PLANETES (DANDELION'S ODYSSEY)

Watchable. An artistic, often photorealistic, animation about dandelions traversing the universe, an icy ocean among icebergs, battling elements, encountering a frog and its sprogs, fighting a mantis and a moth, riding slugs. No human language is spoken, the plants emit underwater-creatures-like sounds. Original, gentle music forms the audio accompanying the vivid, colourful images, using classical and ethnic instruments. It looks bizarre at times, whereas at other makes you wonder how they made it seem so real. The underwater-creatures-like voices sound childish but the music is varied and pleasant. The story is ambiguous, open to your own interpretation. It certainly never bores you. 

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

LGBT+ FILM FESTIVAL POLAND 2026

NO PRIDE IN GENOCIDE

The set consists of 9 short films:

A TANGLED WEB DROWNING IN HONEY

Listenable. For some funny technical reason I was only able to hear the film audio, without the video, so all I can say is it's poetic, introspective, told in a beautiful female voice, nothing is direct, the whole thing is certainly subject to interpretations, but the pictures could help direct said interpretation.

MARCO

Recommended. A profound drama set in a posh London flat on the Thames, where scrambled eggs with sumac evoke longing as strongly as the conversation does. Tension fills the air from the opening when Omar doesn't answer the phone. When the two men meet "The Book of Disquiet" on the shelf indicates the hopes their encounter brings are too beautiful to be true. Both men have come in search of what cannot be fulfilled. Gripping emotionally and thought-provoking.

HOMECOMING QUEENZ

Watchable. An amateurish documentary with jarring background noise. The film highlights how much Israeli immigration knows about their citizens - about the only reason to see it.

SULTANA'S REIGN

Recommended. Drag queen Sultana embodies glamour: a blonde wig, 2-hour make-up, a fabulous crimson sequin dress - that's how he/she lightens up her days in depressing New York City weather. Originally from Palestine, she promotes peace with her queen lifestyle.  She discusses the American divas of the 1940s and Egyptian ones from the 1960s-70s as her inspirations, though it's Madonna that helps her identify what's new in make-up. He/she also tells about her coming out and how his/her perfect hard-working-for-the-family father induced such fear he/she couldn't become him/herself. And how turning-straight psychotherapy sped up becoming fully gay. The documentary is also informative in how Sultana explains that drag has recently become half-male-half-female which doesn't suit every performer.

 

I NEVER PROMISED YOU A JASMINE GARDEN

Recommended. An innocuous start where two friends talk while one of them is preparing a birthday dinner for a friend leads surreptitiously to a heart-wrenching finding. It's told smartly - at first I didn't realise what that cigarette thing was during the walk, it only dawned on me half a minute later. Powerful.

VIBRATIONS FROM GAZA

Recommended. A 10-year-old remembers 2 wars. Israeli attacks intensify during Ramadan, especially at Iftar time. The surveillance drone noise is persistent, even some deaf people hear it. Sudden bombings wake people at night. Whole buildings collapse "as if they never existed". "It feels like an earthquake." Actual sonic weapons are used for the high-velocity sound to torture people and damage their hearing, especially in children. The film uses constant drone buzzing in the background, war footage and children's stories of their experiences to a hard-hitting effect.

ANTENNE

Recommended x 3. Directed, edited and performed by Bashar Murad this video clip  humorously opens with comments in which people confuse Palestine with Pakistan, but it swiftly turns to rhytmic, danceable pop. The singer's outfits are the icing on the cake. I listened to the song and played the video three times. Top-notch fun with political lyrics.

Bashar Murad is going to give a concert this Friday as part of the festival.

PALCORECORE

Recommended. Free running through ruins, dancing between fires - this poetic and musical affirmation of life is steadfast resistance. The author calls herself "a war crime in reverse". Captivating, thought-provoking and visually awesome.  

COYOTES

Recommended. A gripping thriller with atmosphere: night, being stuck in a desolate place among coyotes and with a great twist in the middle. 

Reviewed from the organizers' screeners, cinematic reception might differ.

LGBT+ FILM FESTIVAL POLAND 2026

The festival is starting tomorrow, I've had a chance to preview some of the this year offerings:

OBEN OHNE (WHERE YOU FIND ME)

Watchable. Visual effects like intentionally blurred sequences or mother and daughter reflected in each other's eyes repeatedly add a dreamy feel to the story of women choosing life without obligations. The drama tackles the dualism of life: professional duties and relationship responsibilities, days of discussing diseases or pregnancies and their terminations are juxtaposed with frivolous absent-mindedness of partying hard, steamy nights and daylight lazing on the beach (cold and cloudy - it's Germany). Infrequent but fabulous techno and trance of the club sequences and along the end credits form the sountrack. No court or legal advice scenes regarding the eponymous "oben ohne" ("topless") accusation - the misdemeanor charge remains on the margin. "I hate to be an adult", mentioned by a protagonist, should be the movie title.

Reviewed from the organizers' screener, cinematic reception might differ.

DANGLING CARROT

Recommended. Taylor Ghrist's movie (written, directed and acted, he's also one of two executive producers) is straight-people-friendly - all gay terms are explained in the conversation Taylor has with his two girlfriends in one of the first scenes. Search for love is relatable to all of us so you keep rooting for him as he seeks connection. The main difference between the straight world and the male gay reality is the predominance of sex in the latter, which is also discussed with the two girls. The film offers an unflinching look at contemporary dating. Gaslighting and other manipulative tactics are vividly brought home in the plot to manifest the selfishness of our times. From a romantic comedy to a shattering finale the movie craftily navigates dramatic genres. Top-notch performances and superb music backdrop ensure it's thoroughly entertaining, engaging and doesn't feel heavy even for a minute. 

Reviewed from the organizers' screener, cinematic reception might differ.

Also Palestinian singer Bashar Murad is going to perform in Poland for the first time as part of the festival. Here comes a sample of his music: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0p78w_BpKw&list=RDx0p78w_BpKw&start_radio=1

WHISTLE

Watchable. A good story where you learn how each character would die if they lived long enough, fantastic music, of varying genres, but always matching the action on the screen. The whole thing is moderately scary. What ruins the finale is the nonsensical death of the young pastor as well as saving each other through reanimation to cheat death ripped off another horror flick.  

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

PILLION

Recommended. Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård, who also co-produced this gay flick, is perfect as the domineering partner. His subservient counterpart sings like an angel - the fabulous choir and the rest of the soundtrack are another strong point about this comedy drama. The story is original, unusual, told with a pinch of salt. A unique experience.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

유령 (PHANTOM)

Watchable. You have to watch this noir espionage thriller very carefully. About an hour in I had to go back and see it all over again from the start. Twice. And then I went back places every now and then. While it's totally engaging, as you keep solving the puzzle, those numerous details make it possible to follow only when you can rewind. Brilliant performances, especially both secretaries' as well as the cat owner's. Visually it offers memorable noir-style shots and use of colour, e.g. when blood splashes on a Mt. Fuji painting during the attempt to assassinate the Japanese governor. The finale's truly brutal, as expected in a Korean movie.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

UN TUEUR SI PROCHE: ANN RULE ET TED BUNDY (THE STRANGER BESIDE ME - ANN RULE AND TED BUNDY)

Recommended. It's not the woman's discovery of who her friend is, though her difficulty in accepting the truth is intriguing, that's shocking, it's the serial murderer's ease of manipulating others that's mind-boggling. On the screen his eyes are ice cold and his smirk revoltingly false. How come he managed to lure the 37 women he claimed he had murdered? It's also frightening where Ann Rule and Ted Bundy met - what's not mentioned in the documentary is that what inspired him to murder women was the agony he heard in their voices while working in the crisis centre. My background knowledge made the film even more frightening.

The documentary was available on Arte TV.

SACRE COEUR: SON REGNE N'A PAS DE FIN (SACRED HEART)

Switched off. This documentary is boring for two reasons. Firstly, converts' stories are the norm for religious true-life films, as is commentary about a nun's vision, so it feels tedious to hear some again, over and over, also told in monotonous voices. Secondly, the Sacred Heart devotion is limited so a film solely about that feels sectarian, unattractive to a non-follower.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

ARTEKINO FESTIVAL 2023

SPLENDIDE HOTEL: UN VOYANT EN ENFER (SPLENDID HOTEL)

Watchable. Based on an obscure period in poet Arthur Rimbaud's life, this poetic drama mixes history when travel wasn't common and towns tended to be quiet, with modern day pictures and visual effects or music. You learn he tried to poison someone's dogs out of frustration, that he was religious, that he longed for family life instead of travel. It's a picture of waiting, for over 10 months. Also a lesson of life which was a turning point for him, not just because of his musings, but because it may have ruined his health and certainly didn't bring him expected wealth - an unusual set of events made him return to square one but more experienced and humbled. Occasional theatricality of set decor and mediocre acting are the downsides of this picture. 

SUNDAYS

Watchable. A fully professional documentary, thorough, even unduly filled with conversations at times, some of them had better be cut out, but about a very ordinary person. The only justification of it could be it deals with fate, or, in religious terms, God's plan for you. Does God truly have a plan for everyone? Seems true for this priest. Still, there's nothing special about him to tell the world, he's just the narrator's family member. 

VAMOS A LA PLAYA

Switched off. Two girls and one boy go to Cuba to find the boy's brother doing research on manatees. Little Cuba, no manatees, instead silly chatter, the most ridiculous about sex, wanking too. Why would I watch that? Ah, and one of the girls repeatedly talks directly to the camera like in some kind of reality show. 

DEN SISTE VAREN (SISTER, WHAT GROWS WHERE LAND IS SICK?) 

Switched off. This psychological drama consists of silly chit-chat and, on top of that blabber, a narrator reading one of the teenager's diaries where she talks about her mental problems. 

PUFFIN ROCK AND THE NEW FRIENDS

Recommended. This Irish animation is a cute, heart-warming tale for young children. Not only is it filled with love but it also teaches kids some environmental lessons. 

AFRYKAMERA 2023 ONLINE

LE SPECTRE DE BOKO HARAM (THE SPECTRE OF BOKO HARAM)

Watchable. An observational etnographic documentary about a village in Cameroon, near the Nigerian border. Colourful pigeons on the ground, white birds in the trees, lizzards on the walls, men resting on blankets outside, an elementary school teaching French, a woman pounding millet. Soldiers in the background. It's centred around kids. Some turn out to be former child soldiers, runaways from Boko Haram. Their accounts mix with magic. Magic, Christianity and Islam mix in the culture as exemplified by the case of a child ill with malaria treated with chicken blood mixed with bark. Too much focus on children, no commentary, little to the point. 

THE BRIDE

Watchable. For Rwandan women violence didn't end with the war. While the drama sees the aftermath, e.g. people who have lost their entire families and who have moved to a house leftover after other exterminated people, the custom of abducting a woman and making her a bride via rape is rife. The film is slow-paced and looks too theatrical at times. But it's engaging not only in terms of action but also relationships there and then since part is local culture and part coping with the tragic past.

ARTEKINO FESTIVAL 2023

РИБЕНА КОСТ (FISHBONE)

Switched off. A few separate parallel stories. No idea what some of them are about.

MI VACIO Y YO (MY EMPTINESS AND I)

Watchable. A colourful production with occasional good music Raphaelle's story tells you all you need to know about what it's like to be an m to f trans looking for love. The romantic search part is totally engaging, the trans layer is interesting enough but overtalked at times. 

A SIBILA (THE SIBIL)

Switched off. A narrator and all characters talk in a lofty, stilted, monotonous way, often about abstract things.

NIEMAND IST BEI DEN KALBERN (NO ONE'S WITH THE CALVES)

Switched off. A countryside girl picks up men, wanks, drinks, smokes, her father gets wasted. 

The festival had 'very large' subtitles actually legible from a distance which was great. Unfortunately they'd often blend into light coloured backgrounds. Movies would stutter so badly they took half longer than their official running time. But most were of meagre quality anyway.  

LOS DOMINGOS (SUNDAYS)

Recommended. Catchy dance rhythms open this unusual drama from Spain, a lofty and joyful religious song closes it which wonderfully sums up the protagonist's transition. The secular world isn't attractive: bank loans, family fights over inheritance, a scheming aunt, all youngsters' entertainment connected to sex, whether singing or bragging about it. It's all realistically depicted, from life-like conversations to a diversity of characters and their responses to the extraordinary decision of the 17-year-old. Among some memorable lines in this drama you're told that "Jesus puts desires in your heart" - this is when I actually paused the movie to reflect on my own life decisions, when you look at your own, sometimes unexpected, but morally driven choices it all starts making sense. The Jeremiah 10:23 quote: "It is not up to the man who walks to direct his steps" reverberates through the movie. Putting your fate in the hands of God is a totally different approach to life than atheists'. The way the girl's aunt sees it, nuns hide away from the world scared. At the same time it's her who, subtly yet manipulatively, denies the girl her freedom of choice. The film also insightfully and realistically depicts how nuns live which made me ponder whether I could accept and even want such a lifestyle. While I quickly came to the conclusion I couldn't, the point of no wastefulness really appeals to me - it's so environmentlly friendly. On the other hand, it also highlights how we're spoilt by excess every day and the big question is: can we do without it all? Sadly this Spanish Oscar candidate wasn't lucky enough to be shortlisted.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

ARRETE AVEC TES MENSONGES (LIE WITH ME)

Recommended. Gripping plot, exciting, keeping you in suspense, deeply touching and thought-provoking when you realise the first love leaves an indelible mark and one becomes aware it was love sometimes only in hindsight. It's also about how destructive it can be. Love so powerful, even if unspoken, that you see through the person, you know them better than they know themselves. When a circumstantial division splits the lovers' roads it's profound, the tragedy of being in love rings painfully true. On the sidelines the movie conveys a message that ideas divide, music unites.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

AFRYKAMERA 2023 ONLINE

BURKINA BABES

Watchable. This short documentary photo essay doesn't say much new other than the fact Burkina Faso bikes, usually motorbikes, are often ridden by women.

INDLELA YOKUPHILA: THE SOUL'S JOURNEY

Watchable. Zulu mythology turns out to be very environmental in this short animation which looks evocative yet too purple for an ocean.

PRAYERS FOR SWEET WATERS

Watchable. A quiet documentary on transgender sex workers in Cape Town. The first story is a bit interesting since her remote American client cared about her so much he paid for her hotel when she had nowhere to live. Other ones are just expressions of hope for the future. 

And that was when VOD Warszawa failed again. It was't just the slight stutter of the films but their disappearance from the website where they were supposed to be available for pass holders for 5 days longer. 

NENEH SUPERSTAR

Recommended. The position of blacks, especially black children in France through the prism of a ballet school. This gripping tale digs deep into the systemic bias of the opera and bullying by privileged white kids, on top of the school physical demands. A dancer is going to be in pain all her life, as one of the teachers remarks, a black dance student faces extra challenges. And instead of adults' support, she's branded aggressive for self-defence. Smartly depicted. Music changes genres, just as the black girl moves cultures between the school and her home and mates. A riveting song accompanies the end credits.

Reviewed from the distributor's superb quality screener, cinematic reception might differ.

CZAS NA POGODE (A TIME FOR SUMMER)

Switched off. A typical slow-paced Polish drama where people are poor, mourn their dead, are depressed. Worst of all, there's nothing to look forward to in the action. 

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

LE GRAND CHARIOT (THE PLOUGH)

Walked out. No clear storyline, instead lots of talking about Femen activism, about puppetry and puppet shows for children, mourning after a deceased close one, another one demented.

THE THING WITH THE FEATHERS

Watchable. Normally it's Polish cinema that offers sorrowful dramas about mourning and especially about children who've lost their mother. This British drama is about a father who's lost his wife and who suffers more than his sons. The crow is never shown too clearly, probably in order not to reveal how fake ithis huge horror creature is. The whole thing is dull, crazy but consistent.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

HARVEY KEITEL, A L'OMBRE DES TENEBRES (HARVEY KEITEL: BETWEEN HOLLYWOOD AND INDEPENDENT FILM)

Recommended. A fascinating film about a famous supporting actor and how he missed his chance for stardom - De Niro's role in "Taxi Driver" was originally written for him, a real ex-Marine - and eventually to some extent got it back in his 50s. It also shows how much of success depends on relationships with other people.

The documentary was available on Arte TV.

EKO

Watchable. This Malayalam mystery drama about dogs and their masters offers beautiful pcitures of nature from the start as well as an engaging story. The only downside is that a big part of the suspense are the snippets of information why Kuriyachan is wanted by so many people and the full scope of his alleged wrongdoing, or what it was specifically, is never revealed.

KICA KOCIA MA BRACISZKA

Watchable. Another set of Kicia Kocia's everyday dilemmas - charming, cute, teaching children empathy e.g. in the episode devited to an allergy which would exclude a girl from playing in the garden. The only downside is the episode about cleaning teeth - the method is outdated and, what's worse, the dentist is wearing her mask on her chin.

THE RUNNING MAN

Recommended. The new adaptation of Stephen King's 1982 novel plays with the first, 1987, adaptation - Arnold Schwarzenegger's image is on banknotes, only to be replaced by Glen Powell's in the end credit pictures (since this is where the plot i.e. the revolution continues), but the new version is based on our likely future: mass surveillance is just a start, self-driving cars, digital ticket desk staff and the like form a complete world. It's a world of huge social status disparities, where you even need to cross a gate to enter the better-off realm. Frequent spelling misktakes indicate the poor are uneducated but it's them who become aware of the Network's lies, as they are on the receiving end. It's also critical of consumerism - the boys  who have killed a contestant receive a lifetime supply of certain brand of breakfast flakes - later the protagonist's wife is seen buying the same. Glen Powell is superb in his complex role. The plot offers a number of twists. It's also clearly based on our post truth reality and deep fakes. This adaptation is probably even better than the first one. 

STARGATE - EN JULEFORTELLING (STARGATE - A CHRISTMAS STORY)

Hyped by Dua Lipa as a modern version of Andersen's "Den Lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne" ("The Little Match Girl") the movie has just been released in Polish cinemas, luckily in a subtitled version. 

Watchable. A very quiet movie, with no background music. Very mundane and prolonged but engaging in spite of that. Still, it's quite sorrowful since two girls are trying to cope with life having an alcoholic father. You learn a bit about the Norwegian society, their lifestyle and  Norwegian traditions, like St. Lucia's Day. Other than that, it's just a gloomy drama. While it provides some optimism - they do manage in spite of their parent 's virtual absence, the whole thing leaves you despondent.

I've had a chance to compare it with the book by Ingvid H. Rishøi, who collaborated with the director on the film script. The movie is true to the book and surpasses it in a way since it's more consistent. Also the book, on top of being sad, feels hysterical at times while the girls in the movie act naturally. On the other hand, the book doesn't drag so it's easier to follow than the protracted adaptation.

LISTY Z WILCZEJ (LETTERS FROM WOLF STREET)

Watchable. This documentary by an Indian who's graduated from a Polish film school, who speaks very good Polish and has been living here for years tells about one street comparing it nowadays and in the last century. It's a consistent film where the author tries to understand why his Indian pal took his own life in the country he had dreamed of. He focuses on Poles' mixed attitudes to immigrants, but what transpires through this bias, are heart-warming characters, like a shoe maker or a postman - modest but the true pillars of the community.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

THE CARPENTER'S SON

Walked out. The ridiculous plot tries to persuade you Jezus at 15 was a naughty kid and the times brutal. It's not clear where it's headed band, being so protracted and amateurishly shot and acted - especially Noah Jupe as "the Boy" i.e., fresh-after-botox FKA twigs as the Mother i.e. Mary and Isla Johnston as "the Stranger" i.e.Satan, I didn't stick around till the end to find out. 

ESSEN. MACHT. GESCHICHTE (A HISTORY OF FOOD)

Recommended. The film charts the history of humanity through food: from hominids, through the Neolitic times, ancient Egypt and Rome, the Middle Ages and the great three religions, the Age of Great Geographical Discoveries - driven mostly by the urge to cut out the middlemen Arabs from the spice import to Europe, slavery following the introduction of Asian sugarcane to the Americas, the Irish famine and the French Revolution, the rise of inns, which were the precursors of restaurants where the common man dined lacking his own kitchen - kitchens were for the wealthy, industrialisation and the first non-manure fertiliser, as well as preservation and sterilisation methods or the broth stock, next quality control following mass production fraud and poisonings, long shifts in factories and the first canteen. A comprehensive presentation of how food unites or divides, elevates status or excludes and, most of all, how the whole history of humanity has been a search for food, better food and more of it. 

The documentary was available on Arte TV.

KUSUNDA VR

Watchable. Witnessing how a nearly extinct language is used is fascinating. Yet it could do with more real life footage rather than animation and, whatever documentary there is, is partly blurred, especially at the back, though not all the film is 360 degrees round you. .

WILDING

Recommended. Based on the book by and consulted by Isabella Tree, this documentary uses actors and dramatisations to tell the story of decades of rewilding a depleted land. You have to listen to it all carefully as they explain all the links in nature that make it possible. The staggering amount of work they put into it, the happiness of released farm animals like horses or pigs, the knowledge of numerous species of what's there and why it's worth going - their communication spans continents - all impress. "A pair of beavers would have done it at no cost and better" sums up how humans destroy nature.and how costly it is and what skill - animal gifts - it takes to rebuild it.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

DORA MAGIC MERMAID ADVENTURES

Watchable. Delightful pastel colours, silly tales, but teaching children English words. It's all about "glowing parties" and looking for stuff in the ocean among magical mermaids and other fantastical creatures. Nice songs, just like dialogues, in Polish with thrown in English words. What mars the vision is an odd monkey whose tail turns into a seahorse tail in water. Still, the whole thing is pleasant, light and fun.

SUNNY SANSKARI KI TULSI KUMARI

Recommended. A superb Bollywood romantic comedy with fantastic music and great dancing. Varun Dhawan shows off his acting chops as spunky Sunny Sanskari, so does Janhvi Kapoor as Tulsi Kumari  - she's also breathtakingly beautiful. Producer Karan Johar makes a cameo. The plot is funny, especially the final act with the second wedding disruption attempt. Rhythmic songs make you wanna dance.

TRON: ARES AT IMAX 3D

Watchable. Disney's logo digitised into red stripes Tron-style opens and closes the picture which successfully bridges the 80s original with the present visually, musically, character-wise. There's an Easter egg for Moebius fans - look closely at the bus destination in the first road chase. Jeff Bridges' return will satisfy the fans of the original "Tron". The story's simple and silly but it was meant for teenagers back then and it is now. 3D, at Imax at least, enhances the movie, some scenes without the 3D glasses were so flat it changed the context. An early mid-credit heralds a potential sequel.

TRIUMPH OF THE HEART

Watchable. Well, the story of St. Maksymilian Kolbe as I remember it from a school trip in my childhood in Poland is told differently in this American movie. While, as a child, I wasn't given the details of the atrocities and may have forgotten some of the story, I'm positive I heard of him making a rosary from bread instead of eating it, which is not in the film - now I doubt which story is truer. The final notes on the screen state most of the characters are fictitious, being rather representatives of major groups in the concentration camp, which muddles the truth further. What remains is the truth of faith. Yet, it's a biopic rather than a religious drama. We learn a lot about his path before the imprisonment. Still, frequent flashbacks from the priest's past as well as reminiscences from others' lives, mixed with hallucinations from starvation hinder following the plot, even if they lighten the mood. Well, at times, because some nightmares horrify. Symbolic snakes in the prisoners' final days make no sense though - their sins have been absolved, they're even physically incapable of committing any more, none of them mention seeing them so they're not hallucinations either. The movie is heavy, sombre, often gruesome, not for the faint-hearted - that's certainly realistic, presented without beating round the bush. The otherworldly joyful finale is the only truly uplifting part.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

CAPO

Watchable. Consulted by La Strada and a professor specialising in human trafficking, this drama leaves no doubts it wants to be treated as a documentary. The disturbing opening where a group of Hispanic workers arrive in Poland and nothing resembles even remotely what they were promised sets the first, predictable half. You just expect an accident to happen, betting they have no insurance. The second half keeps you in suspense as you don't know what's really happened to the injured woman or who is going to react how. But the mystery is never explained, which may be realistic, but is awfully frustrating in a movie. What's worse, the film has an open ending. Also, poor cast mumbles or murmures regardless of which of three languages in the movie they speak.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

ТИ - КОСМОС (U ARE THE UNIVERSE)

Recommended. The first twist comes already about 9 minutes into the movie. Next one in the 27th minute. There are two more twists in the final half hour of this 1-hour 40-minute-long picture. So, even though it's set in and around a spaceship, it maintains decent suspense. Still, what glued me to the screen even more, was the wider context. This Ukrainian wartime production deals with profound current issues: what it's like to lose everything and everyone suddenly and have nowhere to go back to as well as disinformation. Yet for the most part the film is light due to characteristic for Ukrainians irony, just like in "Мої думки тихі" ("My Thoughts Are Silent") or "Герой мого часу" ("Hero of My Time"). I loved how the job problem amusingly puts our daily concerns into perspective. At some point you get a "2001: A Space Odyssey" mockery but later its trope reoccurs in a serious manner in the dramatic finale. The set design is spot on. Budget-made but solid space opera. Much thought-provoking and smart.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

HUDSON & REX SEASON 1

EP. 11

Watchable. This episode appears to be rooted in water abuse taking place in the ultracapitalist US here and there. No officers' private lives, just the case and the investigation - complex just enough yet lucid. Rex is useful but no big role for him either. 

EP. 12

Watchable. Again, just the case. The set-up is intriguing, but it all soon turns out mundane and a bit over the top. Rex has no role apart from making a cute face in the finale.

Available on FilmBox+ and Stopklatka in English or with a Polish voice over.

VERMIGLIO

Switched off. Constant crying of a baby, frequent prayers, plodding pace, war times in a remote village. Nothing interesting whatsoever.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

WENT UP THE HILL

Switched off. Awfully slow-paced. While relatives embodying the spirit of the deceased are an original concept, their sexual intercourse makes no sense either supernaturally nor taking into account who they really are - it's incest, besides one of them is gay. With no dynamics, no suspense and no sense I saw no point in continuing watching.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

THE ROSES

Watchable. This fictitious story is not as far-fetched as it seems. Ollie Dabbous appears as himself. The mentioned Charles Manson connection to Beach Boys in the good times is also a fact. Having said that, the rest is a rags-to-riches story for one and a downfall for the other and the consequences for the relationship. It's humorous. Lots of British sarcasm in the pair's constant banter , e.g "I'm just going to lie down here" when fallen drunk is contrasted with American awkward, vulgar attempts at humour. The whole thing is fun but the Americans are portrayed as dumb, envious and primitive. What partly makes up for it, is the luxury life fairy-tale.

SORRY, BABY

Switched off. How did Eva Victor manage to write 1 hour 42 minutes of a movie without saying anything meaningful? Nothing much happens, it's lacklustre and all conversations are so trivial, so contrived, you keep wondering how any real person could drone on and on about nothing the way the two women and the people in their circle do. And as an actress she fails to attract you to the screen either. A bummer. 

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.