“How I Became a Gangster. True Story” is a film about friendship and love in times when allowing yourself to feel emotions could have tragic consequences. In the Hero’s life, only two people matter — his closest friend and the woman he loves — while his business world is ruled by violence.
The story begins in the 1970s. Even then, the young Hero knows that adrenaline tastes better than powdered milk. Soon he discovers his craving for money, power, and living above the law. His transformation begins, and his gangster talent blossoms. Together with his friend, he builds his own army.
Based on true events, the film reveals the real face of Polish mobsters for the first time: they started out in cheap tracksuits and built a criminal organization that, for a moment, ruled the entire country. Yet the finale of this story is not written in bullets and blood — sometimes words cut deeper than a bullet, and love and friendship can be a cure, even in the cruelest hands.
It is not true that gangsters always come from broken families. You don’t have to be the son of an alcoholic, beaten by his father. You can grow up in a complete, loving home, surrounded by care and affection. All it takes is a taste for adrenaline, because it gives life its sharpest flavor.
The titular Hero welcomes his audience with similar words, and looking at his story, this seems a fitting observation.
The plot begins in 1970s Poland, when the local mafia thrived on the political climate of the times. The glitter of life outside the law quickly attracted a Hero constantly seeking stronger thrills. Soon his neighborhood became too small for his growing appetite for adrenaline — addictive like any other drug. Over time, he discovers the darker charms of the underworld: money, power, and of course, women.
As years pass, his gangster skills and instincts sharpen. The new reality after Poland’s transformation creates perfect conditions to build his own empire — from scratch, on his own terms.
Based on true events, this film is a vivid and raw portrait of the Polish mafia — and a story that captures a not-so-distant frame of Polish reality.
