Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Mamon’ on HBO, an Intriguing, if Not Always Original, Czech Political Thriller

HBO just made Czech drama Mamon available to stream, after it debuted in Europe in 2015. A remake of Norway’s Mammon, the six-episode series stirs a little political intrigue into a True Detective/The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-style formula. It’s been met with minimal acclaim outside its native country, so we have to wonder if it’s an overlooked, underrated gem, or just another pseudo-prestige drama.

MAMON: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A montage of TV news segments reporting the “mysterious death” of Central Energy’s embattled CEO.

The Gist: The scene: A funeral. Daniel Vlcek (Michal Dlouhy), the disgraced former CEO of Czech corporate monolith Central Energy, is dead. His brother, Petr Vlcek (Matej Hadek), stands in the pouring rain, staring at the headstone. A hooded woman approaches him. “I know who Sofie is,” she says. Cut to ONE WEEK EARLIER. Petr, an investigative journalist for the newspaper Kontext, is on the cusp of breaking a story about Daniel’s corruption; he allegedly accepted bribes from a foreign investor as CE was in the process of privatization. A mysterious person named Sofie is his source. Meanwhile, Daniel announces that he’s stepping down as CEO.

Sofie, we learn, is actually Stella (Eva Leimbergerova). She kind of Lisbeth Salanders around a bit, sneaking into a private spot to send Petr DMs, sticking a pistol in the back of her pants, having interesting hair, etc. She then heads to work as a techy hacker type — for the state prosecutor, who happens to be investigating Daniel Vlcek. This plot: thick! Meanwhile, whoever wrote the dialogue for the episode shows serious cojones, having Petr’s editor make a comment about “kicking the hornet’s nest.” A few scenes later, we see Sofie in the shower, and doggone it if she doesn’t have some interesting tattoos on her arms.

So the question looms: What’s the Vlcek family damage? Petr agrees to meet Daniel in his fancy-ass rich-guy house. Petr says he didn’t realize the thread he was pulling would end up attached to Daniel’s sweater. Daniel speaks as if Petr’s expose is a death warrant, something — dramatic irony alert! — we already know to be true. Just as Petr pulls out of the garage, he hears a gunshot. Suicide. It soon triggers a return to the present, where Petr agrees to hear what Stella has to say, and it’s a doozy of a twist. Let’s just say she doesn’t confess to being the leaker, which is more dramatic irony to get us English majors all hot and bothered. What’s her motive? And it sure looks like Daniel took a big secret with him to his grave.

Our Take: The first episode of Mamon is crisply paced, plotted for maximum intrigue, well-acted, stylishly directed. It’s derivative of many films and TV series before it, but good stories need not break the mold to be entertaining. It nicely balances two high-drama plots: the personal story of the Vlcek family, and the broad political ramifications of the scandal. It cruises by, imminently watchable, teasing complexities without being too plot-dense. Go ahead, it seems to say, try not to watch the next episode!

Sex and Skin: None.

Parting Shot: Daniel’s CE colleague sits at his fireplace, burning the files Daniel left for him, a look of deep worry on his face.

Sleeper Star: Tereza Hofova plays Jana, one of Stella’s superiors, and stares laser-holes through the set pieces like she knows exactly what’s going on.

Most Pilot-y Line: Daniel has his PR guy hold a press conference saying he’s resigning as CEO to show the company’s cooperating with the investigation. “That should distract them for a while,” Daniel says.

Our Call: STREAM IT. Underrated gem! Mamon isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s well-made and modestly enthralling.

John Serba is a freelance writer and film critic based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Read more of his work at johnserbaatlarge.com or follow him on Twitter: @johnserba.

Stream Mamon on HBO Now

Stream Mamon on HBO Go