High Water (Wielka woda) is the latest Polish political drama series against the backdrop of a natural disaster. The series was released on Netflix on 5th October and is inspired by the real-life events of the Millennium Flood which hit Poland, as well as parts of the Czech Republic and Germany in 1997.

This is the first time the story of the flood has been adapted on screen and is directed by Jan Holoubek and Bartłomiej Ignaciuk. Along with Anna Kępińska as a producer and the originator of the series, and Kasper Bajon and Kinga Krzemińska as writers.

The cast of the series includes Agnieszka Żulewska, Tomasz Schuchardt, Ireneusz Czop, Anna Dymna, Jerzy Trela, Mirosław Kropielnicki, Blanka Kot, Tomasz Kot, Adam Nawojczyk, Leszek Lichota, Marta Nieradkiewicz, Łukasz Lewandowski, Roman Gancarczyk, Tomasz Sapryk, and Maria Maj.

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Netflix’s description of the series reads:

In 1997, scientists and local government officials in Wrocław face life-and-death decisions when a destructive flood wave threatens the city.

-High Water Review Does Not Contain Any Spoilers-

In July 1997, scientists and local government officials face life-and-death decisions when a destructive flood wave threatens the city of Wrocław in Poland. The local authorities, led by the aspiring politician Jakub Marczak (Tomasz Schuchardt) bring in Jaśmina Tremer (Agnieszka Żulewska), a female hydrologist with a troubled past, to help save the city at any cost.

At the same time, Andrzej Rębacz (Ireneusz Czop) returns to his hometown, a village near Wrocław, unexpectedly leading the rebellious residents against the disaster. Under time pressure, the authorities make a difficult decision that will forever change the lives of the main characters as well as the history of the entire region and its inhabitants.

While it is based on a real event, it has fictionalised the characters that lead us through the events that happened originally. It showcases the overall moods and emotions of the events to create a universal story about making difficult decisions, the conflict of generations, and the tensions between individuals and the collective, the city, and the countryside.

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The series starts off in the year 1997 when news is being broadcasted about Pope John Paul II visiting his country of birth, which is a big event. Then a massive problem arises – somebody predicts an imminent rise in the water levels and a flood as a result, which will sweep over several small towns.

Like many fictionalised disaster-related films and shows we have seen, here also the officials in power refuse to believe that a big flood will come, in this time and age. Then there comes a person with a clear vision and ideas to help, but they are shunned for being too radical or in this case because they are coming from a woman.

However, our lead is not such an uprighteous person and often times packs up her bags and lets the officials on their high horses deal with whatever tragedy is yet to come. On the other hand, it also displays a part of her personality and explains why she is like this and what she is running from.

By being stuck in the flooded region, Jasmina also has to face her own issues that she has been avoiding. Our second lead is Jakub Marczak, who seems to share a history with Jasmina that we will get to know slowly. And despite his political commitment, he has enough common sense to know that you must act immediately, and when it is necessary to break the rules for a good cause.

The third protagonist is Andrzej Rębacz, who tries to save a village near Wrocław and the family house in which his father still lives, from flooding. These three characters show different perspectives and how people in those positions must have felt and dealt with things, according to their own ways.

Summing Up: High Water

The story of Wielka woda is about individuals facing the things they can’t get away from and about people coming together to take action. The flood was a catalyst for society and overnight, ordinary everyday life was replaced by the struggles of the elements and trusted leaders emerged from the crowd.

The creators have skillfully built tension and they gradually introduce us to each of the characters, they also go back in time to show that the catastrophe did not happen suddenly, it was due to many uncorrected errors. The problem of the countryside and the city is also shown in an interesting way – whether to flood the village and save a large population or to defend your own lands until the last minute, at the expense of flooding the city.

If there is something to critique then maybe they could have told us more about Jasmina’s past struggles with drugs etc. Like how did she fall into that trap and what got her to end up in the woods cabin with a Danish man? But I guess the focus is on how floods changed the course of life for the citizens.

High Water is currently streaming on Netflix.

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