 December 2018]

Two observations: nowhere in scenes involving public areas e.g. sub way stations, large office buildings are there any normal background human traffic. This takes away from any attempt at realism. Watchable but certainly not anything outstanding

Surprisingly fantastic!

[bobisjbobis · 9/10 · 10 January 2019]

I watched the first episonde with English audio and gave up after 10 minutes. However, once switching to Polish audio and English subtitles, I was hooked. No, I don't speak Polish. But, listening in the native languge let the actors shine.

Ok, the plot is not perfect. And, there are goofs/mistakes (who hangs an American flag hanging down with the stars on the left?)... but, this is really fun stuff. I love hearing Vietnamese speak Polish and Russian (and vice-versa). The dystopian future set in a "thriving" Poland of 2003 is really interesting. And, the acting is really good.

For those willing to listen in foreign language and read subtitles, this is a great series. Well done Netflix for producing this and I look forward to more foreign-location based content.

Wait, who's that woman and why is she in the church?

[dieter-verhofstadt · 5/10 · 27 December 2018]

With Netflix series the major mystery to unravel for the viewers is: are the writers planning to bring this to a satisfying closure, or are they keeping everything open, in case the series draws enough viewers to make a second season? I always hope for the former and all too often am disappointed to find out it's the latter.

Five episodes into this series' first season, I am pretty sure it's one of those attempts to make a multi-season series. There are so many loose ends I'd call it a "spaghetti-histodrama" and not because of there being mafia included (there is). Every new episode at least 3 new characters are introduced and by now I can't even track anymore whether it's actually a new or a recurring character (wait, who was that woman in the church?)

In this dystopian alternative history, there are three levels of plots: there is international diplomacy/warfare going on, involving US, Russia, Poland, Iran, Israel and ... Vietnam (the Vietnamese connection is one of the weirder but more consistent plot lines) and it's not clear who's on which side. There is a looming civil war, involving local terrorists/resistance, the mafia, the police, the national security, the party system and the army, with foul play going on in each of those sides, while it's equally unclear which sides team up. And then there are multiple characters trying to figure out what happened to their families in 1983.

It feels like they had a team of 10 writers who brainstormed in isolation and when bringing together their story lines, no one wanted to sacrifice theirs.

A few exceptions aside -the naive party princess coming of age- the acting is not too great either but I reckon the actors had to recite their lines from script because how on earth can they figure out what their character would say in that situation. Which situation?

So why still 5 stars? I came for the Polish language and despite the fact that the native speakers seem to dislike the dialogues, I'm happy to hear the language at play. The screenplay is spectacular at times. And while they failed to choose among the zillion plots, most of them actually have great potential. The suggestion of a "reichstag"-alike event in 1983 is strong enough to support a whole series.

So I'll watch it till the end but I'm pretty sure I will be overall disappointed.

Stylish ...

[hamlet-16 · 9/10 · 2 December 2018]

A dystopian thriller set in Poland ... and in Polish. Ok! Well the Berlin Wall hasn't fallen ... the Cold War continues... but enough of the story.

This is a fine and stylish if grim thriller. Worth a look for the acting of the principals alone.

Netflix has done well here!

Watchable if you have seen more of the world

[unnamed-32145 · 9/10 · 23 December 2019]

Those who say "unwatchable" have probably never experienced the life unter the iron curtain, or do simply lack the imagination on how such life would be.

From my POV, it's a mostly consistent vision of how the alternative history might look like. Somewhere between USSR and GDR realities plus how the eastern contries aligned with technological progress in the 90ies.

Not giving all starts, though, because the movie set looked too clean compared to how real Poland looked in the 90ies, and subtle plot holes here and there and sometimes too naive side plots.