Operation Hyacinth

Operation Hyacinth is a thriller, but why the filmmakers chose to talk about a subject like this in a thriller has me a bit confused. This Polish film is based on an operation on Poland in which police officers tracked down known or perceived homosexuals, entering them into a database and often forcing them to sign confessions or turn on others with blackmail and violence. Although the operation lasted only two years, more than 11,000 people were registered into that database. There was one part that reminded me of Al Pacino's Cruising, but that was only for a moment. The paranoia in this story is completely different. Inevitably the story also involves the latent homosexual desires of its main character, but this doesn't become something that detracts from the main issue. Even with its theme, Operation Hyacinth remains focused as a thriller. It doesn't conclude strongly, and really barely addresses the discussion, but as a film, I found it more than competent.