Kocham Polskę z całego serca. Jestem Brazyjliką, nie zgadzam się kiedy się mówi że się nie da nauczyć się polskiego. Da się i to jest połowa droga sukcesu, jak możesz swobodnie mówić po polsku i się porozumieć z ludźmi. Pozdrawiam z zimnej Brazylii, bo mieszkam na połdniu 😊😊🇵🇱🇵🇱🇧🇷🇧🇷
I'm an Italian expat and I have lived in England, Spain and Poland but I feel like, not matter where I go, I don't feel home anywhere, not even in Italy anymore. It's true that being expat teaches you so much and changes you in ways you didn't expect, but don't expect to live few experiences and go back home because it's so true that "home is not there anymore". Lucky for this men that said they now feel home in Poland. I hope I'll find one day the place where to feel home or I'll keep searching for my home. It's actually really said once you are expat 'cause you can never really "go back home".
An expat myself, a Pole living in Sweden, I feel so many things resonating with me in this documentary. Truly, home is not here it used to be, because everything changes constantly, and at the same time there is this feeling of emptiness, because you are always in between the two cultures. Nostalgia, sadness, "vemod" in Swedish - all these emotions are overwhelming and yet enriching you.
Thank you Sveana! I am very happy you could relate - I feel constantly in between, and it's been a long process of learning how to live in that state of mind and find happiness. Please SHARE / subscribe!
Let me express my point of view on this movie please :) I've got a cmpletely opposite opinion on Warsaw and Poland in general. I see it bright, developing and striving. Never understood people telling me how depressive Warsaw is...I might just get the idea that almost every expat often misses his/her home somewhere deep inside and that's why all colors seem to be grey. I'm from Russia. I've been to many countries and I can tell you that Warsaw has the friendliest people I ever met. It's people who make a country. As for such a concept of decay, you can film the same footage in every country of the world. Take Russia, USA (almost all the states excluding just some big cities), China etc. I've seen a comment here down below that there is a feeling this city was supposed to be filmed the way it should put people off. Hope it's not like that :) Just different people, different tastes you know. And hey, Warsaw, do not take offence! I know quite a big number of migrants who are just trully in love with this city, country and people!
Lana i get the same impression that this movie was recorded just to put people off but i think Jonathan left already left his wife and the beautiful country that not giving nothing for free you have to look on the bright side of the coin when day is dark and fight for what you want to achieve. I think Jonathan just did this movie to show his wife how bad he feels away from his mom and safe place that call home. His not an adult he is like baby that went for traveling and find out that this is real life where there is no mum to bring you socks-es and breakfast to bed. I'm Polish and i'm proud you love it here keep up the hard work and you will get reworded by life because Poland is country with soul if you feel it you get what you want. But if you cry and bitch about everything everything will push you down and down till you leave.
Привет! It’s nice to hear that you appreciate Warsaw and Poles:) I also really like this city and, as born here, I’m occasionally getting quite emotional and sentimental. So it warms my heart whenever I hear that a foreigner found a new home in this , let’s say, special place. I just disagree about what you said regarding depressives of the movie. While some scenes are indeed quite gray and might put off, there is also a great numbers of cheerful ones like sitting in a green, sunny park, interesting buildings, people hanging out, good looking girls... that’s why I like this movie so much and keep coming back here - because it shows Warsaw from many perspectives and it feels real
Geezee, what a bunch of Debbie Downers and whiners! I am Polish and have lived in six countries by now. 25 years in New York City to date. Despite various issues in all of the countries I have lived in so far, I have always found ways to enjoy myself and to recognize the good, valuable, positive, and worthy of respect in the cultures, nations, and people around me. What the heck is wrong with these men? And seriously, you can't just fly in and immediately work in Poland legally, if you are not from a EU country? Whoa, what a surprise, never experienced by hundreds of millions of other emigrants everywhere, including Chile. And yes, that's sarcasm.
I was born and grow up in Switzerland, and then moved to Turkey (basically my parents are turkish nationality) after 20 years of living in Turkey, im moving to warsaw in few months. I cried so much in this documentary, because i allways felt “home” as to be a mixed up culture idea and not over a “Natonilaty”. I can trough the years as a living human being, not saying that im turkish or swiss. I really dont know it. But it in the same time, im so affraid to leave my comfort zone. And this documentary made me so much crying (in a good and realistic way) that i get reliefed and say out loud; maybe this emptiness is my natonilaty. Its odd, sometimes very sad and sometimes such a open minded feeling (because there will always be culture shocks in my brain and soul) instead to fight with it, i will give try to care of it. I wanna thank for this production, for this content. For all who take place in this documentary. It gaves me so much power and the feeling of “understanding”
@Esra Yazici I hear you Ezra! It is very hard to move to another country but luckily for you Warsaw is nowhere near as bad as portrayed in this documentary. But you might be here already so you already know.
I have lived in and visited lot of pretty cities with picture perfect scenery and a supposedly high quality of living. But what they lack is soul. I fell in love with Warsaw the first day i went. There is so much soul, you can feel the city changing and breathing and it is full of modern twists, innovations, ideas. Everything is alive and a creazy beautiful mixture of old and new, ugly and stunning. This is a city that you have to be willing to discover and what you will find is a place full of character with insanely friendly people and one of the best bar and restaurant scenes i ever experienced. Give me Warsaw over Paris or Prague any day.
Excellent! Thank you to all the lovely expats! It’s you who make change and diversity to local communities and I hope you all can enjoy some chaos and in-control. I’m an expat myself left Warsaw in 2008! Fun, flight, fight, fit 😊
I saw this documentary on TV and stopped watching it half way through.I lived in England for 4 years and felt like the second citizen,I was told to go back to Poland many times and living in England was a terrible experience. Whenever I spoke Polish in public I got dirty looks it made me feel like a piece of shit.I went back to Poland a few months ago.Ironically British people come to Poland and get angry if someone can't speak English or they expect every country to be the same as the Uk .Americans have the same attitude. Your mentality is terrible and this documentary is a good example of it .You make people feel uncomfortable in their own countries.There are 147 countries on this planet,so don't act like your country is the best in the world.If you live in Poland,speak Polish and respect our culture, luckily many Poles have the same points of view as me ,so keep that in mind.
I’m sorry you had a bad time in the UK. I’m sure you could’ve made an interesting film about it, just like I tried to do here with this film. :) In fact I’ve received many kind messages from Poles in England and the US who say that they feel the same way many of the characters in this film are feeling... In other words, the film is about the difficult experiences people have when they are a foreigner. So we are the same!! :) I’ve lived in Poland 8 years, I have a wife and child here, and I plan to stay as long as I can! I’m sorry if the film made you uncomfortable, but it’s a part of my heart, and I think a lot of other people feel the same way I do. And I do speak Polish - every day! Best wishes
Wydaje mi się, że zbyt emocjonalnie podszedłeś do tematu. To, że ktoś nas krytykuje, to nie znaczy, że nas obraża. Zaskakujące, jak wielu moich ziomków tego nie rozumie. Po drugie, zarzucasz bohaterom filmu, że nie uczą się polskiego. Przecież dokładnie to samo irytowało Cię, kiedy widziałeś krzywiących się na Ciebie Anglików, kiedy słyszeli jak rozmawiałeś po polsku. Moim zdaniem Twoja postawia nie jest w żadnym stopniu konstruktywna. Mam nadzieję, że rozumiesz to, że nie staram się Ciebie obrazić, tylko wykazuję to, co uważam za błędne w Twoim sposobie myślenia.
Szopen W Kuchni W moim sposobie myślenia nie ma nic błędnego,mieszkałem w kilku krajach poznałem ludzi z całego świata ,od niektórych nacji dostałem mase pozytywnej energi i mam ogromny do nich szacunek.Są 3 kraje na świecie które nie okazują szacunku nikomu i mają się za lepszych .Amerykanie,Anglicy,Niemcy.Czy to przypadek?Jeżeli znamy historie tych krajów to raczej przypadek to nie jest.Od wieków mordowali,kolonizowali,niszczyli więc to ma jakieś podłoże.Ja zawsze tego typu uwagom,musze użyć pewnego przysłowia które nie kieruje do ciebie bo cie nie znam ,ale one mówi wiele,w dupie byłeś gówno widziałeś.Podróżowanie to lek na wszystko ,zawsze chwalimy cudze a swego nie znamy.Wyobraź sobie że masz w klasie chłopaków którzy mają się za lepszych i każdego traktują jak śmiecia.Czy bd na siłę starał kolegować się z nimi i podlizywał się im skoro to i tak nie będą cię dobrze traktować ?A jak będą cię wyzywać to bd udawać że deszcz pada?Ja wolałbym zadawać się z tymi co mnie akceptują i mają mnie za równego sobie.Oczywiśćie nie można generalizować każdej nacji ale ten przyklad ze szkołą można przenieść na większe pole. .Zapomniałem dodać wiele Amerykanów żyjących w Polsce nie chce uczyć się polskiego dlatego że dopóki mówią po angielsku to są traktowani jak szlachta co im się podoba ,a jak mówią po polsku to są jak każdy inny obywatel .Nie wiem jak ci ale mi to wiele mówi.
Ja naszczęście pracowałem w Republic of Ireland (konkretnie Dublin) ,a nie jak większość w UK. Muszę powiedzeć że nawet od irlandzkiego nackera nigdy nie usłyszałem złego słowa.
as a side note to 27:15 " is it a historical fact that Poland never had a diversity..." so wrong. Poland USED to be the most diverse country in Europe long before any emigration came to France, UK or elsewhere. Only after IIWW Jews flew to Israel, Ukrainians shifter the Ukraine, Russians went to Russia, Germans were sent to Germany and other simply escaped from communists being imposed on Poland by foreign power. So Poland from most diverse country in Europe changed to most homogeneous one.
Hi! Thanks for watching and thanks for this comment! To be short, I agree with you! If I could go back in time, I would change this line just a little bit because a few people seem to have misunderstood what he meant to say... When I was editing the film (with 2 Polish editors who didn't believe this line is controversial) I thought it would be very clear from the context of what he is saying that he is talking about the "diversity" experienced by people in Poland who are ALIVE today (i.e. people who grew up in the non-diverse communist era), and not the entire history of Poland... Of course, now I see that the words "historical fact" were poorly chosen and I would eliminate them from the film if I could. Sorry for the misunderstanding! That's the price of free entertainment I guess! ;)
Jonathan Ramsey However these are not you words. It's how one of interviewed people felt and they have right for this point of view. But also for people that read comments it's worth to learn that Poland has history of diversity that has been destroyed.
I had to laugh when Hyong claimed that Poland never had much diversity as nothing could be further from the truth. Poland was once the most diverse country in Europe and then WWll happened. I myself am a result of no less than 4 ethnicities that lived in Poland. But I don't blame him, he doesn't know the complete history and obviously has challenges living there. Great video with a broad cross-section of impressions!
I watched this film with so many different emotions, as a polish guy living in UK I want to thank You for showing people how is to be foreigner. Off course my reasons to being here are different, but feelings, emotions and points of view is similar with people who were interviewing. Once again thank you great job.
Thank you Marcin! This is a great comment, and it makes me happy that you can relate. Please SHARE with your friends/family in Poland! PS. I made a different film about a foreigner which you might like - One Man's Brexit. You can find it on youtube.
It's SOOOO refreshing to look at Warsaw through different eyes - just like some have stated below - I loved every minute of it and I think it is a great film, thank you!
Very interesting film. I can truly identify with all you guys featured in this documentary. I spent my youth in Warsaw under communism and then moved to many different countries. Living abroad for decades challenged me in a similar way. I visited Poland a few years ago and just loved it! I think that comparing to the West, there is less BS in Poland.
I have immigrated to Dallas, Texas from Poland a few decades ago. Watching this movie brings memories of similar feelings, I have experienced during first years living on this side of the Atlantic. My dreams and expectations were quickly verified by reality, daily. The most difficult things were to accept the cultural differences and to adopt the american constant optimism. After many of successful and fewer of turbulent years, I have assimilated completely with the American society. I still love Poland but my home is Texas. Well done film indeed!
Great video. I was born in Warsaw and I've lived in 4 different countries on 3 different continents since. I can relate to so many of the issues that the expats in Warsaw have to go through in their daily lives. Powodzenia.
There was said in the movie, that in Poland, people you call "friends" are usually a small group. That's true. But if you gain someone's friendship it's often very deep and goes for the rest of your life.
I'm a native Varsovian. I feel conflicted about your documentary. One the one hand I like what the people in the film say about the city. On the other hand the visuals... they make Warsaw look bleak. Like really fucking bleak. I mean I know there is much brutalist soviet style architecture but Warsaw is not an ugly city on the whole, I think. The city was centrally planned and the buildings that were put up after WWII aren't particularly nice BUT the urban planning is second to none. Public transit is second to none. Almost every neighbourhood is very walkable and there are even eye candy areas like the Old Town and the Royal Tract. I was an expat myself for a long time living the west and have experienced living in the UK, US, Germany and Canada. I don't think Warsaw fares badly. Although the point about the lack of diversity is spot on. Poles resent and fear diversity of the western cities. They think the influx of non-European immigrants will dilute our culture and impose rules we don't agree with. I'm not in this camp but I know where they come from. And the recent spat of terrorist attacks in the major western cities is not helping Poles change their minds about it.
I only got to visit Warsaw for a week - but I strongly agree. We have probably 1 or 2 cities MAX in the USA that would fit my need for convenience and getting around easily. It's actually the main reason I'd like to permanently leave, not into society so heavily based on cars, I find it boring. So I would absolutely love to live in Warsaw. Heck, really the only thing Warsaw lacks is population! If there were 5 times as many people, there'd be just that much more stuff and it could compare more on niche cuisines and so on with Tokyo or Bangkok or something hah
yes Poland needs to open up borders and attract foreigners, birth rates are low and 500zloty is not reversing the trend much. Besides, most immigrants would choose many other countries first before choosing Poland anyway. I am a Pole, but i've been living abroad in one of the most cosmopolitan places. I totally understand that our country gained democracy and freedom of shaping our future only in 1989, but such fears are somewhat obsessive imho.
Polish people are clever to not want the same "diversity" as Western European cities have attracted, anybody old enough to have known Paris in the past would be honest to recognize it clearly hasn't been enriched by massive extra-European immigration (and that's not only true of France).
Moved to cracow form London two months ago. Very Satisfied. My company ve opened a branch in here. Save place, no terrorism all people very kind to me. High quality of accommodation for very good price. 4 a flat like this i would have to pay litteraly 4X more in London. In poland everything is quite new. Three are around 700 corporations here including state street IBM google occado AON and many more. City is quite clean and food is tasty. Very happ
mieszkam w UK juz od dluzszego czasu i musze powiedziec ze mialam dokladnie takie same odczucia na wyspie w pierwszych latach , jakie maja bohaterowie tego dokumentu . Jadac do Polski czuje sie prawie jak turystka , a nie obywatelka tego kraju. Jak mam zaplanowana podroz do Polski , to odliczam dni do odlotu. A jak jestem w Polsce po tygodniu , chce wracac do siebie do Szkocji
Great documentary with all the different topics! I am born in the netherlands and I am half Polish so I visit Warsaw on a yearly basis. In september I will move to Warsaw because I will be doing an internship for half a year!
Thank you, Jonathan, for this film, really good work! Usually, people from countries such as Ukraine, Belarus or Russia make movies about their immigration to Poland. And their opinion really differs from these guys. People come here because they knew that life here is better than in their cities. No one will doubt that in USA or UK it is a much more different way of living than in Russia, for example. But I'm truly amazed that these guys came to Poland in early 2000 or even earlier. When Poland was at the beginning of its new-life path. They were the witnesses of all changes. And I think that if they succeeded in living here for such a long period it is definitely mean a thing. And personally, for me, it is not the story about Warsaw it is more about feelings and thoughts. And they are the same for all expats not only in Warsaw or another polish city. People feel the same in many other countries when they have to learn and use another language, get used to new tax rules, healthcare things and all that stuff that they knew from their childhood. So even when you are an expat and sometimes feel lonely the thing is that you are not alone.
Wow, what a great documentary. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it surprised me very positively. No exaggerations, no judgements and no drama- just real people and their real stories. For someone born and grown up in Warsaw it felt bizarre and somewhat familiar at the same time to see the city through these people's eyes. Would be interesting to bump into some of these characters somewhere in Warsaw one day
Dobra decyzja Rafale,my wracamy w 2020 do Polski z UK po 16 latach,dość tęsknoty,kasa to nie wszystko,wracamy do domu przewartościować się na ludzi nie na rzeczy.....
I know several "expats" in Poland. I believe your video portrays a small portion of them. I noticed that in your video, if not most, perhaps all, are men who have a mistaken perception of their own role in Polish society. They are certainly not supermen, and the negative perception they have takes into account a very small window of recent Polish history. To think that just over a hundred years ago Poland didn't even exist on the map, it was devastated by the Second World War, oppressed by Russia, and only at the end of the 80s it was freed from all this and only then recovered... let's be honest , Poland is a super country! This is all without mentioning that Poland was not part of the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe. So, seeing these men looking at Poland from a position of superiority makes me sad, not for Poland, but for their narrow vision.
Have found myself in the many sentiments expressed in this excellent documentary - Dublin guy married with Polish girl in Munich - that is challenging enough. Have yet to summon up the courage to spend more than two months at a stretch in Poland. They being said - Poland and the Polish have enriched my life so much.
This film should be called "Hotel Warsaw" "you can check in any time you like but you can never leave" LOL. I was born in Poland and now I live in Canada. I've never been to Warsaw but really want to go visit now. Thanks for this insightful film. I wish all the men interviewed the best of luck.
Jonathan, your documentary has given me a lot of food for thought. Thank you. One of my comments is that we all have mental maps of our cities and countries. When I lived in LA or SF or Henderson, NV (currently), I've been avoiding the nasty places and go the nice ones. I bet you have a mental map of Chicago. My point is, in your movie you are showing mostly the ugly and depressing places in Warsaw. When you show your flashbacks to Chicago, you show the glamorous parts of dowtown. I have been to Chicago a few times. It has great architecture and some beautiful neighborhoods. Chicago also has huge parts of the city that are so bad that they make the depressing parts of Warsaw look like paradise. Same with Detroit. My map of Warsaw and Poland is a map of places that I love. I stay in super nice hotels and eat delicious foods. I walk the beautiful parts of Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Polanica... the list is endless. I think your movie is very interesting but unfair. Or perhaps you had had a fight with your wife or were depressed when you made it. I emigrated from Poland to the US in 1984. Poland had been devastated by socialism. It had a nearly Martian landscape of desolation. In spite of that, when I drove, at that time, in 1984, through Detroit and the boarded up cities of upstate New York, I thought to myself "oh my God, I have never seen such poverty and mess in my life". And that was right after arriving from a Poland that had been nearly annihilated by the Russian backed socialists. The more I think about it, the more I see a tremendous lack of objectivity in your movie. However, I did enjoy it, and it has made me think. BTW - I really like your movie with Mark Harrison. I'd love to be friends with him,
i think its just the same in any other country when U R foreigner, i did move out from Poland to Australia 35 years ago and i must say that i had exectly same expierence as any caracter in this documentary , for about 5 years i felt different , but hey U learn every day new things and U make every day new adventure, even today after 35 years abroad people here ask me ...where U from ? its just the way it is and if U R living in other country u have to adopt your self to it and just go with the flow , greatings from Melbourne :-) i just say to all people from this Docu - happy stay in Poland , wish U all manny new friends and all the best from me ... :-) happy staying in poland :-) my name is AREK :-)
I have been to Warsaw many times and I love it! This “documentary” is definitely not a true representation of what Warsaw really is like. Despite of some nice things that have been said, the way it’s shot is biased and film to suit the whining of few unhappy individuals. You guys really had to look hard to find all those derelict buildings, graffiti, old falling bus stops etc. I guess it wouldn’t be a serious documentary if it had colour and showed Warsaw in a way it really is - a modern and vibrant city. Oh and it is very clean too! Paris and London, take note!
Very nice documentary. People saying it depicts Warsaw in a bad way don't understand that it's being depicted as these people feel like, you can't really fight it. Two things that are true, me being an "expat" in an asian country for 20 years, home it's not the same after you leave, it's not there anymore. May sound sad, but it's the way it is. Second thing is, I've a friend who's living in the UK, he's from Armenia and he also has a very hard time to find friends or a partner there even after 3 years, so I think it's a common thing if you move alone.
Well done! My first 16 years were in Chicago, then one year in Warsaw, then back to Chi-Town for another 15 years. 27 some in So Cal and now in the SEA area, but my year in Warsaw was amazing. We were going to move there, and with that in mind, I was accepted by my peers in school. We did have a change of mind, thus the return to the States, but I will always feel like W-Wa is a second home to me. I will (despite this file) be there for a visit this summer and can't wait to show it to my wife (who is not Polish). As to non-poles fitting in, maybe it's a personality thing, I dunno. But if you're comparing it to the US, don't forget, the US is a melting pot, Poland is not. And a country which has historically been dominated, torn apart, and then lived under imposed communist rule, will probably never become a melting pot. Poland has successfully kept its national identity. Other countries in Europe unfortunately are loosing theirs.
Jonathan Ramsey You did a great job. You've touched it all... and you made me cry man !!! I'm Polish myself staying in UK. I'm also philosophically educated. And your film helped me to recognise and by it to search for my life's essentials. You named my longings but you also showed where to go to in searching for better myself. And it's quite interesting how really accurate you did that. And BTW Warsaw looks amazing especially in that little roughish places just like behind the main facing facade. But what makes it all even better are people around. Your film is about extraordinary folks who come around and by doing so the world around is more interesting, somehow it seems to be wider and deeper and much more unexpected and ready to be explored. Or am I wrong? :) Anyways, thanks again. I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to see more stuff upcoming. Take care and stay brave in Warszawa :)
Thanks for this one! I've been living abroad for over 10 years now and when I was watching your movie I felt so many times like... That's me!My reasons to leave my home country were different but still.. . It doesn't matter where you come from but if you decide to live abroad you might experience those feelings which you showed in your movie. Can't wait for your next movie! Keep up good work!
Excellent documentary. I lived in Warsaw for 15 years, but through serious illness and divorce, I was no longer able to support myself, so came "home".....which, as the guy said, doesn't exist any more! I go back to Warsaw regularly, though.....
this brings back so many memories from my time there from 2008 to 2010 man i miss warsaw specially the videos are from the same time so I can see the same adverts and boards which I used to see everyday
Saying that Poland never had much diversity is hilarious statement. Throughout ages Poland was mix of Poles, Lithanians, Ruthenians, Germans, Prussians, Jews, Silesians, Kashubians, Tatars and many other ethnic groups. Expierience of nazi occupation and 40 years of communism has changed that a lot, but there are dozens of ethnic and cultural tropes here.
Fantastic movie! Thank you for making it. To me all those guys are more Warsaw than they think😀. I wonder if they realize that in Warsaw almost everybody’s from somewhere else, it’s just a matter of two, three generations back. Somebody else on YT said Warsaw was like a micro New York, just smaller and whiter. I lived in both I must say there’s some truth to it. In my memories Warsaw will always be freedom and fantastic friends! Keep up with your lives guys, claim the city and enjoy the people there. Greetings from NYC.
Thank you Robert, I really appreciate this comment! I made this film like 5-6 years ago and it has faded in my memory, so it's nice to hear that people are still discovering it and enjoying it. Greetings from Warsaw
Hey Jonathan . Dzieki za ten dokument - jestem Polakiem . ale mieszkalem wieksza czesc zycia w szwajcarii... planuje za miesiac pojechac do polski i zaczac tam nowe zycie . Co ciekawe .... te wywiady , te uczucia o ktorych mowili Expaci z twojego filmu - ja odczuwam w szwajcarii . Nienawidze jej i kocham ja .... ale czuje z emusze sprobowac zyc w polsce. Dziekuje za film . Wydaje sie byc bardzo dobry z perspektywy obcokrajowca. Wszystkiego dobrego
interesting, Felipe from Chile @ 33:25 summarized whole bloody historical journey of Poland. Not easy, not great, bumpy, but if you have heart at the right place for Poland you keep going on. People say movie doesnt show true nature of Warsaw and Poland but I dare to say otherwise - it shows how people from completely different countries really see life in Poland. And, as a Pole, I find it VERY interesting.
I'm Pols living in Chicago for over 30 years. I was born and raised in Warsaw (Praga Polnoc) watching this movie I was laughing and crying at the same time. You show as it is and was in Poland before, no matter what people like you or hate you for it. Pols, not only hate foreigners but hate each other, and Warsaw people can't stand other people, not from Warsaw and this a true!!! You show everyday real-life people living there. I'm US citizen now and I feel like the citizen in this country.You will never be accepted as the Polish citizen no matter how long you live there and how many Polish passports you got.and this is true! like it or not. I visit Poland every year my mom and rest of family still there. Poland looks great in the summer but after week or two I got the feeling to get fuck out of there coz mind of the people it is still fucked up ...
I love this film. It seems to be so similar to feelings and emotions of Polish living in UK. The circumstances are diffrent but the way of finding self in new place and surroundings is the same. I remember myself first thought in UK ;"why have I done it to myself???" After one year in UK , I had holiday in Poland when I was coming back to UK I was happy to be at home. It is my home since 2006 and I love it. I know a lot of Polish don't think like me and they are treating this emigration as temporary and not always joyful. It is a very interesting documentary. I would like to see women... or another city for example Poznań or Wrocław. Good luck.
I also have a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT opinion on that city, I see it actually as one of the most open, dinamic, diverse and modern in the world. This movie seems to show on purpose the bad side of the city. But we’ll... wats better than visiting by yourself the city and finding out a completely different reality than this on the movie?
The reason why I like your documentary is because I feel exactly the same as you guys. Emigrated to UK 5 years ago and that was so interesting to see you all going to my home country while I went to one of yours and struggling with the same stuff from paper work to day-to-day living. And how funny that describes the need of travelling and lucky of having a chance to do so- that you were not feeling good in your countries and left it for Poland and me not enjoying Poland enough, to move to UK. I had my reasons, you had yours, as long as it brings happiness- it is ssso worth doing it! What I can suggest and recommend to every foreigner- it is ssso easier to live among people and share their life struggle in the native language. More English I know or more English history and culture, more easier I am accepted and so easier my life gets. I reckon that is how yours would turn into much better one. All the best to all of you! Another thought I have is when I arrived first I was so depressed by seeing all the colours of the nation around which is not day-to-day view in Poland and I felt really overwhelmed by people who allegedly could harm me. That is how a person in Poland is raised. You guys are used to it and you know that is not true. Same as me seeing big blocks never scared me or made me upset, because that was my routine view. Poland was completely destroyed after IIWW and building quickly was the main goal for the government and that is why we have so many of them. At the same time a big block in UK is pictured as social flats of poor people and drugs dealing but It is not pictured that bad in Poland. That is why seeing them might make you feel depressed.
Awesome doco. Love it. Reminds me of when I lived in china for 10 years as an expat.(20 years in Australia before that). Same feeling. Hard but worth it. Im glad people can have this experience in Poland! Only thing I found funny is the Korean guy complaining about Poland being unaccustomed to foreigners. Spend some time in Korea and you will see his comments are more about himself than anything else. Korea has 'no foreigner' bars in its capital for gods sake...
Fair enough. Really well done though. I've been trying to make movies for years and years about places I go to and I have not made anything remotely as interesting as this. Looking forward to the next one~~~
Poles are not from a small gene pull. A few hundreds of years ago we were a more multicultural country than any other in Western Europe. In Poland, there are millions of descendants of Tatars, Armenians, Jews, Ruthenians, Balts, Russians etc.
Pozdrawiam Was goraco z USA Wszedzie poza wlasna ojczyzna poczatki sa bardzo trudne Jezyk kultura nieznajomosc nowego miejsca Nowi ludzie i zwyczaje A pozniej czlowiek poprostu sie przyzwyczaja i to kiedys straszne miejsce staje sie jego nowym domem Tam gdzie czujesz sie szczesliwy jest Twoj Dom
As a Pole I really appreciate this documentary. It depicts Warsaw as it is not a product to be sold around the world telling people Warsaw is a heaven on the earth. Fancy a beer with local? Feel free. Live long and prosper :)
Thank you Wojciech! Your comment really means a lot. I think Warsaw is an amazing city, but the way the city is marketing itself leaves out a lot of the true character of the place.
Love this, makes me think about how I came here. I'm an accounting student in warsaw come from Malaysia. Before I decided to come here, I didn't know a single thing about poland but I was keen to study abroad afforadably. I find this place very unique, very different from some other countries and cities in Europe I have been. Now I'm in love with this place, met a lot of different kind of people, and even found my first girlfriend here. Again, thanks for this video. :)
Można powiedzieć, że jak ktoś z zagranicy zobaczy ten film to na pewno do Warszawy nie przyjedzie :) i do Polski w ogóle. Film jest strasznie depresyjny. Warszawa nagrywana w zimie czy późną jesienią to wizerunkowy błąd. Brzydota bloków z PRL jeszcze bardziej się potęguje. Fakt że Warszawa to nie cała Polska, to chyba najbrzydsze miasto w Polsce, ale ten film w oczach kogoś z zagranicy będzie rzutował na opinię o całej Polsce. W moich oczach po obejrzeniu tego filmu Polska jawi się jako szary, brudny i depresyjny kraj. Sorry, ale tak ten film odebrałem. Tak dodając jeszcze na koniec, Polsko zacznij coś robić z tą komunistyczną architekturą! W Niemczech burzą takie bloki i budują przyjemniejsze dla oka rzeczy. A nawet odbudowują zniszczoną w czasie wojny zabudowę.
Thanks for this! I agree that there are some depressing parts, but in my view the film is about the experience of being a foreigner in a new culture over a long period of time. If you have ever lived in another country, you'll know that there are many ups and downs, and if you can manage to stay and learn how to adapt to the new culture then you will grow to be a better person - this process can be very difficult, and it can make you feel sad or sentimental, because in many ways you need to say goodbye to your old friends, family, culture, etc. And I must say I completely disagree about the blocs - I love communist architecture, and I know many people from abroad who think it's fascinating.
Toż to prawie diss na Warszawę. Jeszcze gorzej, że tak szczery i poważny. Nie poleciłbym tego filmu ludziom, którzy się zastanawiają czy tu przyjechać.
I live in another big city in Poland and I meet many foraigners (hence my English) who would never say such things like in this video. They love it, they had little to no doubts about living here, they didn't talk about depressiveness all around them. There are differences, of course - my city is rather good looking and it has no 'capital vibe' as some call it - 'Warszafka'. I've been to Warsaw a few times and I didn't like it that much. The problem is this video doesn't even try to change depressive stereotype this city is associated with.
That's a very interesting perspective, but I respectfully disagree. You should consider that perhaps the many foreigners you meet are telling you (as a Polish person) that they "love Poland" and perhaps they would tell me (as a fellow foreigner) something quite different... Anyways, I hope you are aware that all of the men in this film still live in Warsaw, and most of them do love it. Many of them have lived in this city for 20+ years and they have a right to their opinions... I think the problem you have with the film is that you are approaching the movie with the wrong expectations. I honestly don't know what "depressive stereotypes" you are talking about. I didn't want to make a reklama that says "Warsaw is an amazing city" - if you need that kind of reassurance, then you have plenty of other TH-cam videos that will give you this message! ;) But rather, I was trying to make a thoughtful movie about why it's very challenging to start a new life in a new country with a difficult language, different history, etc.
Sir, this is a masterpiece. The sentence at 15:21 about my nation ( in this moment in time) is spot on and I've never heard somebody expressed it explicitly before.
a Pole living abroad (for most of my life you should add), yes agreed, i believe much of this comes from communism as a system and from having illegitimate governments and rulers for many decades or even centuries up to 1989.
Very good film :) Thanks! The perspective that you show in the movie is very interesting. As a pole i feel similar as you expats felt in your countries, i am a little bored of my polish reality and thinking about moving abroad, at least for a little time and who knows maybe i will become an expact one day ;)
This was interesting and i like it. I have one question, do you ever plan to do something similar with female expats? As i would like to see the female viewpoint of Poland. Also, would it be ok to share this on my channel? It is small, however, i think my viewers will really like this.
Yes! Please SHARE! To answer your question, I did interview 7 wonderful women for this project, but unfortunately their stories were very wide-ranging, and so when it came time to edit the movie I felt that I needed to consolidate the stories into something that is shorter and more cohesive - so in the end, the concept became about: "Foreign Men who move to Poland for Polish women, and how they feel foreign in this new country." I would of course like to do a sequel about female perspectives, but at the current moment I'm making a movie about SMOG.
@@RamseyUnited it would be very interesting to see this documentary from the expats women prospective. I'm an expats woman myself, and I came here because of a Polish men, but I have always felt so lonely as if I was the only woman that ever came here for a man. I haven't felt like I really fit in, or that I could build deep long-lasting connection with local people. It would be great to know why other women came (and stayed).
This is what every immigrant experiences, it’s not unique to Poland. I commend the men who are actively learning polish, I know it’s not an easy language but we appreciate it when you at least try. I got the impression that the majority of these men have this attitude like they are being mistreated because the Polish people will not assimilate to their needs. It is our country therefore if you want to live here you need to learn the language, history and culture instead of expecting people to cater to your needs and making such ignorant and historically inaccurate statements. I am offended by this film regardless of whether or not it was made with good intentions. Every culture is different it is not okay to speak with such contempt about a country you are choosing to live in. I’m not surprised they feel alienated, if you have a bad attitude don’t expect people to be nice. If you are so unhappy just leave! No one is forcing you to stay.
Thanks for watching and thanks for your comment! Most of these men still live in Poland, and they do speak Polish (or at least a little bit!). And they do enjoy their lives here, and they have learned a lot about Polish culture... So I don't believe it's correct to say that they have contempt for Poland - rather, I think they often feel torn inside, because they are comparing Poland with the countries that they came from. Of course they will never understand Poland in quite the same way that a Polish person does, and this can often cause some frustration and feelings of alienation. But these feelings of unhappiness can often lead to growth... The movie is supposed to be about the process of learning how to adjust to a new culture, and why that is so difficult. All the best!
Great job! Thank you for this amazing documentary. At the start I sort of saw it as a story of a city and clicked in cause I am learning Polish and want to know its cities, but a few moments latter I found out that here Warszawa could have been any other city. It actually tells stories of a group of expats. I myself as an expat in Portugal, have experienced every one of these bites like being simply defined only by one's nationality, being mock only by one's physical appearance, feeling lonely but having to carry on to, starting to attached to the new country, feeling like stranger when back to my homeland for a short visit(btw, I like this"don't be surprised home isn't there anymore", quite philosophic), etc. Some might say the film is bit too depressing. But few expats would agree with it cause we all know a life starting in a totally strange country could never be easy and happy. People nowadays are too accustomed to Instagram filters that they are not prepared to see real things, sorry, but this is real life, which doesn't mean that I think this film is sad, it's beautiful! I believe even under the romantic and delicate cover in Paris, life is not that different.
Thank you Carolina for this very nice and thoughtful comment! It really makes my day to know that you had a strong response to it. :) I wish you all the best in Portugal (I am in love with the city of Porto!)
I love Warsaw! Thx for sharing the video. Btw the guy saying at 27:20 is wrong. Poland during all it's history before 1939 was one of the most multicultural and multiethnic place in Europe!
15:03 very good observations about rules, choices, cooperation. I'm personally close to idea of "rules as suggestion" ;), but choice making and cooperation is something I'm still trying to break through to next level in work, familly and personal. I'm glad to be programmer (yes, PHP is programming language :D ), not only because it's easier to find a job, but also because this group got pressure to improve cooperation, responsibility etc.
Really nice and thought out documentary. You were able to touch on some things that are truly universal in the way that they apply to all kinds of migrants. I moved from Poland to NY over 26 years ago, just like some people from your movie moved to Poland in the beginning of '90s. I struggled with some similar issues trying somehow to fit in into this new environment. I have to say that for anyone coming from outside of Poland and trying to live other there must be way harder than going the other route. Polish culture is not necessarily inclusive, yet it attracts foreigners to the level of assimilation. We may seem like homogenous group, but in reality we are not. Over the centuries people from various parts of the world were integrated into polish society. They came mostly from our neighboring countries, but there were also Italians, Scots, Armenians etc. Right now Poland is on the verge of attracting new groups of people from Asia, Africa and Central and South America. These processes already started. It seems like a trivial advise, but learning language is a gateway to feel like a part of polish society.
I think this is a beautiful documentary. It describes the reason why many millions Polish people have left. Truthful and interesting. Speaking of the times ago.
Warsaw? There's no place like Warsaw. You ment Walsall probably :) Good job. I hated Warsaw when I lived in this city, now I'm impressed of its development. This is no more old Warsaw anymore.
I moved to Warsaw from CA just a month ago (I am Polish myself, but lived abroad for a decade, never lived in Warsaw before). Well, it's February now, so everything looks depressing (like all of Europe), but this documentary is just so totally dishonest. Warsaw is full of post-Soviet architecture and the area around the Palace of Culture and Science looks almost like somewhere in Moscow, but overall I find the city very modern, with excellent public transport, trains on time, with everything you want available, with modern apartments, grocery shops at every corner, big supermarkets available, safe (no need to look behind my back as I did in the States), and clean. I am also surprised of how well-dressed and well-behaved people here are. So far I haven't seen any creeps, junkies or crazies anywhere on public transport or on the streets. Some guy in the documentary mentioned people randomly screaming on the streets. WTF, dude, where did you get that? Granted, it's not the fanciest city in the world, and I came here because I was following a specific job opportunity, but it's not that bad! The 1990s are long gone, Warsaw is actually quite a modern metropolis.
I have travelled to Poland many times, north, south east and west....it is an amazing country with wonderful people
Thank you Superman ;)
So have I. Agreed!
i love poland so much it truly is what you say it is
Kocham Polskę z całego serca. Jestem Brazyjliką, nie zgadzam się kiedy się mówi że się nie da nauczyć się polskiego. Da się i to jest połowa droga sukcesu, jak możesz swobodnie mówić po polsku i się porozumieć z ludźmi. Pozdrawiam z zimnej Brazylii, bo mieszkam na połdniu 😊😊🇵🇱🇵🇱🇧🇷🇧🇷
A mieszkałaś kiedyś w Polsce? Jeśli tak dobrze mówisz po polsku, to może rób filmy o Brazylii dla Polaków. Ja bym chętnie oglądał.
I have lived in Poland for 20 years and it keeps me young and happy...
I'm an Italian expat and I have lived in England, Spain and Poland but I feel like, not matter where I go, I don't feel home anywhere, not even in Italy anymore. It's true that being expat teaches you so much and changes you in ways you didn't expect, but don't expect to live few experiences and go back home because it's so true that "home is not there anymore". Lucky for this men that said they now feel home in Poland. I hope I'll find one day the place where to feel home or I'll keep searching for my home. It's actually really said once you are expat 'cause you can never really "go back home".
An expat myself, a Pole living in Sweden, I feel so many things resonating with me in this documentary. Truly, home is not here it used to be, because everything changes constantly, and at the same time there is this feeling of emptiness, because you are always in between the two cultures. Nostalgia, sadness, "vemod" in Swedish - all these emotions are overwhelming and yet enriching you.
Thank you Sveana! I am very happy you could relate - I feel constantly in between, and it's been a long process of learning how to live in that state of mind and find happiness. Please SHARE / subscribe!
Let me express my point of view on this movie please :) I've got a cmpletely opposite opinion on Warsaw and Poland in general. I see it bright, developing and striving. Never understood people telling me how depressive Warsaw is...I might just get the idea that almost every expat often misses his/her home somewhere deep inside and that's why all colors seem to be grey. I'm from Russia. I've been to many countries and I can tell you that Warsaw has the friendliest people I ever met. It's people who make a country. As for such a concept of decay, you can film the same footage in every country of the world. Take Russia, USA (almost all the states excluding just some big cities), China etc. I've seen a comment here down below that there is a feeling this city was supposed to be filmed the way it should put people off. Hope it's not like that :) Just different people, different tastes you know. And hey, Warsaw, do not take offence! I know quite a big number of migrants who are just trully in love with this city, country and people!
Lana i get the same impression that this movie was recorded just to put people off but i think Jonathan left already left his wife and the beautiful country that not giving nothing for free you have to look on the bright side of the coin when day is dark and fight for what you want to achieve.
I think Jonathan just did this movie to show his wife how bad he feels away from his mom and safe place that call home.
His not an adult he is like baby that went for traveling and find out that this is real life where there is no mum to bring you socks-es and breakfast to bed.
I'm Polish and i'm proud you love it here keep up the hard work and you will get reworded by life because Poland is country with soul if you feel it you get what you want. But if you cry and bitch about everything everything will push you down and down till you leave.
Do you live in Warsaw?
Absolutely correct
you see it differently because people from foreign cultures blend so easily
Привет! It’s nice to hear that you appreciate Warsaw and Poles:) I also really like this city and, as born here, I’m occasionally getting quite emotional and sentimental. So it warms my heart whenever I hear that a foreigner found a new home in this , let’s say, special place.
I just disagree about what you said regarding depressives of the movie. While some scenes are indeed quite gray and might put off, there is also a great numbers of cheerful ones like sitting in a green, sunny park, interesting buildings, people hanging out, good looking girls... that’s why I like this movie so much and keep coming back here - because it shows Warsaw from many perspectives and it feels real
Geezee, what a bunch of Debbie Downers and whiners! I am Polish and have lived in six countries by now. 25 years in New York City to date. Despite various issues in all of the countries I have lived in so far, I have always found ways to enjoy myself and to recognize the good, valuable, positive, and worthy of respect in the cultures, nations, and people around me. What the heck is wrong with these men? And seriously, you can't just fly in and immediately work in Poland legally, if you are not from a EU country? Whoa, what a surprise, never experienced by hundreds of millions of other emigrants everywhere, including Chile. And yes, that's sarcasm.
I was born and grow up in Switzerland, and then moved to Turkey (basically my parents are turkish nationality) after 20 years of living in Turkey, im moving to warsaw in few months. I cried so much in this documentary, because i allways felt “home” as to be a mixed up culture idea and not over a “Natonilaty”. I can trough the years as a living human being, not saying that im turkish or swiss. I really dont know it. But it in the same time, im so affraid to leave my comfort zone. And this documentary made me so much crying (in a good and realistic way) that i get reliefed and say out loud; maybe this emptiness is my natonilaty. Its odd, sometimes very sad and sometimes such a open minded feeling (because there will always be culture shocks in my brain and soul) instead to fight with it, i will give try to care of it.
I wanna thank for this production, for this content. For all who take place in this documentary. It gaves me so much power and the feeling of “understanding”
Thank you for sharing this comment! It means a lot to me. Good luck in Warsaw! -Jonathan
@@RamseyUnited
thank you very much ♥️
@Esra Yazici I hear you Ezra! It is very hard to move to another country but luckily for you Warsaw is nowhere near as bad as portrayed in this documentary. But you might be here already so you already know.
Great video, from a Londoner who lived 3 years in Uganda
I have lived in and visited lot of pretty cities with picture perfect scenery and a supposedly high quality of living. But what they lack is soul.
I fell in love with Warsaw the first day i went. There is so much soul, you can feel the city changing and breathing and it is full of modern twists, innovations, ideas. Everything is alive and a creazy beautiful mixture of old and new, ugly and stunning. This is a city that you have to be willing to discover and what you will find is a place full of character with insanely friendly people and one of the best bar and restaurant scenes i ever experienced.
Give me Warsaw over Paris or Prague any day.
Honestly though, if most the interviewees haven't learned to speak Polish fluently, it doesn't surprise me that so many of them are unhappy.
Excellent! Thank you to all the lovely expats! It’s you who make change and diversity to local communities and I hope you all can enjoy some chaos and in-control. I’m an expat myself left Warsaw in 2008! Fun, flight, fight, fit 😊
I saw this documentary on TV and stopped watching it half way through.I lived in England for 4 years and felt like the second citizen,I was told to go back to Poland many times and living in England was a terrible experience. Whenever I spoke Polish in public I got dirty looks it made me feel like a piece of shit.I went back to Poland a few months ago.Ironically British people come to Poland and get angry if someone can't speak English or they expect every country to be the same as the Uk .Americans have the same attitude. Your mentality is terrible and this documentary is a good example of it .You make people feel uncomfortable in their own countries.There are 147 countries on this planet,so don't act like your country is the best in the world.If you live in Poland,speak Polish and respect our culture, luckily many Poles have the same points of view as me ,so keep that in mind.
I’m sorry you had a bad time in the UK. I’m sure you could’ve made an interesting film about it, just like I tried to do here with this film. :) In fact I’ve received many kind messages from Poles in England and the US who say that they feel the same way many of the characters in this film are feeling... In other words, the film is about the difficult experiences people have when they are a foreigner. So we are the same!! :) I’ve lived in Poland 8 years, I have a wife and child here, and I plan to stay as long as I can! I’m sorry if the film made you uncomfortable, but it’s a part of my heart, and I think a lot of other people feel the same way I do. And I do speak Polish - every day! Best wishes
Wydaje mi się, że zbyt emocjonalnie podszedłeś do tematu. To, że ktoś nas krytykuje, to nie znaczy, że nas obraża. Zaskakujące, jak wielu moich ziomków tego nie rozumie. Po drugie, zarzucasz bohaterom filmu, że nie uczą się polskiego. Przecież dokładnie to samo irytowało Cię, kiedy widziałeś krzywiących się na Ciebie Anglików, kiedy słyszeli jak rozmawiałeś po polsku. Moim zdaniem Twoja postawia nie jest w żadnym stopniu konstruktywna. Mam nadzieję, że rozumiesz to, że nie staram się Ciebie obrazić, tylko wykazuję to, co uważam za błędne w Twoim sposobie myślenia.
Szopen W Kuchni W moim sposobie myślenia nie ma nic błędnego,mieszkałem w kilku krajach poznałem ludzi z całego świata ,od niektórych nacji dostałem mase pozytywnej energi i mam ogromny do nich szacunek.Są 3 kraje na świecie które nie okazują szacunku nikomu i mają się za lepszych .Amerykanie,Anglicy,Niemcy.Czy to przypadek?Jeżeli znamy historie tych krajów to raczej przypadek to nie jest.Od wieków mordowali,kolonizowali,niszczyli więc to ma jakieś podłoże.Ja zawsze tego typu uwagom,musze użyć pewnego przysłowia które nie kieruje do ciebie bo cie nie znam ,ale one mówi wiele,w dupie byłeś gówno widziałeś.Podróżowanie to lek na wszystko ,zawsze chwalimy cudze a swego nie znamy.Wyobraź sobie że masz w klasie chłopaków którzy mają się za lepszych i każdego traktują jak śmiecia.Czy bd na siłę starał kolegować się z nimi i podlizywał się im skoro to i tak nie będą cię dobrze traktować ?A jak będą cię wyzywać to bd udawać że deszcz pada?Ja wolałbym zadawać się z tymi co mnie akceptują i mają mnie za równego sobie.Oczywiśćie nie można generalizować każdej nacji ale ten przyklad ze szkołą można przenieść na większe pole. .Zapomniałem dodać wiele Amerykanów żyjących w Polsce nie chce uczyć się polskiego dlatego że dopóki mówią po angielsku to są traktowani jak szlachta co im się podoba ,a jak mówią po polsku to są jak każdy inny obywatel .Nie wiem jak ci ale mi to wiele mówi.
Ja naszczęście pracowałem w Republic of Ireland (konkretnie Dublin) ,a nie jak większość w UK. Muszę powiedzeć że nawet od irlandzkiego nackera nigdy nie usłyszałem złego słowa.
Atak Snajpera Ja też poznałem wielu Irlandczyków i mam o nich dobre zdanie,z wieloma też pracowałem.
as a side note to 27:15 " is it a historical fact that Poland never had a diversity..." so wrong. Poland USED to be the most diverse country in Europe long before any emigration came to France, UK or elsewhere. Only after IIWW Jews flew to Israel, Ukrainians shifter the Ukraine, Russians went to Russia, Germans were sent to Germany and other simply escaped from communists being imposed on Poland by foreign power. So Poland from most diverse country in Europe changed to most homogeneous one.
Hi! Thanks for watching and thanks for this comment! To be short, I agree with you! If I could go back in time, I would change this line just a little bit because a few people seem to have misunderstood what he meant to say... When I was editing the film (with 2 Polish editors who didn't believe this line is controversial) I thought it would be very clear from the context of what he is saying that he is talking about the "diversity" experienced by people in Poland who are ALIVE today (i.e. people who grew up in the non-diverse communist era), and not the entire history of Poland... Of course, now I see that the words "historical fact" were poorly chosen and I would eliminate them from the film if I could. Sorry for the misunderstanding! That's the price of free entertainment I guess! ;)
Jonathan Ramsey However these are not you words. It's how one of interviewed people felt and they have right for this point of view. But also for people that read comments it's worth to learn that Poland has history of diversity that has been destroyed.
And those words were spoken by a Korean. Oh irony. Korea is also one of the most homogeneous countries...
I had to laugh when Hyong claimed that Poland never had much diversity as nothing could be further from the truth. Poland was once the most diverse country in Europe and then WWll happened. I myself am a result of no less than 4 ethnicities that lived in Poland. But I don't blame him, he doesn't know the complete history and obviously has challenges living there. Great video with a broad cross-section of impressions!
That's very intersting.. any more facts on this?
This is an absolutely perfect description. I don't see why people regard it as negative... it is what it is.
32:19 "Everyday for me is like a Friday" love that!
I watched this film with so many different emotions, as a polish guy living in UK I want to thank You for showing people how is to be foreigner. Off course my reasons to being here are different, but feelings, emotions and points of view is similar with people who were interviewing. Once again thank you great job.
Thank you Marcin! This is a great comment, and it makes me happy that you can relate. Please SHARE with your friends/family in Poland! PS. I made a different film about a foreigner which you might like - One Man's Brexit. You can find it on youtube.
It's SOOOO refreshing to look at Warsaw through different eyes - just like some have stated below - I loved every minute of it and I think it is a great film, thank you!
Thank you Marcin, this comment makes my day. Much appreciated. All the best to you!
Very interesting film. I can truly identify with all you guys featured in this documentary. I spent my youth in Warsaw under communism and then moved to many different countries. Living abroad for decades challenged me in a similar way. I visited Poland a few years ago and just loved it! I think that comparing to the West, there is less BS in Poland.
I have immigrated to Dallas, Texas from Poland a few decades ago. Watching this movie brings memories of similar feelings, I have experienced during first years living on this side of the Atlantic. My dreams and expectations were quickly verified by reality, daily. The most difficult things were to accept the cultural differences and to adopt the american constant optimism. After many of successful and fewer of turbulent years, I have assimilated completely with the American society. I still love Poland but my home is Texas. Well done film indeed!
Thanks Jack! It makes me happy to know that you could relate from the reverse perspective. All the best to you in Texas!
9:25 "...things here are starting to feel like home". Beautiful. Welcome home, Jason and others who feel that way.
Bardzi ciekawy filmik. SUPER!! Pieknie dziekuje🌳🕊
Great video. I was born in Warsaw and I've lived in 4 different countries on 3 different continents since. I can relate to so many of the issues that the expats in Warsaw have to go through in their daily lives. Powodzenia.
There was said in the movie, that in Poland, people you call "friends" are usually a small group. That's true. But if you gain someone's friendship it's often very deep and goes for the rest of your life.
I'm a native Varsovian. I feel conflicted about your documentary. One the one hand I like what the people in the film say about the city. On the other hand the visuals... they make Warsaw look bleak. Like really fucking bleak. I mean I know there is much brutalist soviet style architecture but Warsaw is not an ugly city on the whole, I think. The city was centrally planned and the buildings that were put up after WWII aren't particularly nice BUT the urban planning is second to none. Public transit is second to none. Almost every neighbourhood is very walkable and there are even eye candy areas like the Old Town and the Royal Tract. I was an expat myself for a long time living the west and have experienced living in the UK, US, Germany and Canada. I don't think Warsaw fares badly. Although the point about the lack of diversity is spot on. Poles resent and fear diversity of the western cities. They think the influx of non-European immigrants will dilute our culture and impose rules we don't agree with. I'm not in this camp but I know where they come from. And the recent spat of terrorist attacks in the major western cities is not helping Poles change their minds about it.
I only got to visit Warsaw for a week - but I strongly agree. We have probably 1 or 2 cities MAX in the USA that would fit my need for convenience and getting around easily. It's actually the main reason I'd like to permanently leave, not into society so heavily based on cars, I find it boring. So I would absolutely love to live in Warsaw. Heck, really the only thing Warsaw lacks is population! If there were 5 times as many people, there'd be just that much more stuff and it could compare more on niche cuisines and so on with Tokyo or Bangkok or something hah
parasitius the last thing Warsaw needs is growing population. There are already too many people here anyway ..
yes Poland needs to open up borders and attract foreigners, birth rates are low and 500zloty is not reversing the trend much. Besides, most immigrants would choose many other countries first before choosing Poland anyway. I am a Pole, but i've been living abroad in one of the most cosmopolitan places. I totally understand that our country gained democracy and freedom of shaping our future only in 1989, but such fears are somewhat obsessive imho.
Polish people are clever to not want the same "diversity" as Western European cities have attracted, anybody old enough to have known Paris in the past would be honest to recognize it clearly hasn't been enriched by massive extra-European immigration (and that's not only true of France).
Excellent film and production!!! U have TALENT!!!
Moved to cracow form London two months ago. Very Satisfied. My company ve opened a branch in here. Save place, no terrorism all people very kind to me. High quality of accommodation for very good price. 4 a flat like this i would have to pay litteraly 4X more in London. In poland everything is quite new. Three are around 700 corporations here including state street IBM google occado AON and many more. City is quite clean and food is tasty. Very happ
mieszkam w UK juz od dluzszego czasu i musze powiedziec ze mialam dokladnie takie same odczucia na wyspie w pierwszych latach , jakie maja bohaterowie tego dokumentu . Jadac do Polski czuje sie prawie jak turystka , a nie obywatelka tego kraju. Jak mam zaplanowana podroz do Polski , to odliczam dni do odlotu. A jak jestem w Polsce po tygodniu , chce wracac do siebie do Szkocji
Great documentary with all the different topics!
I am born in the netherlands and I am half Polish so I visit Warsaw on a yearly basis. In september I will move to Warsaw because I will be doing an internship for half a year!
Wow, what a great job you've done! Thank you for this video
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you, Jonathan, for this film, really good work! Usually, people from countries such as Ukraine, Belarus or Russia make movies about their immigration to Poland. And their opinion really differs from these guys. People come here because they knew that life here is better than in their cities. No one will doubt that in USA or UK it is a much more different way of living than in Russia, for example. But I'm truly amazed that these guys came to Poland in early 2000 or even earlier. When Poland was at the beginning of its new-life path. They were the witnesses of all changes. And I think that if they succeeded in living here for such a long period it is definitely mean a thing. And personally, for me, it is not the story about Warsaw it is more about feelings and thoughts. And they are the same for all expats not only in Warsaw or another polish city. People feel the same in many other countries when they have to learn and use another language, get used to new tax rules, healthcare things and all that stuff that they knew from their childhood. So even when you are an expat and sometimes feel lonely the thing is that you are not alone.
Wow, what a great documentary. I'm not sure what I was expecting but it surprised me very positively. No exaggerations, no judgements and no drama- just real people and their real stories. For someone born and grown up in Warsaw it felt bizarre and somewhat familiar at the same time to see the city through these people's eyes. Would be interesting to bump into some of these characters somewhere in Warsaw one day
mysle ze to swietny film mieszkam w uk od 13 lat i mysle bardzo podobnie o kraju w ktorym jestem!! ale ja wracam do mojego kochanego sokolowa w 2019
Dobra decyzja Rafale,my wracamy w 2020 do Polski z UK po 16 latach,dość tęsknoty,kasa to nie wszystko,wracamy do domu przewartościować się na ludzi nie na rzeczy.....
I know several "expats" in Poland. I believe your video portrays a small portion of them. I noticed that in your video, if not most, perhaps all, are men who have a mistaken perception of their own role in Polish society. They are certainly not supermen, and the negative perception they have takes into account a very small window of recent Polish history. To think that just over a hundred years ago Poland didn't even exist on the map, it was devastated by the Second World War, oppressed by Russia, and only at the end of the 80s it was freed from all this and only then recovered... let's be honest , Poland is a super country! This is all without mentioning that Poland was not part of the Marshall Plan for the reconstruction of Europe. So, seeing these men looking at Poland from a position of superiority makes me sad, not for Poland, but for their narrow vision.
Have found myself in the many sentiments expressed in this excellent documentary - Dublin guy married with Polish girl in Munich - that is challenging enough. Have yet to summon up the courage to spend more than two months at a stretch in Poland. They being said - Poland and the Polish have enriched my life so much.
This film should be called "Hotel Warsaw" "you can check in any time you like but you can never leave" LOL. I was born in Poland and now I live in Canada. I've never been to Warsaw but really want to go visit now. Thanks for this insightful film. I wish all the men interviewed the best of luck.
Amazing video! I really enjoyed watching it! Thank you very much for your work!
Jonathan, your documentary has given me a lot of food for thought. Thank you. One of my comments is that we all have mental maps of our cities and countries. When I lived in LA or SF or Henderson, NV (currently), I've been avoiding the nasty places and go the nice ones. I bet you have a mental map of Chicago. My point is, in your movie you are showing mostly the ugly and depressing places in Warsaw. When you show your flashbacks to Chicago, you show the glamorous parts of dowtown. I have been to Chicago a few times. It has great architecture and some beautiful neighborhoods. Chicago also has huge parts of the city that are so bad that they make the depressing parts of Warsaw look like paradise. Same with Detroit. My map of Warsaw and Poland is a map of places that I love. I stay in super nice hotels and eat delicious foods. I walk the beautiful parts of Krakow, Wroclaw, Gdansk, Polanica... the list is endless. I think your movie is very interesting but unfair. Or perhaps you had had a fight with your wife or were depressed when you made it. I emigrated from Poland to the US in 1984. Poland had been devastated by socialism. It had a nearly Martian landscape of desolation. In spite of that, when I drove, at that time, in 1984, through Detroit and the boarded up cities of upstate New York, I thought to myself "oh my God, I have never seen such poverty and mess in my life". And that was right after arriving from a Poland that had been nearly annihilated by the Russian backed socialists. The more I think about it, the more I see a tremendous lack of objectivity in your movie. However, I did enjoy it, and it has made me think. BTW - I really like your movie with Mark Harrison. I'd love to be friends with him,
i think its just the same in any other country when U R foreigner, i did move out from Poland to Australia 35 years ago and i must say that i had exectly same expierence as any caracter in this documentary , for about 5 years i felt different , but hey U learn every day new things and U make every day new adventure, even today after 35 years abroad people here ask me ...where U from ? its just the way it is and if U R living in other country u have to adopt your self to it and just go with the flow , greatings from Melbourne :-) i just say to all people from this Docu - happy stay in Poland , wish U all manny new friends and all the best from me ... :-) happy staying in poland :-) my name is AREK :-)
I have been to Warsaw many times and I love it! This “documentary” is definitely not a true representation of what Warsaw really is like. Despite of some nice things that have been said, the way it’s shot is biased and film to suit the whining of few unhappy individuals. You guys really had to look hard to find all those derelict buildings, graffiti, old falling bus stops etc. I guess it wouldn’t be a serious documentary if it had colour and showed Warsaw in a way it really is - a modern and vibrant city. Oh and it is very clean too! Paris and London, take note!
Very nice documentary. People saying it depicts Warsaw in a bad way don't understand that it's being depicted as these people feel like, you can't really fight it. Two things that are true, me being an "expat" in an asian country for 20 years, home it's not the same after you leave, it's not there anymore. May sound sad, but it's the way it is. Second thing is, I've a friend who's living in the UK, he's from Armenia and he also has a very hard time to find friends or a partner there even after 3 years, so I think it's a common thing if you move alone.
I was looking for some kind of that for very long time. Bravo!
Incredible documentary. An honour to watch and listen to the participant's stories. Wishing you success and all the best!
Well done! My first 16 years were in Chicago, then one year in Warsaw, then back to Chi-Town for another 15 years. 27 some in So Cal and now in the SEA area, but my year in Warsaw was amazing. We were going to move there, and with that in mind, I was accepted by my peers in school. We did have a change of mind, thus the return to the States, but I will always feel like W-Wa is a second home to me. I will (despite this file) be there for a visit this summer and can't wait to show it to my wife (who is not Polish). As to non-poles fitting in, maybe it's a personality thing, I dunno. But if you're comparing it to the US, don't forget, the US is a melting pot, Poland is not. And a country which has historically been dominated, torn apart, and then lived under imposed communist rule, will probably never become a melting pot. Poland has successfully kept its national identity. Other countries in Europe unfortunately are loosing theirs.
Jonathan Ramsey You did a great job. You've touched it all... and you made me cry man !!! I'm Polish myself staying in UK. I'm also philosophically educated. And your film helped me to recognise and by it to search for my life's essentials. You named my longings but you also showed where to go to in searching for better myself. And it's quite interesting how really accurate you did that. And BTW Warsaw looks amazing especially in that little roughish places just like behind the main facing facade. But what makes it all even better are people around. Your film is about extraordinary folks who come around and by doing so the world around is more interesting, somehow it seems to be wider and deeper and much more unexpected and ready to be explored. Or am I wrong? :)
Anyways, thanks again. I really enjoyed it. Looking forward to see more stuff upcoming.
Take care and stay brave in Warszawa :)
This comment makes my day. :) Thanks very much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! All the best to you in the UK!
Viva' Polska from America!
Thanks for this one! I've been living abroad for over 10 years now and when I was watching your movie I felt so many times like... That's me!My reasons to leave my home country were different but still.. . It doesn't matter where you come from but if you decide to live abroad you might experience those feelings which you showed in your movie. Can't wait for your next movie! Keep up good work!
Excellent documentary. I lived in Warsaw for 15 years, but through serious illness and divorce, I was no longer able to support myself, so came "home".....which, as the guy said, doesn't exist any more! I go back to Warsaw regularly, though.....
this brings back so many memories from my time there from 2008 to 2010 man i miss warsaw specially the videos are from the same time so I can see the same adverts and boards which I used to see everyday
Feilipe has a very articulate, poetic way of communicating. I enjoyed this a lot...
Saying that Poland never had much diversity is hilarious statement.
Throughout ages Poland was mix of Poles, Lithanians, Ruthenians, Germans, Prussians, Jews, Silesians, Kashubians, Tatars and many other ethnic groups. Expierience of nazi occupation and 40 years of communism has changed that a lot, but there are dozens of ethnic and cultural tropes here.
Fantastic movie! Thank you for making it. To me all those guys are more Warsaw than they think😀. I wonder if they realize that in Warsaw almost everybody’s from somewhere else, it’s just a matter of two, three generations back. Somebody else on YT said Warsaw was like a micro New York, just smaller and whiter. I lived in both I must say there’s some truth to it. In my memories Warsaw will always be freedom and fantastic friends! Keep up with your lives guys, claim the city and enjoy the people there. Greetings from NYC.
Thank you Robert, I really appreciate this comment! I made this film like 5-6 years ago and it has faded in my memory, so it's nice to hear that people are still discovering it and enjoying it. Greetings from Warsaw
poland is lovely, wroclaw is the most romantic city i have ever been to
Hey Jonathan . Dzieki za ten dokument - jestem Polakiem . ale mieszkalem wieksza czesc zycia w szwajcarii... planuje za miesiac pojechac do polski i zaczac tam nowe zycie . Co ciekawe .... te wywiady , te uczucia o ktorych mowili Expaci z twojego filmu - ja odczuwam w szwajcarii . Nienawidze jej i kocham ja .... ale czuje z emusze sprobowac zyc w polsce.
Dziekuje za film . Wydaje sie byc bardzo dobry z perspektywy obcokrajowca.
Wszystkiego dobrego
interesting, Felipe from Chile @ 33:25 summarized whole bloody historical journey of Poland. Not easy, not great, bumpy, but if you have heart at the right place for Poland you keep going on.
People say movie doesnt show true nature of Warsaw and Poland but I dare to say otherwise - it shows how people from completely different countries really see life in Poland. And, as a Pole, I find it VERY interesting.
I'm Pols living in Chicago for over 30 years. I was born and raised in Warsaw (Praga Polnoc) watching this movie I was laughing and crying at the same time. You show as it is and was in Poland before, no matter what people like you or hate you for it. Pols, not only hate foreigners but hate each other, and Warsaw people can't stand other people, not from Warsaw and this a true!!! You show everyday real-life people living there. I'm US citizen now and I feel like the citizen in this country.You will never be accepted as the Polish citizen no matter how long you live there and how many Polish passports you got.and this is true! like it or not. I visit Poland every year my mom and rest of family still there. Poland looks great in the summer but after week or two I got the feeling to get fuck out of there coz mind of the people it is still fucked up ...
So great film!!! With atmosphere and humor, nicely filmed, touching :-)
I love this film. It seems to be so similar to feelings and emotions of Polish living in UK. The circumstances are diffrent but the way of finding self in new place and surroundings is the same. I remember myself first thought in UK ;"why have I done it to myself???" After one year in UK , I had holiday in Poland when I was coming back to UK I was happy to be at home. It is my home since 2006 and I love it. I know a lot of Polish don't think like me and they are treating this emigration as temporary and not always joyful.
It is a very interesting documentary. I would like to see women... or another city for example Poznań or Wrocław. Good luck.
Thank you so much Iwona! You are too kind! Your comment makes my day. :)
It was fantastic, great documentary movie. Greetings from Poznań.
Very beautiful, hunting film, emotional. Polish expat in UK.
Thank you Monika!
I also have a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT opinion on that city, I see it actually as one of the most open, dinamic, diverse and modern in the world. This movie seems to show on purpose the bad side of the city. But we’ll... wats better than visiting by yourself the city and finding out a completely different reality than this on the movie?
The Korean guy, Hyong, sounded like a genuinely nice person. I really hope he finds a good friend
The reason why I like your documentary is because I feel exactly the same as you guys. Emigrated to UK 5 years ago and that was so interesting to see you all going to my home country while I went to one of yours and struggling with the same stuff from paper work to day-to-day living. And how funny that describes the need of travelling and lucky of having a chance to do so- that you were not feeling good in your countries and left it for Poland and me not enjoying Poland enough, to move to UK. I had my reasons, you had yours, as long as it brings happiness- it is ssso worth doing it! What I can suggest and recommend to every foreigner- it is ssso easier to live among people and share their life struggle in the native language. More English I know or more English history and culture, more easier I am accepted and so easier my life gets. I reckon that is how yours would turn into much better one. All the best to all of you!
Another thought I have is when I arrived first I was so depressed by seeing all the colours of the nation around which is not day-to-day view in Poland and I felt really overwhelmed by people who allegedly could harm me. That is how a person in Poland is raised. You guys are used to it and you know that is not true. Same as me seeing big blocks never scared me or made me upset, because that was my routine view. Poland was completely destroyed after IIWW and building quickly was the main goal for the government and that is why we have so many of them. At the same time a big block in UK is pictured as social flats of poor people and drugs dealing but It is not pictured that bad in Poland. That is why seeing them might make you feel depressed.
Warsaw reinvents itself, very true statement. All the best to all expats interviewed.
Awesome doco. Love it. Reminds me of when I lived in china for 10 years as an expat.(20 years in Australia before that). Same feeling. Hard but worth it. Im glad people can have this experience in Poland! Only thing I found funny is the Korean guy complaining about Poland being unaccustomed to foreigners. Spend some time in Korea and you will see his comments are more about himself than anything else. Korea has 'no foreigner' bars in its capital for gods sake...
Thank you very much for this comment Krzysztof! The Korean guy actually spent most of his life in the US. That's why his English is so great!
Fair enough. Really well done though. I've been trying to make movies for years and years about places I go to and I have not made anything remotely as interesting as this. Looking forward to the next one~~~
Safest capital in Europe
I feel that you did not get enough credit for your documentary. It is brilliant, spot on and moving. Thank you for this!
Poles are not from a small gene pull. A few hundreds of years ago we were a more multicultural country than any other in Western Europe. In Poland, there are millions of descendants of Tatars, Armenians, Jews, Ruthenians, Balts, Russians etc.
Fajne dzięki
Pozdrawiam Was goraco z USA Wszedzie poza wlasna ojczyzna poczatki sa bardzo trudne Jezyk kultura nieznajomosc nowego miejsca Nowi ludzie i zwyczaje A pozniej czlowiek poprostu sie przyzwyczaja i to kiedys straszne miejsce staje sie jego nowym domem Tam gdzie czujesz sie szczesliwy jest Twoj Dom
Just a fantastic documentary
As a Pole I really appreciate this documentary. It depicts Warsaw as it is not a product to be sold around the world telling people Warsaw is a heaven on the earth. Fancy a beer with local? Feel free. Live long and prosper :)
Thank you Wojciech! Your comment really means a lot. I think Warsaw is an amazing city, but the way the city is marketing itself leaves out a lot of the true character of the place.
Love this, makes me think about how I came here. I'm an accounting student in warsaw come from Malaysia. Before I decided to come here, I didn't know a single thing about poland but I was keen to study abroad afforadably. I find this place very unique, very different from some other countries and cities in Europe I have been. Now I'm in love with this place, met a lot of different kind of people, and even found my first girlfriend here. Again, thanks for this video. :)
Good luck in Poland :)
Można powiedzieć, że jak ktoś z zagranicy zobaczy ten film to na pewno do Warszawy nie przyjedzie :) i do Polski w ogóle. Film jest strasznie depresyjny. Warszawa nagrywana w zimie czy późną jesienią to wizerunkowy błąd. Brzydota bloków z PRL jeszcze bardziej się potęguje. Fakt że Warszawa to nie cała Polska, to chyba najbrzydsze miasto w Polsce, ale ten film w oczach kogoś z zagranicy będzie rzutował na opinię o całej Polsce. W moich oczach po obejrzeniu tego filmu Polska jawi się jako szary, brudny i depresyjny kraj. Sorry, ale tak ten film odebrałem. Tak dodając jeszcze na koniec, Polsko zacznij coś robić z tą komunistyczną architekturą! W Niemczech burzą takie bloki i budują przyjemniejsze dla oka rzeczy. A nawet odbudowują zniszczoną w czasie wojny zabudowę.
Thanks for this! I agree that there are some depressing parts, but in my view the film is about the experience of being a foreigner in a new culture over a long period of time. If you have ever lived in another country, you'll know that there are many ups and downs, and if you can manage to stay and learn how to adapt to the new culture then you will grow to be a better person - this process can be very difficult, and it can make you feel sad or sentimental, because in many ways you need to say goodbye to your old friends, family, culture, etc.
And I must say I completely disagree about the blocs - I love communist architecture, and I know many people from abroad who think it's fascinating.
Toż to prawie diss na Warszawę. Jeszcze gorzej, że tak szczery i poważny. Nie poleciłbym tego filmu ludziom, którzy się zastanawiają czy tu przyjechać.
Not a diss. I've lived in this city 8 years and love it. I just think we have a different point of view. :)
I live in another big city in Poland and I meet many foraigners (hence my English) who would never say such things like in this video. They love it, they had little to no doubts about living here, they didn't talk about depressiveness all around them. There are differences, of course - my city is rather good looking and it has no 'capital vibe' as some call it - 'Warszafka'. I've been to Warsaw a few times and I didn't like it that much. The problem is this video doesn't even try to change depressive stereotype this city is associated with.
That's a very interesting perspective, but I respectfully disagree. You should consider that perhaps the many foreigners you meet are telling you (as a Polish person) that they "love Poland" and perhaps they would tell me (as a fellow foreigner) something quite different... Anyways, I hope you are aware that all of the men in this film still live in Warsaw, and most of them do love it. Many of them have lived in this city for 20+ years and they have a right to their opinions... I think the problem you have with the film is that you are approaching the movie with the wrong expectations. I honestly don't know what "depressive stereotypes" you are talking about. I didn't want to make a reklama that says "Warsaw is an amazing city" - if you need that kind of reassurance, then you have plenty of other TH-cam videos that will give you this message! ;) But rather, I was trying to make a thoughtful movie about why it's very challenging to start a new life in a new country with a difficult language, different history, etc.
Sir, this is a masterpiece. The sentence at 15:21 about my nation ( in this moment in time) is spot on and I've never heard somebody expressed it explicitly before.
Thanks! Glad you liked it! Yes, a lot of people seem to have a strong response to that line. :)
same here mate, that did touch me big time, if someone from other country sees that, then is it really that specific for us...
I'm a Pole and totally agree. So true. He couldn't have put it better.
a Pole living abroad (for most of my life you should add), yes agreed, i believe much of this comes from communism as a system and from having illegitimate governments and rulers for many decades or even centuries up to 1989.
Love Warsaw! I wish I could live there.
Very good film :) Thanks! The perspective that you show in the movie is very interesting. As a pole i feel similar as you expats felt in your countries, i am a little bored of my polish reality and thinking about moving abroad, at least for a little time and who knows maybe i will become an expact one day ;)
This was interesting and i like it. I have one question, do you ever plan to do something similar with female expats? As i would like to see the female viewpoint of Poland.
Also, would it be ok to share this on my channel? It is small, however, i think my viewers will really like this.
Yes! Please SHARE! To answer your question, I did interview 7 wonderful women for this project, but unfortunately their stories were very wide-ranging, and so when it came time to edit the movie I felt that I needed to consolidate the stories into something that is shorter and more cohesive - so in the end, the concept became about: "Foreign Men who move to Poland for Polish women, and how they feel foreign in this new country."
I would of course like to do a sequel about female perspectives, but at the current moment I'm making a movie about SMOG.
:)
@@RamseyUnited it would be very interesting to see this documentary from the expats women prospective. I'm an expats woman myself, and I came here because of a Polish men, but I have always felt so lonely as if I was the only woman that ever came here for a man. I haven't felt like I really fit in, or that I could build deep long-lasting connection with local people. It would be great to know why other women came (and stayed).
I was going to say, you notice it's all men coming for the women.
This is what every immigrant experiences, it’s not unique to Poland. I commend the men who are actively learning polish, I know it’s not an easy language but we appreciate it when you at least try. I got the impression that the majority of these men have this attitude like they are being mistreated because the Polish people will not assimilate to their needs. It is our country therefore if you want to live here you need to learn the language, history and culture instead of expecting people to cater to your needs and making such ignorant and historically inaccurate statements. I am offended by this film regardless of whether or not it was made with good intentions. Every culture is different it is not okay to speak with such contempt about a country you are choosing to live in. I’m not surprised they feel alienated, if you have a bad attitude don’t expect people to be nice. If you are so unhappy just leave! No one is forcing you to stay.
Thanks for watching and thanks for your comment! Most of these men still live in Poland, and they do speak Polish (or at least a little bit!). And they do enjoy their lives here, and they have learned a lot about Polish culture... So I don't believe it's correct to say that they have contempt for Poland - rather, I think they often feel torn inside, because they are comparing Poland with the countries that they came from. Of course they will never understand Poland in quite the same way that a Polish person does, and this can often cause some frustration and feelings of alienation. But these feelings of unhappiness can often lead to growth... The movie is supposed to be about the process of learning how to adjust to a new culture, and why that is so difficult. All the best!
Great documentary about "my" city. Greetings!
Great job! Thank you for this amazing documentary. At the start I sort of saw it as a story of a city and clicked in cause I am learning Polish and want to know its cities, but a few moments latter I found out that here Warszawa could have been any other city. It actually tells stories of a group of expats. I myself as an expat in Portugal, have experienced every one of these bites like being simply defined only by one's nationality, being mock only by one's physical appearance, feeling lonely but having to carry on to, starting to attached to the new country, feeling like stranger when back to my homeland for a short visit(btw, I like this"don't be surprised home isn't there anymore", quite philosophic), etc. Some might say the film is bit too depressing. But few expats would agree with it cause we all know a life starting in a totally strange country could never be easy and happy. People nowadays are too accustomed to Instagram filters that they are not prepared to see real things, sorry, but this is real life, which doesn't mean that I think this film is sad, it's beautiful! I believe even under the romantic and delicate cover in Paris, life is not that different.
Thank you Carolina for this very nice and thoughtful comment! It really makes my day to know that you had a strong response to it. :) I wish you all the best in Portugal (I am in love with the city of Porto!)
This is something I've considered for a considerable amount of time.
This is a really interesting documentary, Jonathan!
Thank you! Very glad you liked it!
Thanx for upload...I lived there some time ago...
I love Warsaw! Thx for sharing the video.
Btw the guy saying at 27:20 is wrong. Poland during all it's history before 1939 was one of the most multicultural and multiethnic place in Europe!
Interesting to hear peoples stories about adjusting in a new country and foreign world.
Brilliant Documentary thanks for sharing hello from an English dude in Grudziądz btw :-)
Thank you for this movie!)
Jonathan this was a really nice video. I could be one of the lads on the video, and their perspectives are always interesting.
Thank you Enrique! Your comment means a lot to me! Please SHARE / subscribe!
Great video editing approach to illustrate the philosophical rule which states that our personal perception is what creates our reality.
15:03 very good observations about rules, choices, cooperation. I'm personally close to idea of "rules as suggestion" ;), but choice making and cooperation is something I'm still trying to break through to next level in work, familly and personal. I'm glad to be programmer (yes, PHP is programming language :D ), not only because it's easier to find a job, but also because this group got pressure to improve cooperation, responsibility etc.
Nice film and nice people !
I have similar feelings as a Pole in London.
I wish good luck to you all in Warsaw.
Thank you for posting .
Great movie Jonathan.Powodzenia w Warszawie!
Really nice and thought out documentary. You were able to touch on some things that are truly universal in the way that they apply to all kinds of migrants. I moved from Poland to NY over 26 years ago, just like some people from your movie moved to Poland in the beginning of '90s. I struggled with some similar issues trying somehow to fit in into this new environment. I have to say that for anyone coming from outside of Poland and trying to live other there must be way harder than going the other route. Polish culture is not necessarily inclusive, yet it attracts foreigners to the level of assimilation. We may seem like homogenous group, but in reality we are not. Over the centuries people from various parts of the world were integrated into polish society. They came mostly from our neighboring countries, but there were also Italians, Scots, Armenians etc. Right now Poland is on the verge of attracting new groups of people from Asia, Africa and Central and South America. These processes already started. It seems like a trivial advise, but learning language is a gateway to feel like a part of polish society.
Thank you, this comment really made my day. :) I'm happy that you can relate.
I think this is a beautiful documentary. It describes the reason why many millions Polish people have left. Truthful and interesting. Speaking of the times ago.
Warsaw? There's no place like Warsaw. You ment Walsall probably :)
Good job. I hated Warsaw when I lived in this city, now I'm impressed of its development. This is no more old Warsaw anymore.
I moved to Warsaw from CA just a month ago (I am Polish myself, but lived abroad for a decade, never lived in Warsaw before). Well, it's February now, so everything looks depressing (like all of Europe), but this documentary is just so totally dishonest. Warsaw is full of post-Soviet architecture and the area around the Palace of Culture and Science looks almost like somewhere in Moscow, but overall I find the city very modern, with excellent public transport, trains on time, with everything you want available, with modern apartments, grocery shops at every corner, big supermarkets available, safe (no need to look behind my back as I did in the States), and clean. I am also surprised of how well-dressed and well-behaved people here are. So far I haven't seen any creeps, junkies or crazies anywhere on public transport or on the streets. Some guy in the documentary mentioned people randomly screaming on the streets. WTF, dude, where did you get that? Granted, it's not the fanciest city in the world, and I came here because I was following a specific job opportunity, but it's not that bad! The 1990s are long gone, Warsaw is actually quite a modern metropolis.
really good doc, thank you.
Brilliant film, I'm a fan of visiting Poland I'm in Warsaw at the moment, I could defiantly live here, maybe? Haha