Absolute Beginners (Absolutni Debiutanci) is a Polish teen romantic drama series released on Netflix on October 26, 2023. It is directed by Kamila Tarabura and Katarzyna Warzecha. The screenplay is co-written by Tarabura, Nina Lewandowska, and Jędrzej Napiecek. There are 6 episodes in the show with a runtime of about 40-45 minutes.
The ensemble cast of the series includes Martyna Byczkowska as Lena, Bartłomiej Deklewa as Niko, Jan Salasinski as Igor, Paulina Krzyzanska as Malwina, Kefas Brand as Enzo, Katarzyna Warnke as Tamara, Anna Krotoska as Bogusia, Piotr Witkowski as Dawid, Andrzej Konopka as Paweł, Julian Świeżewski as Marcin and others.
Absolute Beginners Review
The series starts off in a rather odd fashion, where you see Lena and Niko running towards the beach, wearing Victorian-era clothes and jumping into the water. Then you realise that they are actually running to save a drowning boy in the water. The scene jumps to the past, where Lena and Niko are trying to make a film to submit as their film school application. We don’t really know what’s it actually about but Lena hints that it’s about love.
On the other hand, Lena’s parents – Tamara and Dawid, are moving to Italy and have put their house on the market. They had planned to move to a hotel for the time being but Lena completely refuses as she has to work with Niko on the film. Thus the two family ends up living in Niko’s house. Lena and Niko have been best friends since childhood and are ‘too close’ to each other, as they call it. However, Lena is on the autism spectrum and finds it hard to process the subtle emotions and correctly express herself, without coming off as self-centred and single-minded.
Even while making their film, she comes up with an intimate scene between her & Niko. Failing to understand that Niko might not be interested in that, she persistently asks him to become sexual with her & often imposes herself on him. That’s until they save Igor from drowning on the beach and even in that moment, Lena tries to film the vulnerable moment. Watching back at how Niko resuscitates Igor, she realises that he could become the male lead instead.
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Igor on the other hand, is a basketball player, trying to get a spot in well-established teams. Although he is the captain of his regional team, he always gets reprimanded by his coach for drinking & partying his time away, instead of seriously focusing on the game. Through his friendship with Lena and Niko, he slowly starts to question his own life choices and what he really wants to achieve.
Almost all the characters in the series have a storyline that forms the world they are living in. Be it the parents, coach or estranged friends, each of them is going through a difficult situation and looking for a way out. Love is the central theme in all, be it Bogusia’s dilemma over her extramarital affair or Pawalek’s attempt to win her back, Tamara’s wish to move or Lena’s insistence on having an intimate scene to satisfy her curiosity. Everything’s quite complicated yet subtly shown. Initially, one could even feel confused about the events happening because we don’t get any context about the story or characters.
We get to know them through the events that come their way and how they deal with them. Lena’s eccentricity might be the biggest misunderstanding until her autism is revealed. Through Lena, Niko, Igor and even Malwina, we get to see the world from the eyes of these young adults, who want to make a better future for themselves but are stuck in a rut that makes them unsure of it. Striving to get out of that continuous cycle, they come across new people, realise their true selves and experience some of their firsts together.
What makes this series different is how subtly they portray the building emotions. Especially with Lena’s character, it’s unique to see a person on a spectrum not portrayed as a hands-on emotional mess and having a typical breakdown as their redemption arc. Something that Polish cinema does best is bringing creative stories or fresh perspectives that you wouldn’t have thought of. Overall, it’s a beautiful story that everyone from different walks of life can enjoy.
Rating: 4/5
Absolute Beginners 2023 is available for streaming on Netflix.
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