Inside Furioza is the sequel to the 2022 Polish action thriller film Furioza that shifts the focus from the protagonist of the first film, Dawid, to the enforcer in the Furioza gang, Golden, this time around. Set in the weeks following the mysterious murder of Furioza gang leader Kaszub, the sequel deals with the consequences of the brutal murder and the betrayal behind it, all while new connections and drug deals take the characters and their gang to Ireland. Overall, Inside Furioza should still impress fans of hardcore action and will be an especially entertaining watch for those who enjoyed the first film a few years back.
Spoiler Alert
What is the film about?
Inside Furioza begins in the days right after the murder of Kaszub, which had been covered in the first film, but flips the perspective by showing all the events from Golden’s side. It begins with a scene from the past, in which Golden, one of the most dedicated members of the hooligan football fan group in Poland, Furioza, is driving around with his best mate, Dawid, on a Polish freeway, clearly chasing a car that they are currently too far away from. But Golden’s dangerously rash driving allows them to catch up to the car they have been chasing rather quickly, which contains hooligans like them, just belonging to the rival gang, the Antmen. They beat up the rivals and steal their gang flag, which becomes an important part of their meeting in the evening.
As all the core Furioza members gather, led by their beloved leader, Kaszub, the young men and women burn down the Antmen flag and make promises to get to the very top of the rungs of football hooliganism in the country. It is here that Golden first makes his high ambitions of doing something extraordinary with his life and building a life of immense wealth and luxury clear to his close friends. He wants to confidently grab hold of everything in his way so that by the time he passes, his legacy will be remembered as that of a hooligan loved and feared by all. In line with his promise to himself, Golden is seen moving into an apartment in a high-rise building just a few years later, when he has already made a lot of money through the illegal activities of the Furiosa gang.
The very first person whom Golden invites to the place, and also tells about this significant success, is Kaszub, who is more like an elder brother and a guide to him. Kaszub has been a very strong support in his life, and Golden even feels indebted to the man for his successes. Therefore, when Golden ultimately kills Kaszub, just a few years later, just because removing the Furiosa gang leader will tremendously help his personal position, he starts losing his mind over it. With every passing hour, an extreme feeling of guilt takes hold of Golden as he tries to come to terms with the horrific act of betrayal he has just committed. He keeps hallucinating Kaszub, with blood trickling from his head, and is even spooked by these imaginary visions, but there is also no way for him to process the matter properly. After all, Golden also has to keep his betrayal a secret from the rest of the gang, especially Kaszub’s aggrieved brother, Dawid.
How had Kaszub really died?
The incidents from the night of Kaszub’s murder are finally revealed in full detail, from the perspective of Golden, of course, who had been a significant part of the plan. It was the drug smuggling goon, Dima, who had come up with the original plan of murdering Kaszub, for the Furiosa gang was getting in the way of him smuggling drugs into Poland. But he needed an insider for the job, someone who had known Kaszub and the gang closely, and for this he approached Golden, who had been the strongest enforcer of the gang. Golden had always wanted to set up his own drug empire, which made him accept Dima’s offer, despite not fully coming to terms with it. Therefore, even on the night of the murder, Golden remained stressed about it and was even in two minds over whether to go ahead with the plan.
Golden had been given the responsibility of identifying Kaszub at the lot, while his own masked men waited outside the place for this confirmation. Because of the whirlwind of emotions going on in his mind, mostly dominated by guilt and fear, Golden lied about the man being targeted not being Kaszub, but Dima had always been prepared for such a situation. He too knew that Golden would find it extremely difficult, almost impossible, to sell out his dear boss, and so he ordered his men to act. Kaszub was beaten up and terribly injured, but he had not yet died when Golden walked up to him and got hold of a pitchfork. In all likelihood, Golden’s guilt-ridden mind made him believe that Kaszub had identified him, despite the mask over his face, and therefore leaving the Furioza boss alive was not an option.
Thus, Golden did not hesitate to use the pitchfork to stab Kaszub to death, successfully completing the plan that he and Dima had made. They had specifically chosen the pitchfork to be the murder weapon since their professional rival, Antman, or Mrowka, always used a pitchfork to commit crimes. They wanted to make it seem like Mrowka had killed Kaszub, and this story would be very easy to sell as well, since they were leaders of the rival hooligan groups that hated each other with intense passion. The plan had worked out perfectly, as everyone did believe Mrowka had been the murderer, and it stirred up a war between the Furiosa and Antmen gangs, while Dima and his associates were free to carry on their business. Golden, meanwhile, had to live with the terrible remorse, which often turned into fear as well, with him hallucinating Kaszub’s ghost coming to take revenge against him.
Why is Mrowka attacked multiple times?
The Furiosa gang members are absolutely infuriated at Mrowka and the Antmen after their beloved leader, Kaszub, is killed with a pitchfork. But what enrages them even more is Mrowka’s sudden presence at Kaszub’s funeral, where friends and family had gathered, along with thousands of Polish citizens who had come to pay their respects. The leaders and members of all the hooligan football clubs in the country, along with those of the criminal gangs, had gathered at the place, setting aside their rivalries out of respect for the fallen. But everyone had expected the Antmen to stay away, since they were supposedly the murderers of Kaszub. Therefore, when Mrowka showed up and kept claiming that he had had nothing to do with his rival’s death, the Furiosas took him to be not just a brutal murderer, but a conniving liar as well.
Golden and Dawid even follow Mrowka and his gang from the funeral but choose not to escalate the situation any further when Dzika and her police unit show up. Mrowka also tells his gang to step down in an effort to further prove that he had not committed or ordered the murder. Despite the gang having initially decided to not attack Mrowka just yet, on the advice of Golden, of course, the Furiosas eventually decide to strike after Mrowka has moved to Ireland to oversee business there. It is once again Golden who takes the lead on this attack, and the Furiosas try to reach the Antman through a common contact in Dublin, Zeta. They start taking down Antmen businesses in the city, culminating in a direct face-off between the two gangs, which even gets the Irish police involved. It was Golden who had led the Furiosas in the face-off, and he continues to make plans of attacking Mrowka, despite most of the gang members not being present.
Together with his two henchmen, Olo and Bula, Golden tracks down Mrowka in front of the church that he frequents and waits for the right moment to strike. But Bula jumps the gun and fires before his friends are prepared, which alerts Mrowka and helps him escape. Much later in the film, Olo and Bula make another attempt to kill the leader of the Antmen, but they fail once again, which means that Mrowka survives till the very end. However, the twist in the tale ultimately makes the Furiosa gang members realize that it was not Mrowka who had killed their leader, but it was Golden who was the real traitor amidst them.
Why does Golden make a deal with Mrowka?
The ambitious nature of Golden, which had been evident in “Furiosa,” is further elaborated in the sequel, as he gradually starts to overwrite his feelings of guilt with extreme greed and passion to make it big in life. Two specific incidents also push him closer to making a deal with the enemy, the first of which has him being cornered by Mrowka and his men one day, shortly after the failed attempt to assassinate him. Mrowka beats up Golden out of spite, and this is when the latter offers the chance to work together. Although it initially seems like Golden makes such a proposition to stop being beaten up, he turns out to be very serious about it, clearly having thought about this from before.
Golden has always wanted to be rich, and having his own drug smuggling business would be the easiest and most appropriate means to do so. Therefore, Mrowka, who has his own drug smuggling trade in Ireland and in the surrounding island nations, can obviously be a good partner for him. A second incident that starts to change Golden’s mind is his meeting a woman named Eli at a local nightclub. Despite Eli constantly turning him down, Golden falls in love with her and wants to be with her no matter what. Along with a need to be wealthy, he now also feels the urge to do something significant with his life.
A particular painting that he keeps in his house at all times and is quite fascinated by is Caravaggio’s “Narcissus,” in which Narcissus (from Classical mythology) lovingly stares at his own reflection in a pool of water. This painting actually sums up Golden’s transformation from a guilt-ridden traitor to a confident and brash drug dealer, through a twisted form of self-love, specifically with a darker version of himself. The reflection, in the painting, naturally shows Narcissus to be darker than his real self, and in the case of Golden, the reflected image of him that he gradually falls in love with is figuratively darker—much more violent and with no sense of brotherhood in him, though that was earlier the most distinctive part of his personality.
How do Golden and Mrowka get into trouble in Ireland?
As Golden and Mrowka’s partnership in Ireland begins, they successfully smuggle stashes of drugs and become richer with each passing day. Golden keeps storing all the money that he earns inside an empty shipping container in the docks, as he is yet to find an avenue to spend so much money. He keeps buying new and even moves into a new grand house, but still ends up having to hide most of his unlawful income. However, this does not deter Golden from dreaming of achieving even more, which is why he convinces Mrowka to get into the cocaine trade, since it is the most profitable among all drugs.
Thus, the two start selling cocaine as well, but this lands them in trouble with a different faction, the modern successors to the IRA. These hardened criminals are the ones overseeing the cocaine smuggling and sale in Ireland, and they are naturally unhappy about these new gangsters barging into their turf. But Golden is resourceful enough to slither out of this dangerous situation as well, as he makes a deal with the IRA to help them sell their cocaine in Poland and Eastern Europe. They have to pay a large sum of money for the stash and are finally handed over a van full of the drugs, which Golden ultimately drives back to Poland, taking an extreme risk that even Mrowka does not want to be a part of, solely out of fear.
How does Golden dupe Mrowka?
Golden pulls off the daring move of taking the van with its cargo full of cocaine back to Poland, leaving Mrowka in Dublin. While Mrowka initially thinks that Golden has betrayed him, he is somewhat relieved when the latter gets in contact with him and takes the cocaine back to the Antmen facility in Poland. However, Golden ends up making a secret deal with Dima, the business partner he had earlier made, and sells the drugs to him, leaving Mrowka with nothing earned from the deal with the dangerous IRA. Ultimately, Mrowka is left trying to salvage money by selling off Golden’s house and properties in Ireland so that he can earn at least something from the whole ordeal. Meanwhile, Dima arranges for a safehouse for Golden in Ukraine, where he can lie low for a few months before resuming a normal life, but his sense of guilt catches up to him once again.
How Did Golden die?
By this time, Golden had already been arrested by the police, after video evidence of him killing Kaszub had been found. However, the police chief, Jacek Bauer, had let him off with the promise that Golden would help the authorities nab Mrowka and other bigger players in the drug smuggling scene. This had enraged Dzika, who had leaked the video footage evidence to the Furiosa online group after letting Golden off. Therefore, Golden now knew that his old friends and brothers were coming to get him, and so he decided to not escape to Ukraine and face his fate instead.
In Inside Furioza’s ending, Golden is beaten to death by the enraged Furioza gang members, who finally get to take revenge against the horrific betrayal. But inside his mind, Golden still yearns to be successful without having to face the consequences of his actions. He ends up without any love or wealth in his life, which makes him realize that he has ultimately been terribly unsuccessful in life. Eli chooses to have nothing to do with him, and his own mother does not want to be in touch with him after realizing what he had done. Golden decides to give away all the money he had earned in Ireland, along with his fancy Lamborghini, to Kaszub’s widow and daughter. This is almost an act of redemption for him, which is why, despite being beaten to death, Golden feels light and guilt-free, as if he can finally jump into the blue waters of the sea from the pier. Inside Furioza ends with this very imaginary scene of Golden finally being at peace, sadly only after his death.
