"Andrzej Wajda’s queasily compelling film... is an expressionist comic opera of toxic capitalism and bad faith, carried out by jittery entrepreneurs whose skills include insider trading, worker-exploitation and burning down failing businesses for the insurance."

"The story unfolds like a more cynical version of The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: instead of moving from rationality to gold-thirsty insanity, the three prospectors devolve from unpleasant greediness to utter despicability, making their tragic fate seem more like a long-overdue comeuppance."