Wild Wild East isn’t my first World War II western, and I like seeing some rare subgenres every other year. There are a lot of characters and aspects embodying Western motifs including its antihero, Martin Wolff (Itay Tiran). Riding into a Polish town on a horse, the German clerk is there to investigate missing Jewish gold. The town, however, sees him different, a man in a powerful position who can offer them help. Wolff, strangely enough, befriends the Polish, like hotel attendant Kulis (Piotr Trojan), who has his own WWII baggage. Kulis’ Wife (Johanna Kulig), though, is a bit more independent, having to raise children during wartime. Not everyone trusts him, especially a fellow Nazi (Jan Bulow), who has reasons for asking for documentation.
Zalesie Małe, the small town in Wild Wild East, expelled its Jewish citizens but there’s still diversity there. Demographic changes mean that most of the townspeople are now Polish, but it has Ukrainians as well. Relative emptiness doesn’t always attract people in droves but they come as lone wolves like Wolff does. And maybe, one or two people are hiding, just like Kaim (Robert Więckiewic) hides someone else’s gold. The film lays its characters out and tells a story that surprisingly hits emotions, seemingly opposite yet complementary. An imperfect film about a clockable twist, I appreciate a joke about improv acting that Wolff makes. It doesn’t just have one twist but two, the second one possibly more devastating than the first.
- Rated: Unrated
- Genre: crime, Thriller, War
- Release Date: 9/14/2026
- Directed by: Jan Holoubek
- Starring: Itay Tiran, Jan Bülow, Joanna Kulig, Robert Więckiewicz
- Produced by: Ewa Puszczyńska, Jan Holoubek, Klaudia Śmieja-Rostworowska
- Written by: Aleksandra Takuska
- Studio: Moderator Inwestycje, TVN Warner Bros. Discovery
