Small World

We all know that Patryk Vega is an animal. And when you mix his name, Polish brutality, a paedophile theme and convincing audiovisuals, you have a winner. I could go on and on listing all the positives, from the harshness to the helpless emotions, but I'm more likely to fault the film for the elements that prevent me from giving it a better rating. I'm sorry to say that Poland is known for uncompromising filmmaking, but I personally wouldn't mind at all if they had gone even harder here, going more into child pornography, maximizing the explicit shots to wring the viewer and deepen their disgust. This might go a bit beyond the standards of mainstream films, but it wouldn't hurt to push harder. Also I probably would have appreciated less focus on the individual in the second half, which really only focuses on little Ola, whom the detective has been searching for for ten years, and more delving into the waters of the paedophile network system, with all the monsters involved, and the connections from Poland, Russia, Moldova and England as depicted in the film. These are my personal observations, but despite them, the film has the clear signature of Vega and a genuine desire to show the worst in the people around us. A decent emotional and visually disgusting two hour film. (2023-12-03)

"This is the only passage in the Bible where Christ says: A man who commits sin against a child deserves to die." Ultimate hell! Patryk Vega! The Polish butcher delivers a new film in which he crosses absolutely all boundaries and taboos, this is heavyweight exploitation of the greatest evil that will make you scream, cry, have your stomach clenched and hold your hands in fists! After mobsters, football hooligans, hookers and gritty crime dramas, Vega now takes on the most sensitive subject of all, pedophilia, human trafficking and child prostitution, and it's an insane emotional chilling hell. The Russian mafia kidnaps Polish girls and smuggles them into Ukraine, Moldova, England and Thailand, turning them into brainwashed sex-slaves, and I couldn't believe my eyes at how unashamedly Vega presents this material to the audience. The main character is a police officer who has been fighting pedophiles for 12 years and promises one mother that he will bring her little girl back, and this turns into an international manhunt for the fastest growing criminal organization in the world- Trade-sex-slaves. 1.5 million children are sold annually! From the beginning of the film, Vega had me riveted to my seat and swept me away with an uncompromising atmosphere with chilling dialogue and scenes (the gore is less than usually is in his films, but here I say thank God). There’s a scene where an 11 year old pregnant girl dressed as a prostitute jumps in front of a train and then they show what's left of her; it shattered me to millimeters. To make matters worse, Vega also manages to cram in a crazy Satanic cult that performs ritual sacrifices on children, and I have to say that the den, with its caged children and perverted rich men in masks accompanied by screaming and pain, was reminiscent of a living hell on earth. A nasty, evil, authentic and chilling flick that will sway even the most hardened. In Poland, weaker characters fled the cinemas, so watch out, you're in danger of a few days of depression. Emotional inferno and Polish exploitative twisted purgatory! The only downside I see is that the better half of the film is spoken in English and it slightly devalues the performances, but given the theme and form, this is a Vega genre masterpiece. Story 4/5. Action 3/5, Humour 0/5, Violence 5/5, Fun 5/5 Music 4/5, Visuals 4/5, Atmosphere 5/5, Suspense 5/5, Emotion 5/5, Actors 3/5. 9/10. (2022-07-13)