Early Spring (ep. 1, 2)

“Early Spring” tells the story of a young idealist searching for his place in the world and for answers to fundamental questions about social justice during the turbulent years of the newly reborn Second Polish Republic. The main character, nineteen-year-old Cezary Baryka (played by Mateusz Damięcki), arrives in Poland from Baku, a city engulfed by revolution. His confrontation between the imagined homeland of his ancestors and the harsh reality of the young nation becomes the starting point of his ideological transformation. Warsaw and Nawłoć symbolize two contrasting faces of Poland — the modernizing capital and the traditional world of the landed gentry. Baryka’s story unfolds across three key spheres: war (his participation in the Polish–Bolshevik War), society and customs (his romantic entanglements in Nawłoć), and politics (his involvement in the workers’ movement). Each of these experiences shapes his worldview and influences his later choices.