ZERWANY KLOS (STOLEN HARVEST)
Watchable. Lofty and moving in turns. Too much make-up which doesn't look natural, especially on such young faces. The Church view of women: a raped one, subsequently harassed by people in the village, who forgives and gives birth in belief that such was God's plan and blessing and one who remained a virgin but lost her life due to extremely deep and painful sabre wounds. The killed one became a saint.
Before the screening the presenter talked about the girl as of "shamed" by a Cossack soldier. Shame on the presenter for such victim blaming!
THE DRAGON SPELL
Watchable. Not much of a plot. Likeable characters. Cute animals.
AMERICAN PASTORAL
Recommended. A reversed American dream. A rebellious teenager goes off the rails.
Seriously off the rails. Makes you wonder how yourself and several
others managed to go back to normal after a teenage rebellion while she
remained changed forever. Peter Riegert is superb as Lou Levov, her
grandfather and the only character adding a light touch to the dark tale
getting darker and darker. Also outstanding are Ewan McGregor, Jennifer
Connely and Dakota Fanning.
Monday 30 January 2017
Sunday 29 January 2017
POKOT (SPOOR)
I've seen it already but due to a publication ban my review will appear on the day of its premiere at this year's Berlinale on 12th February.
EDERLY
Recommended. What's real is not reality but our perception of it. My first impression of the film being a cross between Gombrowicz and Kafka is shared by the distributor. According to the director, Piotr Dumala, a dream is formed as if of fonts, seemingly with no sense. Such an intellectual puzzle it is. Very well shot, in black and white, and acted. A bit too slow for me, though.
Actress Helena Norowicz (82) was offered a modelling job after the role!
I've seen it already but due to a publication ban my review will appear on the day of its premiere at this year's Berlinale on 12th February.
EDERLY
Recommended. What's real is not reality but our perception of it. My first impression of the film being a cross between Gombrowicz and Kafka is shared by the distributor. According to the director, Piotr Dumala, a dream is formed as if of fonts, seemingly with no sense. Such an intellectual puzzle it is. Very well shot, in black and white, and acted. A bit too slow for me, though.
Actress Helena Norowicz (82) was offered a modelling job after the role!
Sunday 22 January 2017
JACKIE
Watchable. Very slow, with heavy, sorrowful music and far too many endings. At the same time with remarkable acting by Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy and Peter Sarsgaard as Robert Kennedy. They speak in the old-fashioned manner, that of Natalie Portman much resembling the original pronunciation of Mrs. Kennedy. The film's mostly about funeral preparations and finding comfort in God. I guess I'd love to see it if I were in mourning. But I'm not and it was just tiring, very similar to last year's "Carol" in that manner. Meticulously depicted period details, just like in "Carol", too.
WHY HIM?
Watchable. Much better than the trailer. There are a couple of laughs, e.g. "Just stop talking and eat your paper!", when they are served molecular cuisine dishes wrapped in edible newspapers, but fun comes mostly from watching all the high-tech gadgets in the Silicon Valley millionaire's house causing a modern-style generation gap. While the humour is far from sophisticated, with lots of vulgar jokes and curse words, it is still enjoyable, interesting and involving.
Watchable. Very slow, with heavy, sorrowful music and far too many endings. At the same time with remarkable acting by Natalie Portman as Jacqueline Kennedy and Peter Sarsgaard as Robert Kennedy. They speak in the old-fashioned manner, that of Natalie Portman much resembling the original pronunciation of Mrs. Kennedy. The film's mostly about funeral preparations and finding comfort in God. I guess I'd love to see it if I were in mourning. But I'm not and it was just tiring, very similar to last year's "Carol" in that manner. Meticulously depicted period details, just like in "Carol", too.
WHY HIM?
Watchable. Much better than the trailer. There are a couple of laughs, e.g. "Just stop talking and eat your paper!", when they are served molecular cuisine dishes wrapped in edible newspapers, but fun comes mostly from watching all the high-tech gadgets in the Silicon Valley millionaire's house causing a modern-style generation gap. While the humour is far from sophisticated, with lots of vulgar jokes and curse words, it is still enjoyable, interesting and involving.
Wednesday 18 January 2017
ELLE
Watchable. By Paul Verhoeven so preying on viewers' lowest instincts: full of sex, violence and sexual violence. Involving because full of psychological games. In fact the eponymous "elle" ("she") is the head of a game manufacturer. But her own games draw her in much deeper. There are quite a few puzzles to solve. While she's striving to find the answers, you realise that she, just like most people around her, have a second face.
Watchable. By Paul Verhoeven so preying on viewers' lowest instincts: full of sex, violence and sexual violence. Involving because full of psychological games. In fact the eponymous "elle" ("she") is the head of a game manufacturer. But her own games draw her in much deeper. There are quite a few puzzles to solve. While she's striving to find the answers, you realise that she, just like most people around her, have a second face.
Tuesday 17 January 2017
SPLIT
Watchable. Shyamalan is in the same form as with "Signs" - carefully built up mystery turns to a class B monster fight at the end. It should have developed or, at least, stopped at the discovery of each personality having their own physical characteristics (e.g. only one having diabetes etc.). Luckily it's all made by the Hollywood book therefore perfectly bearable. James McAvoy shines enacting 5 different personalities delightfully. The role of his life.
THE FOUNDER
Recommended. Like "The Social Network" without the tedious bits. About hipster-style (though set in the 50s, that seems to be the best comparison) socially beneficial capitalism versus ruthless capitalism driven by greed. Also, a painstakingly researched story of the world's best known fast food chain and an extensive depiction of America of the 1950s. On the personal level it shows how Ray Kroc and his wife grew apart and the change of life goals led him to a new relationship. But most of all it's a hard-hitting business lesson. Carefully built up tension leads to a shattering finale which stays with you long after.
THE SWEDISH THEORY OF LOVE
Recommended. About individualism leading to: the largest percentage of single people in the world, the largest sperm bank in the world, people dead for two years with no one aware and a popular social activity which is searching woods for missing people. Astonishing how social engineering has changed Sweden. I thought I knew a lot about the Swedish notion of individualism and freeing a person from family obligations but the results of it surpass whatever I imagined. The fact that about 50% of Swedish women choose to live alone and to have babies on their own, reducing men to the role of sperm donors, is not that surprising taken that even in Sweden being married is associated with cooking and cleaning for the husband. Yet, learning about someone's death two years later, because no one noticed, never seemed to me possible. The whole system sounds like science fiction but it exists for real, just across the Baltic Sea.
Watchable. Shyamalan is in the same form as with "Signs" - carefully built up mystery turns to a class B monster fight at the end. It should have developed or, at least, stopped at the discovery of each personality having their own physical characteristics (e.g. only one having diabetes etc.). Luckily it's all made by the Hollywood book therefore perfectly bearable. James McAvoy shines enacting 5 different personalities delightfully. The role of his life.
THE FOUNDER
Recommended. Like "The Social Network" without the tedious bits. About hipster-style (though set in the 50s, that seems to be the best comparison) socially beneficial capitalism versus ruthless capitalism driven by greed. Also, a painstakingly researched story of the world's best known fast food chain and an extensive depiction of America of the 1950s. On the personal level it shows how Ray Kroc and his wife grew apart and the change of life goals led him to a new relationship. But most of all it's a hard-hitting business lesson. Carefully built up tension leads to a shattering finale which stays with you long after.
THE SWEDISH THEORY OF LOVE
Recommended. About individualism leading to: the largest percentage of single people in the world, the largest sperm bank in the world, people dead for two years with no one aware and a popular social activity which is searching woods for missing people. Astonishing how social engineering has changed Sweden. I thought I knew a lot about the Swedish notion of individualism and freeing a person from family obligations but the results of it surpass whatever I imagined. The fact that about 50% of Swedish women choose to live alone and to have babies on their own, reducing men to the role of sperm donors, is not that surprising taken that even in Sweden being married is associated with cooking and cleaning for the husband. Yet, learning about someone's death two years later, because no one noticed, never seemed to me possible. The whole system sounds like science fiction but it exists for real, just across the Baltic Sea.
Monday 16 January 2017
MOONLIGHT
Recommended. I've heard it's got 140 awards already. It develops step by step, with subtlety you wouldn't expect from a film about rough neighborhood, tough guys and drug dealing. But it's more than that: the collapse of family values, dealing with school bullying, becoming oneself, love, friendship, what life is and what life is about. I had tears in my eyes a good few times. Trevante Rhodes and Andre Holland act remarkably well.
LAS, 4 RANO
Watchable. Krzysztof Majchrzak's life's role. But while his character is both intriguing and well acted, the film is mediocre. Part of it is annoyingly sexist: a relatively young woman becomes fond of an old, fat homeless guy and even wants to shag. In reality it would be the other way round: he would be harassing her. The movie's also tedious at times and I just felt it was going nowhere. The brilliant beginning isn't matched by an equal ending. In fact, there's no ending.
Recommended. I've heard it's got 140 awards already. It develops step by step, with subtlety you wouldn't expect from a film about rough neighborhood, tough guys and drug dealing. But it's more than that: the collapse of family values, dealing with school bullying, becoming oneself, love, friendship, what life is and what life is about. I had tears in my eyes a good few times. Trevante Rhodes and Andre Holland act remarkably well.
LAS, 4 RANO
Watchable. Krzysztof Majchrzak's life's role. But while his character is both intriguing and well acted, the film is mediocre. Part of it is annoyingly sexist: a relatively young woman becomes fond of an old, fat homeless guy and even wants to shag. In reality it would be the other way round: he would be harassing her. The movie's also tedious at times and I just felt it was going nowhere. The brilliant beginning isn't matched by an equal ending. In fact, there's no ending.
Friday 13 January 2017
LES PREMIERS LES DERNIERS (THE FIRST, THE LAST)
Watchable. Two of the characters carry biblical names: Jezus and Esther for no obvious reason. The crime plot is intriguing enough to follow the story, with information revealed gradually and slowly, but the two homeless people, one of them mentally ill, aren't pleasing to watch and there's too much sidetracking.
A STREET CAT NAMED BOB
Recommended. I'm not a cat person but Bob the Cat just stole my heart. Together with Luke Treadaway utterly convincing as his recovering junkie owner. The film's based on a true story, quite recent and from London. Still, it's the first time I've actually heard of them so I can only relate to what I saw. Put a junkie on the screen and it's watchable. Add a purring cat and it's a winner. Their story is totally involving. It's just so touching to see the two strays bonding and getting a second life.
SZTUKA KOCHANIA. HISTORIA MICHALINY WISLOCKIEJ (THE ART OF LOVING: THE STORY OF MICHALINA WISLOCKA)
Watchable. Action jumping to and fro in time confusingly and the lack of dates of events are what detracts from this tremendously entertaining film about trying to get a sex manual published in communist times. The scene of Michalina meeting her future husband naked in a lake: "Moja twarz jest nieco wyzej." ("My face is a bit higher up.") is hilarious as are some other situations, e.g. the sacks of mail. Her life was unusual: living in a triangle, having an affair with a married man; her work important and exceeding her times: introducing cytohormonal testing, treating women after home-induced abortions, educating about contraception and, last but not least, advocating for women's orgasms. The film was shot before the Black Protest, being released now it conveys a sinister message: women's rights are not won once for all but have to be fought for every few decades anew.
Magdalena Boczarska in the leading role apparently mastered Michalina Wislocka's manner of speaking as the sexologist's daughter told her: "Przestan, mowisz dokladnie jak moja mama!" ("Stop it, you're talking just like my mum!"). Piotr Adamczyk confessed he was thanking the day he had decided to become an actor when two beautiful women would replace each other in his bed on the same day during shooting the sex scenes.
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Watchable. A slowly unfolding story about a rough guy who, after his brother's premature death, becomes a reluctant guardian of his nephew. Sounds familiar? Add a memory of an earlier tragedy in the family and you get the picture. Run-of-the-mill but very human. Good cinematography.
RAK TI KHON KAEN (CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR)
Watchable. In this film Thai life is filled with folk beliefs and imagination, making it similar to Jan Jakub Kolski's movies in which miracles are discussed in conversations instead of being shown with visual effects. Quite interesting from the cultural point of view. It's also very slow and quiet, all people speak softly and are nice to each other so it helps you unwind. Unfortunately the slow pace means it's easy for the audience to doze off. One guy was even snoring, others would leave in the middle or flash their phones.
MR. GAGA
Recommended again. I was mesmerised. While the documentary tells you a lot about his career and life, the biggest attraction is the dance itself. The movements the dancers are capable of defy belief.
부산행 (TRAIN TO BUSAN)
Recommended. Normally I'm not a zombie fan. Such movies tend to get unbearably boring and vexing after the first attacks. From that moment I typically just wait to see who's going to survive or I lose patience and walk out. This one has a real plot which kept me glued to the screen and made my heart skip a beat on a few occasions. The first zombie appears about a quarter into the movie but the bloodthirsty monsters are just a pretext for action with a good number of twists and turns. Remarkably good make-up ensures the transformations look realistic. Many ingenious solutions applied by the entrapped make for a zombie epidemic survival guide. Psychologically complete characters. Tongue-in-cheek scenes like the one with a mobile phone used to divert zombies' attention or a guy calling a fund manager a "bloodsucker" are the icing on the cake.
Watchable. Two of the characters carry biblical names: Jezus and Esther for no obvious reason. The crime plot is intriguing enough to follow the story, with information revealed gradually and slowly, but the two homeless people, one of them mentally ill, aren't pleasing to watch and there's too much sidetracking.
A STREET CAT NAMED BOB
Recommended. I'm not a cat person but Bob the Cat just stole my heart. Together with Luke Treadaway utterly convincing as his recovering junkie owner. The film's based on a true story, quite recent and from London. Still, it's the first time I've actually heard of them so I can only relate to what I saw. Put a junkie on the screen and it's watchable. Add a purring cat and it's a winner. Their story is totally involving. It's just so touching to see the two strays bonding and getting a second life.
SZTUKA KOCHANIA. HISTORIA MICHALINY WISLOCKIEJ (THE ART OF LOVING: THE STORY OF MICHALINA WISLOCKA)
Watchable. Action jumping to and fro in time confusingly and the lack of dates of events are what detracts from this tremendously entertaining film about trying to get a sex manual published in communist times. The scene of Michalina meeting her future husband naked in a lake: "Moja twarz jest nieco wyzej." ("My face is a bit higher up.") is hilarious as are some other situations, e.g. the sacks of mail. Her life was unusual: living in a triangle, having an affair with a married man; her work important and exceeding her times: introducing cytohormonal testing, treating women after home-induced abortions, educating about contraception and, last but not least, advocating for women's orgasms. The film was shot before the Black Protest, being released now it conveys a sinister message: women's rights are not won once for all but have to be fought for every few decades anew.
Magdalena Boczarska in the leading role apparently mastered Michalina Wislocka's manner of speaking as the sexologist's daughter told her: "Przestan, mowisz dokladnie jak moja mama!" ("Stop it, you're talking just like my mum!"). Piotr Adamczyk confessed he was thanking the day he had decided to become an actor when two beautiful women would replace each other in his bed on the same day during shooting the sex scenes.
MANCHESTER BY THE SEA
Watchable. A slowly unfolding story about a rough guy who, after his brother's premature death, becomes a reluctant guardian of his nephew. Sounds familiar? Add a memory of an earlier tragedy in the family and you get the picture. Run-of-the-mill but very human. Good cinematography.
RAK TI KHON KAEN (CEMETERY OF SPLENDOUR)
Watchable. In this film Thai life is filled with folk beliefs and imagination, making it similar to Jan Jakub Kolski's movies in which miracles are discussed in conversations instead of being shown with visual effects. Quite interesting from the cultural point of view. It's also very slow and quiet, all people speak softly and are nice to each other so it helps you unwind. Unfortunately the slow pace means it's easy for the audience to doze off. One guy was even snoring, others would leave in the middle or flash their phones.
MR. GAGA
Recommended again. I was mesmerised. While the documentary tells you a lot about his career and life, the biggest attraction is the dance itself. The movements the dancers are capable of defy belief.
부산행 (TRAIN TO BUSAN)
Recommended. Normally I'm not a zombie fan. Such movies tend to get unbearably boring and vexing after the first attacks. From that moment I typically just wait to see who's going to survive or I lose patience and walk out. This one has a real plot which kept me glued to the screen and made my heart skip a beat on a few occasions. The first zombie appears about a quarter into the movie but the bloodthirsty monsters are just a pretext for action with a good number of twists and turns. Remarkably good make-up ensures the transformations look realistic. Many ingenious solutions applied by the entrapped make for a zombie epidemic survival guide. Psychologically complete characters. Tongue-in-cheek scenes like the one with a mobile phone used to divert zombies' attention or a guy calling a fund manager a "bloodsucker" are the icing on the cake.
Thursday 12 January 2017
LIVING WITH WARSAW
Recommended. A vibrant account of why some men give up stability in their home countries to live in a city few people in the world have even heard of. In this 40-minute long film you find everything: their life stories (most have moved here for women), acculturation and the sense of adventure they all share. What surprised me was how ugly the city itself was in their eyes.
Recommended. A vibrant account of why some men give up stability in their home countries to live in a city few people in the world have even heard of. In this 40-minute long film you find everything: their life stories (most have moved here for women), acculturation and the sense of adventure they all share. What surprised me was how ugly the city itself was in their eyes.
Monday 9 January 2017
ILEGITIM (ILLEGITIMATE)
Walked out. They sit droning on and on. I couldn't care less if she aborts or not and whether they were wanted children at all. Couldn't stand the blabbering.
ASSASSIN'S CREED 3D
Watchable. Filmed in London, Malta and, mostly, Spanish Andalucia it's quite an arid-looking film. Unfortunately so is the story. Very simplistic, far-fetched and game-like. I didn't like the music but some shots look breath-taking, mostly early on. Later it doesn't impress.
Walked out. They sit droning on and on. I couldn't care less if she aborts or not and whether they were wanted children at all. Couldn't stand the blabbering.
ASSASSIN'S CREED 3D
Watchable. Filmed in London, Malta and, mostly, Spanish Andalucia it's quite an arid-looking film. Unfortunately so is the story. Very simplistic, far-fetched and game-like. I didn't like the music but some shots look breath-taking, mostly early on. Later it doesn't impress.
Saturday 7 January 2017
EL CIUDADANO ILUSTRE (THE DISTINGUISHED CITIZEN)
Recommended. Quotes of Daniel Montavani, the (fictitious) Nobel prize winning writer, would make for a great book in their own right. While he falls into all the traps of a life of a celebrity, its his assertive, rational responses that make the character of the genius so plausible. His resilience to the craziness around him remains in sharp contrast to the great scope of emotions he evokes in the small town people and makes this comedy drama so smart.
JA, OLGA HEPNAROVA (I, OLGA HEPNAROVA)
Recommended. Most people, including me, leaving the screen felt like banged in the head with a hammer. With so many movies that fail to make an impression, a hard-hitting one stands out. The film's closely based on a book which is in turn closely based on facts. Olga Hepnarova was one of few female mass murderers and her modus operandi was running people over with a truck, just like in a few recent terrorist attacks in Western Europe - easily accessible, especially to her, working as a driver. According to the film she's a masculine type: in her movements, dressing style, homosexuality and her proactivity in dating. If you're going to see a movie about a mass murderer, you want strong emotions and/or to find out why they committed this unimaginable crime. This movie gives the answer. It's not brutal. No blood and guts. She makes it clear it's an extended suicide: her revenge on the society is bound to sentence her to death and that's what she wants. She's very intelligent and her reasoning is truly fascinating. At the same time the film leaves no doubts about her sanity. She's ill. She says she's a psychopath but that's one bit she gets wrong. She's not that calculative and she's not manipulative. Psychopaths lack emotions and she has so many she can't cope. The film's psychologically true. She feels like a failure. She's bullied in hospital, her problems at work and in her love life appear to her Himalaya-high obstacles, family warmth is replaced with medical prescriptions and we see her succumb to depression. As renowned Polish psychiatrist Antoni Kepinski said, a suicidal person wants to live and wants to die at the same time, and this is brilliantly conveyed through her ear-piercing scream in one of the final scenes. Michalina Olszanska, known from "Corki dancingu" ("The Lure"), perfectly enacts the girl, with a lot expressed just with her eyes. The film is black and white which both reflects the grey reality of the socialist Czechoslovakia and tells you black on white how things were with Olga.
Recommended. Quotes of Daniel Montavani, the (fictitious) Nobel prize winning writer, would make for a great book in their own right. While he falls into all the traps of a life of a celebrity, its his assertive, rational responses that make the character of the genius so plausible. His resilience to the craziness around him remains in sharp contrast to the great scope of emotions he evokes in the small town people and makes this comedy drama so smart.
JA, OLGA HEPNAROVA (I, OLGA HEPNAROVA)
Recommended. Most people, including me, leaving the screen felt like banged in the head with a hammer. With so many movies that fail to make an impression, a hard-hitting one stands out. The film's closely based on a book which is in turn closely based on facts. Olga Hepnarova was one of few female mass murderers and her modus operandi was running people over with a truck, just like in a few recent terrorist attacks in Western Europe - easily accessible, especially to her, working as a driver. According to the film she's a masculine type: in her movements, dressing style, homosexuality and her proactivity in dating. If you're going to see a movie about a mass murderer, you want strong emotions and/or to find out why they committed this unimaginable crime. This movie gives the answer. It's not brutal. No blood and guts. She makes it clear it's an extended suicide: her revenge on the society is bound to sentence her to death and that's what she wants. She's very intelligent and her reasoning is truly fascinating. At the same time the film leaves no doubts about her sanity. She's ill. She says she's a psychopath but that's one bit she gets wrong. She's not that calculative and she's not manipulative. Psychopaths lack emotions and she has so many she can't cope. The film's psychologically true. She feels like a failure. She's bullied in hospital, her problems at work and in her love life appear to her Himalaya-high obstacles, family warmth is replaced with medical prescriptions and we see her succumb to depression. As renowned Polish psychiatrist Antoni Kepinski said, a suicidal person wants to live and wants to die at the same time, and this is brilliantly conveyed through her ear-piercing scream in one of the final scenes. Michalina Olszanska, known from "Corki dancingu" ("The Lure"), perfectly enacts the girl, with a lot expressed just with her eyes. The film is black and white which both reflects the grey reality of the socialist Czechoslovakia and tells you black on white how things were with Olga.
Tuesday 3 January 2017
SING
Recommended. I was sceptical about a movie with singing pigs but it surpassed my expectations. The storyline is reminiscent of "Fame", while animation-wise it resembles "Zootropolis". Also characters seem to be inspired by the latter: a variety of species of animals living in a multicultural society reflecting humans'. Big actor names dub the original version and even the Polish dubbing sounds seemless. Several well-known songs are featured. Some scenes made me laugh (e.g. "I've made you coffee." "And... where is it?" "I felt parched on the way."), other moved me deeply. It also showcases an array of singers' motivations as well as some outstanding characters like the posh sheep family. Great fun for children and adults alike.
PERFETTI SCONOSCIUTI (PERFECT STRANGERS)
Recommended. A comedy drama about secrets and lies. With several serious issues: gay coming out, one's open-mindedness, trust and its abuse, real motives of staying together, sexual initiation, bringing up adolescents etc. Very involvingly acted. But the best is the perfect structure of the film.
Recommended. I was sceptical about a movie with singing pigs but it surpassed my expectations. The storyline is reminiscent of "Fame", while animation-wise it resembles "Zootropolis". Also characters seem to be inspired by the latter: a variety of species of animals living in a multicultural society reflecting humans'. Big actor names dub the original version and even the Polish dubbing sounds seemless. Several well-known songs are featured. Some scenes made me laugh (e.g. "I've made you coffee." "And... where is it?" "I felt parched on the way."), other moved me deeply. It also showcases an array of singers' motivations as well as some outstanding characters like the posh sheep family. Great fun for children and adults alike.
PERFETTI SCONOSCIUTI (PERFECT STRANGERS)
Recommended. A comedy drama about secrets and lies. With several serious issues: gay coming out, one's open-mindedness, trust and its abuse, real motives of staying together, sexual initiation, bringing up adolescents etc. Very involvingly acted. But the best is the perfect structure of the film.
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