Pal System

A group of students of the last year of the local motor technical school is slowly entering adult life. An atmosphere of emptiness and hopelessness reigns around them. Young people have no idea for their future, but they do not want to duplicate the pattern of a poor existence according to which their parents live. One of them, Arek, had a chance to break out of this vicious circle for a moment. The possibility of a brilliant career, fame and a lot of money was opening up to him, the Polish Junior Champion in Kickboxing. Serious heart disease shattered these plans. Arek dreams of renting a flat and freeing himself from his alcoholic father. Together with Lalka, Panicz, Mucha and Renata - his closest friends, he often visits the Kosmos pub, owned by the local mafioso Marsel. One day Marsel offers Arek and Mucha a jump: they are to break into the apartment on the top floor of a skyscraper.

Directed by Wojciech Nowak, Pal System leans on a strong ensemble — Marcin Dorociński, Maciej Stuhr, Jerzy Trela — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 2002.