A BRAS OUVERTS (WITH OPEN ARMS)
Watchable again. The second time I actually liked it better. I picked out some nuances, e.g.first Babik kicks his cousin, then, when he has "assimilated", he swats another cousin with... a baguette. The dress-up party is no coincidence: while the Romani teenage girl is trying to get some personal freedom, her father drags her out of a club in which she's wearing a... Wonder Woman costume. The movie hits upon not only international differences but also the clash between the higher middle class and the lowest class lifestyles and values: "I'm an intellectual. I don't fight, unless with a pen." "So you take a pen, I take a hammer." Ary Abittan, even in a suit, looks nothing like his earlier impersonation in "Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait au Bon Dieu?" ("Serial (Bad) Weddings"). Christian Clavier, for a change, is suited and booted in the role opposite to the one from "Les Visiteurs" ("The Visitors"). Both of them in the main roles as well as Armen Georgian as the Indian servant Ravi act suitably exaggeratedly. The movie still isn't hilarious, most of humour unfortunately stays lower-class.
UNLOCKED
Watchable. The script is trite but fun: an action movie made by the book, with a few red herrings and and an obligatory cliff-hanger towards the end. I didn't get the logic behind mistaking flats, found the burgler being a war veteran implausible and the final explanation of motives of the terrorist attacks too far-fetched. Still, the suspense and twists of action worked the trick. Noomi Rapace was unrecognizable from her earlier part of Lisbeth Salander in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo".
ROCK'N ROLL
Watchable. The film's about dealing with aging but the few scenes that made me laugh were rather standard situation humour: "Have you taken anything else?" "Yes, cocaine." or gags like falling over a fence. I have an impression it just went too far. The caricature got distorted out of proportion. The soundtrack is a mix of French and English-language songs with significant titles including: "Enola Gay", "Lady Wacko", "Don't Dream It's Over", "You Can Do It", "Ma gueule" ("My mouth"), "Pour qua tu m'aimes encore" ("So that you still love me"), "That's Not My Name", "Take Me Out", "Promesse" ("Promise"), "Forever Young", "Ca Plane Pour Moi" ("It's plain sailing for me") or "Go On Forever". Apparently there's also my beloved "You Spin Me Round" by Dead or Alive but... I only saw it in the credits having missed the bit in the movie.
PRÓBA (THE TEST)
Watchable. Three would-be monks walk for one and a half weeks having to beg for food and shelter. The film has less direction than the pilgrimage but their utterances "Jakie to szczęście mieć żonę i dzieci. Ja nie dam rady." ("What happiness it is to have a wife and children. I won't manage.") or about living in celibate: "Przecież to normalni mężczyźni są." ("They're normal men after all") inadvertently reveal that nature will always imbue actions contradictory to its laws.
In the meeting after the screening it struck me that two of the monks were totally hot! How is that possible that so many women in the world are single and the hottest guys are... in the Jesuit order?!
Monday 26 June 2017
Friday 23 June 2017
Sunday 18 June 2017
CHINESE CIRCLES OF ART IN POLAND
XIZAO (SHOWER) (1999)
Recommended. A beautiful, often moving and sometimes cheerful story about moral duties towards your closest relatives, about community and facing irreversible life changes. Funny, endearing characters, e.g. playing with their crickets in a public bath, singing only in the shower or working fastidiously in spite of a disability. Very well acted.
HEI PAO SHI JIAN (THE BLACK CANNON INCIDENT) (1985)
Watchable. A comedy? Far from that: a bureaucratic drama on the one hand, on the other it presents the inefficiency of group decision-making where everyone means well but is tied up in the problem resolution where just one piece is missing. Lost in German-Chinese translation in the depth of communism. I felt like pressing fast forward several times.
BEI JING YU SHANG XI YA TU (FINDING MR. RIGHT) (2013)
Recommended. Sometimes babies are illegal. This love story could be made by the Chinese only. It's a tear-jerking tale full of twists and turns. Beautifully shot. Money compensates for the lack of love but the emptiness of frivolity catches up with Jiajia and she's swayed.
BABY DRIVER
Watchable. "Drive" for a younger generation. Lots of music and driving guaranteed, as well as crime action. Just with a younger protagonist and clearly aimed at a younger audience.
XIZAO (SHOWER) (1999)
Recommended. A beautiful, often moving and sometimes cheerful story about moral duties towards your closest relatives, about community and facing irreversible life changes. Funny, endearing characters, e.g. playing with their crickets in a public bath, singing only in the shower or working fastidiously in spite of a disability. Very well acted.
HEI PAO SHI JIAN (THE BLACK CANNON INCIDENT) (1985)
Watchable. A comedy? Far from that: a bureaucratic drama on the one hand, on the other it presents the inefficiency of group decision-making where everyone means well but is tied up in the problem resolution where just one piece is missing. Lost in German-Chinese translation in the depth of communism. I felt like pressing fast forward several times.
BEI JING YU SHANG XI YA TU (FINDING MR. RIGHT) (2013)
Recommended. Sometimes babies are illegal. This love story could be made by the Chinese only. It's a tear-jerking tale full of twists and turns. Beautifully shot. Money compensates for the lack of love but the emptiness of frivolity catches up with Jiajia and she's swayed.
BABY DRIVER
Watchable. "Drive" for a younger generation. Lots of music and driving guaranteed, as well as crime action. Just with a younger protagonist and clearly aimed at a younger audience.
Saturday 17 June 2017
EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING
Watchable. Really cheesy. A beautiful girl suffering from SCID (severe combined immunodeficiency) is bound to make you sob. Lines sound hackneyed. There are some inaccuracies in the plot, e.g.: how does she breathe in an air-tight house with no plants, how can her mum first sit next to her and then go to open the door without a risk of getting her robe contaminated, why does the girl swim if she doesn't know how? Luckily everything and everyone is pleasing to the eye. Most of the plot is predictable, with one twist towards the end but it's tacky as well.
PARIS CAN WAIT
Recommended. A real feel-good movie about getting the most out of your life. Leaves you loving everyone and enjoying life even more. After all, a problem will be always where you left it, so you can step aside and have a good time.
LADY MACBETH
Recommended. Shockingly brutal: there's physical violence, sexual violence, emotional violence. In all directions and it's all psychologically justified: exposure to violence and being held against the wall generating it further. The movie's tense and intense. It's as brutal as if it were Korean.
LA REINA DE ESPANA (THE QUEEN OF SPAIN)
Watchable. Movies about making movies have never tickled my fancy. Too chaotic. This one is like a cross between "Their Finest" and "Ocho apellidos vascos" ("Spanish Affair"). A few vivid characters and just a few scenes that made me laugh, e.g. a drowsy director saying "Action!" through his sleep, are not enough for a comedy.
LOU
Watchable. A short film preceding "Cars 3". About school bullying. Stereotypical but it all ends well.
CARS 3
Watchable. I hadn't followed the series and the beginning seemed to me to be something for car crazy Americans: lots of roaring and car talk. Then I saw beautiful landscapes of different terrain with the cartoon cars superimposed on them. Alongside that action started making sense. It tackles age discrimination and the glass ceiling for women racers. Psychological put-downs are shown competently. The Polish translation is very good.
At that movie I discovered that not all Cinema City has comfy seats any more. At least one of the screens in Warsaw's Arkadia doesn't have them any longer.
CHINESE CIRCLES OF ART IN POLAND
PASSING ON BUDDHA KASAYA (2017)
Walked out. I don't like theatre and Chinese musical theatre is no exception, especially a play about a Buddhist monk, even if shot in real life locations.
Watchable. Really cheesy. A beautiful girl suffering from SCID (severe combined immunodeficiency) is bound to make you sob. Lines sound hackneyed. There are some inaccuracies in the plot, e.g.: how does she breathe in an air-tight house with no plants, how can her mum first sit next to her and then go to open the door without a risk of getting her robe contaminated, why does the girl swim if she doesn't know how? Luckily everything and everyone is pleasing to the eye. Most of the plot is predictable, with one twist towards the end but it's tacky as well.
PARIS CAN WAIT
Recommended. A real feel-good movie about getting the most out of your life. Leaves you loving everyone and enjoying life even more. After all, a problem will be always where you left it, so you can step aside and have a good time.
LADY MACBETH
Recommended. Shockingly brutal: there's physical violence, sexual violence, emotional violence. In all directions and it's all psychologically justified: exposure to violence and being held against the wall generating it further. The movie's tense and intense. It's as brutal as if it were Korean.
LA REINA DE ESPANA (THE QUEEN OF SPAIN)
Watchable. Movies about making movies have never tickled my fancy. Too chaotic. This one is like a cross between "Their Finest" and "Ocho apellidos vascos" ("Spanish Affair"). A few vivid characters and just a few scenes that made me laugh, e.g. a drowsy director saying "Action!" through his sleep, are not enough for a comedy.
LOU
Watchable. A short film preceding "Cars 3". About school bullying. Stereotypical but it all ends well.
CARS 3
Watchable. I hadn't followed the series and the beginning seemed to me to be something for car crazy Americans: lots of roaring and car talk. Then I saw beautiful landscapes of different terrain with the cartoon cars superimposed on them. Alongside that action started making sense. It tackles age discrimination and the glass ceiling for women racers. Psychological put-downs are shown competently. The Polish translation is very good.
At that movie I discovered that not all Cinema City has comfy seats any more. At least one of the screens in Warsaw's Arkadia doesn't have them any longer.
CHINESE CIRCLES OF ART IN POLAND
PASSING ON BUDDHA KASAYA (2017)
Walked out. I don't like theatre and Chinese musical theatre is no exception, especially a play about a Buddhist monk, even if shot in real life locations.
A BRAS OUVERTS (WITH OPEN ARMS)
Watchable. Interesting but not funny. If the creators wanted to ridicule stereotyping immigrants, they didn't succeed - the Romani here are primitives, thieves, beggars and parasites. The whole film resembles "Borat" without the vulgarity. The movie shows that sharing is an empty slogan - we don't want to resign from our standard of living to raise theirs.
I left the cinema with some free food samples, a gratuitous cup of tea, collected a free magazine on the way and generally feeling happy to live in the better part of the world.
MA VIE DE COURGETTE (MY LIFE AS A COURGETTE)
Watchable. Deeply sad. While it seems to be an accurate depiction of life of children from troubled families who end up in orphanages or foster care, it's so doleful, sombre and heavy, it just feels like a social commercial imposing a guilt trip to collect money for a noble cause. The movie will be comprehensible to adults and children alike, even if on different levels.
Children from such families were present at the screening with their foster parents were surprisingly quiet and well-behaved. How come they are better-behaved than kids from regular families?
Watchable. Interesting but not funny. If the creators wanted to ridicule stereotyping immigrants, they didn't succeed - the Romani here are primitives, thieves, beggars and parasites. The whole film resembles "Borat" without the vulgarity. The movie shows that sharing is an empty slogan - we don't want to resign from our standard of living to raise theirs.
I left the cinema with some free food samples, a gratuitous cup of tea, collected a free magazine on the way and generally feeling happy to live in the better part of the world.
MA VIE DE COURGETTE (MY LIFE AS A COURGETTE)
Watchable. Deeply sad. While it seems to be an accurate depiction of life of children from troubled families who end up in orphanages or foster care, it's so doleful, sombre and heavy, it just feels like a social commercial imposing a guilt trip to collect money for a noble cause. The movie will be comprehensible to adults and children alike, even if on different levels.
Children from such families were present at the screening with their foster parents were surprisingly quiet and well-behaved. How come they are better-behaved than kids from regular families?
Thursday 15 June 2017
WONDER WOMAN
Recommended. Great fun for all superhero fans, pure entertainment made according to all blockbuster rules: I laughed a lot and nearly cried a few times too: "You let this little thing rule your life?!" (about a watch, obviously) Most of the humour is based on gender stereotypes but they cheerfully re-work all the usual hero gimmicks as well: "Is he likely to follow my instructions?" "No, I honestly don't think so, no." Fantastical landscapes filmed in Camerota, Salerno and Campania in Italy, additionally inspired by Chinese mountains and enhanced with a plethora of CGI waterfalls. London at war time all covered in soot. Chris Pine looks fattish but the best scenes are where he acts with his face and makes all viewers burst out laughing. I loved Wonder Woman speaking all languages, especially the scene with the Turkish polyglot. Most of the Amazons are wrinkly but beautiful and inspiring at the same time. Ah, Wonder Woman here is, like in about the oldest of the comic books, of Greek gods' descent but takes on the disguise of Diana Prince, like in the ones from the 60s. During the battle the mythical characters hover in the air or cast strikes like Storm and Magneto in the X-Men series. There's no mid- or post-credit scene!
Recommended. Great fun for all superhero fans, pure entertainment made according to all blockbuster rules: I laughed a lot and nearly cried a few times too: "You let this little thing rule your life?!" (about a watch, obviously) Most of the humour is based on gender stereotypes but they cheerfully re-work all the usual hero gimmicks as well: "Is he likely to follow my instructions?" "No, I honestly don't think so, no." Fantastical landscapes filmed in Camerota, Salerno and Campania in Italy, additionally inspired by Chinese mountains and enhanced with a plethora of CGI waterfalls. London at war time all covered in soot. Chris Pine looks fattish but the best scenes are where he acts with his face and makes all viewers burst out laughing. I loved Wonder Woman speaking all languages, especially the scene with the Turkish polyglot. Most of the Amazons are wrinkly but beautiful and inspiring at the same time. Ah, Wonder Woman here is, like in about the oldest of the comic books, of Greek gods' descent but takes on the disguise of Diana Prince, like in the ones from the 60s. During the battle the mythical characters hover in the air or cast strikes like Storm and Magneto in the X-Men series. There's no mid- or post-credit scene!
Wednesday 14 June 2017
12TH AFRYKAMERA FESTIVAL
SEARCHING - SHORTS
THE BIRTHMARK MAN
Watchable. About the trauma of having a discoloured face. Well acted which makes it bearable to watch even if you're lucky not to have this problem.
LAND OF MEN
Recommended. An insightful shortie showcasing Libya in ruin and torn in conflicts while loudly denying women their rights. On the one hand you witness women's frustration with the status quo imposed on them in spite of the revolution. On the other you see how this social order has devastated the country and how men, remaining blind to the fact, are reasserting their power where they still can, i.e. over women. All that in just 4 minutes. Made by a man (Kelly Ali).
LOVE, HATE & KETCHUP
Watchable. Supposed to be comical, John Ukpe and Omobola Akinde's acting looks silly rather. It's tongue-in-cheek movie-wise as ketchup is used as blood.
IN MY FATHER'S VILLAGE
Watchable. Enigmatic and about a local feud but the ostracism creates mystery.
UN COUP DE BALAI SUR LE PONT (UPRISING ON A BRIDGE)
Would have walked out if it hadn't been so short. Shoddy animation about an obscure (for Europeans) event in Burkina Faso.
COLOURISM
Watchable. About albinism as if it was a fad of fashion. Quite an issue in African culture but the doc is full of talking heads.
EDEM (SAVED ME)
Watchable. Beautiful, colourful animation with very good music. The story is barely sketched.
HYMENEE
Watchable. Exaggerated acting suggests a comedy yet the topic of an arranged marriage and losing virginity with a stranger is barely funny. At the same time it's a rare occasion for a glimpse behind the veil of that Moroccan tradition.
DEM DEM!
Watchable. Attractive views of a white sandy beach and blue skies don't really compensate for a lack of a plot. It's a short film made by 3 or 4 directors from 2 countries: Senegal and Belgium. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
KEMTIYU, CHEIKH ANTA
Watchable. Senegalese Cheikh Anta Diop, who died 30 years ago, in his lifetime conducted research which led him to two history-shattering conclusions: ancient Egyptians were black and the Sphinx had an African nose, the white man only appeared 20 thousand years ago. However fascinating his revelations were, the documentary goes through his biography step by step tediously. Well, it's partly French and certainly French in style. At least the presented scientists wear beautiful African outfits.
THE CURSED ONES
Watchable. Very African in climate and subject - about witchcraft accusations. Could be acted better so as to evoke some emotions, other than that it's very good. I liked the plot.
Sadly its reception in the part of rural Ghana where it was shot showed a lack of understanding, in cities the belief in magic is less prevalent apparently as it was received better.
KATI KATI
Recommended. Very mysterious and puzzling - about the afterlife. With good suspense: Is it the final stage? Who will disappear when? Are they dying... more? Great cinematography.
A UNITED KINGDOM
Recommended. A piece of the history of Botswana and its arduous struggle for independence from Britain. An excellent political thriller written by life. Top-notch lines, twists of action defying belief.
SEARCHING - SHORTS
THE BIRTHMARK MAN
Watchable. About the trauma of having a discoloured face. Well acted which makes it bearable to watch even if you're lucky not to have this problem.
LAND OF MEN
Recommended. An insightful shortie showcasing Libya in ruin and torn in conflicts while loudly denying women their rights. On the one hand you witness women's frustration with the status quo imposed on them in spite of the revolution. On the other you see how this social order has devastated the country and how men, remaining blind to the fact, are reasserting their power where they still can, i.e. over women. All that in just 4 minutes. Made by a man (Kelly Ali).
LOVE, HATE & KETCHUP
Watchable. Supposed to be comical, John Ukpe and Omobola Akinde's acting looks silly rather. It's tongue-in-cheek movie-wise as ketchup is used as blood.
IN MY FATHER'S VILLAGE
Watchable. Enigmatic and about a local feud but the ostracism creates mystery.
UN COUP DE BALAI SUR LE PONT (UPRISING ON A BRIDGE)
Would have walked out if it hadn't been so short. Shoddy animation about an obscure (for Europeans) event in Burkina Faso.
COLOURISM
Watchable. About albinism as if it was a fad of fashion. Quite an issue in African culture but the doc is full of talking heads.
EDEM (SAVED ME)
Watchable. Beautiful, colourful animation with very good music. The story is barely sketched.
HYMENEE
Watchable. Exaggerated acting suggests a comedy yet the topic of an arranged marriage and losing virginity with a stranger is barely funny. At the same time it's a rare occasion for a glimpse behind the veil of that Moroccan tradition.
DEM DEM!
Watchable. Attractive views of a white sandy beach and blue skies don't really compensate for a lack of a plot. It's a short film made by 3 or 4 directors from 2 countries: Senegal and Belgium. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
KEMTIYU, CHEIKH ANTA
Watchable. Senegalese Cheikh Anta Diop, who died 30 years ago, in his lifetime conducted research which led him to two history-shattering conclusions: ancient Egyptians were black and the Sphinx had an African nose, the white man only appeared 20 thousand years ago. However fascinating his revelations were, the documentary goes through his biography step by step tediously. Well, it's partly French and certainly French in style. At least the presented scientists wear beautiful African outfits.
THE CURSED ONES
Watchable. Very African in climate and subject - about witchcraft accusations. Could be acted better so as to evoke some emotions, other than that it's very good. I liked the plot.
Sadly its reception in the part of rural Ghana where it was shot showed a lack of understanding, in cities the belief in magic is less prevalent apparently as it was received better.
KATI KATI
Recommended. Very mysterious and puzzling - about the afterlife. With good suspense: Is it the final stage? Who will disappear when? Are they dying... more? Great cinematography.
A UNITED KINGDOM
Recommended. A piece of the history of Botswana and its arduous struggle for independence from Britain. An excellent political thriller written by life. Top-notch lines, twists of action defying belief.
Monday 12 June 2017
12TH AFRYKAMERA FESTIVAL
CHILDREN OF AFRICA - SHORTS
SAMEDI CINEMA
Watchable. Interesting civilization-wise - little boys in Senegal earn money writing letters for adults. The story, however, leads to nowhere.
THE SENTINEL
Recommended. A hard-hitting animated tale of child soldiers and the circle of violence.
KHALLINA HAKKA KHIR (WE ARE JUST FINE LIKE THIS)
Recommended. An endearing short film about family ties.
TALES OF NAZIR
Watchable. An educational video where an animated virus teaches what it doesn't like. Well made but about a local problem the notion of which, in addition, is salient in Europe.
BEHIND THE WALL
Watchable. I couldn't really make out what it was about but it was well shot and I hoped I would finally see what was behind the wall.
MARABOUT
Watchable. Shows the mechanism: a marabout has child slave-disciples who steal for him. The policeman could be less stereotypical: he moves and dresses like in film noir which is just over the top.
ዕቅድ ሐ (PLAN C)
Watchable. A heart-warming tale of a girl fighting a bully with her knowledge and making friends with him. Straight in your face but pleasant.
AYA WAL BAHR (AYA GOES TO THE BEACH)
Recommended. A 10-year-old girl working as a servant is shocking enough. It's just heart-wrenching when she's not allowed to go and visit her mum.
MAMAN(S)
Recommended. Legal bigamy through the eyes of a child. An intimate portrayal of a family pattern unknown in Europe.
KIMPA VITA: THE MOTHER OF THE AFRICAN REVOLUTION
Watchable. A history of the Congo in which too many detailed facts mix with the legend. Also a bleak picture of the Catholic Church.
CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAIN
Recommended. Many times the film selection felt like a festival of sexual violence. It's one of several movies of Afrykamera in which it's eminently present. It's like the reversal of recent German "24 Wochen" ("24 Weeks"). In the Ghanaian film the woman gives birth and there's more superstition than knowledge around its disability. The story's powerful all the same. Picturesque landscapes and many beautiful dresses make the story vivid rather than bleak.
COMBOIO DE SAL E ACUCAR (THE TRAIN OF SALT AND SUGAR)
Watchable. I didn't quite get the ins and outs of the political and economic situation background. The people story is straightforward, grim with a light of hope but with a tacky ending, very African however so their audience should like it.
NOEM MY SKOLLIE (CALL ME THIEF)
Watchable. A gangster and prison story so not my favourite. Awfully brutal but, supposedly, inspired by a true story - John W. Fredericks's autobiography. For a bigger part I waited for him to get his back on the guy who'd raped him. That didn't happen. Instead more brutality, with and without rapes, followed.
CHILDREN OF AFRICA - SHORTS
SAMEDI CINEMA
Watchable. Interesting civilization-wise - little boys in Senegal earn money writing letters for adults. The story, however, leads to nowhere.
THE SENTINEL
Recommended. A hard-hitting animated tale of child soldiers and the circle of violence.
KHALLINA HAKKA KHIR (WE ARE JUST FINE LIKE THIS)
Recommended. An endearing short film about family ties.
TALES OF NAZIR
Watchable. An educational video where an animated virus teaches what it doesn't like. Well made but about a local problem the notion of which, in addition, is salient in Europe.
BEHIND THE WALL
Watchable. I couldn't really make out what it was about but it was well shot and I hoped I would finally see what was behind the wall.
MARABOUT
Watchable. Shows the mechanism: a marabout has child slave-disciples who steal for him. The policeman could be less stereotypical: he moves and dresses like in film noir which is just over the top.
ዕቅድ ሐ (PLAN C)
Watchable. A heart-warming tale of a girl fighting a bully with her knowledge and making friends with him. Straight in your face but pleasant.
AYA WAL BAHR (AYA GOES TO THE BEACH)
Recommended. A 10-year-old girl working as a servant is shocking enough. It's just heart-wrenching when she's not allowed to go and visit her mum.
MAMAN(S)
Recommended. Legal bigamy through the eyes of a child. An intimate portrayal of a family pattern unknown in Europe.
KIMPA VITA: THE MOTHER OF THE AFRICAN REVOLUTION
Watchable. A history of the Congo in which too many detailed facts mix with the legend. Also a bleak picture of the Catholic Church.
CHILDREN OF THE MOUNTAIN
Recommended. Many times the film selection felt like a festival of sexual violence. It's one of several movies of Afrykamera in which it's eminently present. It's like the reversal of recent German "24 Wochen" ("24 Weeks"). In the Ghanaian film the woman gives birth and there's more superstition than knowledge around its disability. The story's powerful all the same. Picturesque landscapes and many beautiful dresses make the story vivid rather than bleak.
COMBOIO DE SAL E ACUCAR (THE TRAIN OF SALT AND SUGAR)
Watchable. I didn't quite get the ins and outs of the political and economic situation background. The people story is straightforward, grim with a light of hope but with a tacky ending, very African however so their audience should like it.
NOEM MY SKOLLIE (CALL ME THIEF)
Watchable. A gangster and prison story so not my favourite. Awfully brutal but, supposedly, inspired by a true story - John W. Fredericks's autobiography. For a bigger part I waited for him to get his back on the guy who'd raped him. That didn't happen. Instead more brutality, with and without rapes, followed.
Sunday 11 June 2017
12TH AFRYKAMERA FESTIVAL
LES DEUX VISAGES D'UNE FEMME BAMILEKE (THE TWO FACES OF A BAMILEKE WOMAN)
Watchable. It reminded me a lot of what I learnt in the course of African studies. Now it's just disturbing to me to hear how women are treated in that part of the world. From the film you get the impression the only thing African men do is fertilize women. The documentary would be harder-hitting without the philosphical intrusions.
LES DEUX VISAGES D'UNE FEMME BAMILEKE (THE TWO FACES OF A BAMILEKE WOMAN)
Watchable. It reminded me a lot of what I learnt in the course of African studies. Now it's just disturbing to me to hear how women are treated in that part of the world. From the film you get the impression the only thing African men do is fertilize women. The documentary would be harder-hitting without the philosphical intrusions.
Thursday 8 June 2017
Wednesday 7 June 2017
12TH AFRYKAMERA FESTIVAL
AKOUNAK TEDALAT TAHA TAZOUGHAI (RAIN THE COLOUR OF BLUE WITH A LITTLE RED IN IT)
Walked out. Nothing much happens, the music is the same all the time and I'm not a fan of the guitar in the first place.
MALOYA
Watchable. Another film with monotonous music but with a warmer rhythm. Gives some info about cultural changes in Reunion.
I SHOT BI KIDUDE
Walked out. About a singer but with hardly any music. Investigating what's happened to the money of somebody I've never heard of was no fun.
TO CATCH A DREAM
Watchable. A short film preceding "The Traveller". Imperfect technologically yet very mystical and very African - a short film about ghosts.
THE TRAVELLER
Watchable. A fun film with good music, inspiring dancing and bewitching festive outfits - at the Blues Du Fleuve Festival in Senegal. I should go one day. Nothing particularly insightful in the film
though, more like a reportage.
LE GANG DES ANTILLAIS (THE GANG OF FRENCH CARIBBEAN - IN THE UK, GANG OF THE FRENCH CARIBBEAN - IN THE US, THE GANG OF THE CARIBBEAN - IN SA)
Watchable. Quite fun. Inspired by a true story. Evokes memories of living as an immigrant. A bit chaotic.
SUDANESE NIGHT
SUDANIA
Watchable. A brief (5'), nice yet forgettable, impression of Sudan.
NYERKUK
Would have walked out if it hadn't been a short film. About a small boy in the realm of a mafia. Depressing, unclear, with no storyline.
ONE WEEK, TWO DAYS
Would have walked out if it hadn't been a short film. Checking one's own pregnancy test makes more sense than the film.
YALLA KHARTOUM
Walked out. About a local meeting place for artists, showing random people talking about nothing in particular. Boring for anyone who's not an artist based in Khartoum.
AKOUNAK TEDALAT TAHA TAZOUGHAI (RAIN THE COLOUR OF BLUE WITH A LITTLE RED IN IT)
Walked out. Nothing much happens, the music is the same all the time and I'm not a fan of the guitar in the first place.
MALOYA
Watchable. Another film with monotonous music but with a warmer rhythm. Gives some info about cultural changes in Reunion.
I SHOT BI KIDUDE
Walked out. About a singer but with hardly any music. Investigating what's happened to the money of somebody I've never heard of was no fun.
TO CATCH A DREAM
Watchable. A short film preceding "The Traveller". Imperfect technologically yet very mystical and very African - a short film about ghosts.
THE TRAVELLER
Watchable. A fun film with good music, inspiring dancing and bewitching festive outfits - at the Blues Du Fleuve Festival in Senegal. I should go one day. Nothing particularly insightful in the film
though, more like a reportage.
LE GANG DES ANTILLAIS (THE GANG OF FRENCH CARIBBEAN - IN THE UK, GANG OF THE FRENCH CARIBBEAN - IN THE US, THE GANG OF THE CARIBBEAN - IN SA)
Watchable. Quite fun. Inspired by a true story. Evokes memories of living as an immigrant. A bit chaotic.
SUDANESE NIGHT
SUDANIA
Watchable. A brief (5'), nice yet forgettable, impression of Sudan.
NYERKUK
Would have walked out if it hadn't been a short film. About a small boy in the realm of a mafia. Depressing, unclear, with no storyline.
ONE WEEK, TWO DAYS
Would have walked out if it hadn't been a short film. Checking one's own pregnancy test makes more sense than the film.
YALLA KHARTOUM
Walked out. About a local meeting place for artists, showing random people talking about nothing in particular. Boring for anyone who's not an artist based in Khartoum.
Tuesday 6 June 2017
Finally posting, got a bit behind, no time even to copy my notes...
DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY
VIRTUAL REALITY 7 SHORT FILMS
INSIDE AUSCHWITZ
Watchable. Shot from the air a bit above the ground which makes it less realistic, but presenting the camp throughout. You enter through the gate, listen to survivors' tales and get to see how enormous the area was - the expanse of the camp was something I hadn't realised before.
ENFANT PREMATURE (PRETERM BABYor whatever the title was since they showed a different film than they were supposed to)
Watchable. The only one shot from below. You see parents and doctors from a baby's hospital bed. Being an infant isn't fascinating, especially a premature one, in hospital but good-looking parents and VR soften the watching.
CLOUDS OVER SIDRA
Watchable. Life in a refugee camp looks like in ordinary documentaries but is shown from the point of view of a girl living and going to school in such a place.
PIERWSZY DZIEN W PRACY
Watchable. A unique chance to get inside a mind of a person with Asperger's syndrome, the story ends well and contains an interesting mathematical task but is just a day in the office.
NOTES TO MY FATHER
Watchable. Shown from above which detracts from realism. Contains one terrifying scene when you're surrounded by men leering at you, all that right after you've heard the teenage sex slave's harrowing story.
AFRIPEDIA
Watchable. Contrary to a popular belief Africans aren't good dancers. They just tend to slack. The film is shown from a bit above so you don't really face the dancers either. But it's short and musical.
NOTES ON BLINDNESS - INTO DARKNESS
Recommended. The only interactive one. With beautiful bluish shades on black background. A fascinating focus on sounds and recognising your surroundings with them.
BLACK CODE
Recommended. Subveillance (citizens filming riots) and hacktivism are the most efficient weapons against regimes. When all your phone calls can be tapped, emails read, online chats intercepted, the safest thing to do is to stay high-profile. When invisibility is no longer feasible, visibility becomes a weapon.
THEIR FINEST
Watchable. Not very appealing at first: set during the second world war among scriptwriters of a propaganda war movie, it gains in meaning and quality as you get to know and like the characters. It's British so sarcasm is quality stuff, e.g. to an actor training his voice singing about a kettle: "If I hear about that kettle one more time, I'll find one and shove it up your ass! Sideways!" The serious tones tackle defiance in the face of loved ones' death and the fragility of life, but also age and sex discrimination and how you must take an opportunity when given one. Constant script adjustments are one look behind the curtain of film-making, which looks exactly how Olivia Hetreed once described her work so that's certainly realistic.
12TH AFRYKAMERA FESTIVAL
BANGAOLOGIA - THE SCIENCE OF STYLE
Recommended. Rich in colour and music. Teaches you how much of contemporary western fashion comes from Africa. I wonder if patterned tights and leggins do. They look so. It's also about how Angolans take pride in their look. "African women don't run" so they wear very high heels to strut. African men have their own style too and take great pride in their appearance. Fun to watch.
(L'AFRICAIN QUI VOULAIT VOLER) THE AFRICAN WHO WANTED TO FLY
Recommended. The first picture you see is of a Chinese temple and as the camera lowers you see black men practising kung fu. A Luc Bendza, training them, is the first African wushu master. The movie tells his incredible story of teenage fascination with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan's movies which led to a sports championship and moving to China. It also tells you how to deal with racial abuse: Luc came up to such a guy and told him in Chinese he was a disgrace to his country. The African became so popular, Gabonese press made jokes about him, e.g. there was a comic strip showing the... Chinese-Gabonese border. With Luc placed on the Chinese side. And the border guard saying: "We can train our own karatekas without your help."
GILBERTE'S WORLD
Walked out. An extremeley talented artist's day-to-day and nearly minute-after-minute struggle with a disease?! Her paintings and her flower garden are beautiful. the rest of the film is boring and frustrating.
FAI BEI SOGNI (SWEET DREAMS)
Recommended. First comes a mystery, then a tragedy happens. And you have to deal with the burden for the rest of your life. The movie's deeply sad but it moved me to the core. It has a heavy, dark atmosphere about which you know it veils a secret. On a happier note, it's about "se" ("if") meaning a failure and a "nonostante" ("in spite of") propelling you in life.
DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY
VIRTUAL REALITY 7 SHORT FILMS
INSIDE AUSCHWITZ
Watchable. Shot from the air a bit above the ground which makes it less realistic, but presenting the camp throughout. You enter through the gate, listen to survivors' tales and get to see how enormous the area was - the expanse of the camp was something I hadn't realised before.
ENFANT PREMATURE (PRETERM BABYor whatever the title was since they showed a different film than they were supposed to)
Watchable. The only one shot from below. You see parents and doctors from a baby's hospital bed. Being an infant isn't fascinating, especially a premature one, in hospital but good-looking parents and VR soften the watching.
CLOUDS OVER SIDRA
Watchable. Life in a refugee camp looks like in ordinary documentaries but is shown from the point of view of a girl living and going to school in such a place.
PIERWSZY DZIEN W PRACY
Watchable. A unique chance to get inside a mind of a person with Asperger's syndrome, the story ends well and contains an interesting mathematical task but is just a day in the office.
NOTES TO MY FATHER
Watchable. Shown from above which detracts from realism. Contains one terrifying scene when you're surrounded by men leering at you, all that right after you've heard the teenage sex slave's harrowing story.
AFRIPEDIA
Watchable. Contrary to a popular belief Africans aren't good dancers. They just tend to slack. The film is shown from a bit above so you don't really face the dancers either. But it's short and musical.
NOTES ON BLINDNESS - INTO DARKNESS
Recommended. The only interactive one. With beautiful bluish shades on black background. A fascinating focus on sounds and recognising your surroundings with them.
BLACK CODE
Recommended. Subveillance (citizens filming riots) and hacktivism are the most efficient weapons against regimes. When all your phone calls can be tapped, emails read, online chats intercepted, the safest thing to do is to stay high-profile. When invisibility is no longer feasible, visibility becomes a weapon.
THEIR FINEST
Watchable. Not very appealing at first: set during the second world war among scriptwriters of a propaganda war movie, it gains in meaning and quality as you get to know and like the characters. It's British so sarcasm is quality stuff, e.g. to an actor training his voice singing about a kettle: "If I hear about that kettle one more time, I'll find one and shove it up your ass! Sideways!" The serious tones tackle defiance in the face of loved ones' death and the fragility of life, but also age and sex discrimination and how you must take an opportunity when given one. Constant script adjustments are one look behind the curtain of film-making, which looks exactly how Olivia Hetreed once described her work so that's certainly realistic.
12TH AFRYKAMERA FESTIVAL
BANGAOLOGIA - THE SCIENCE OF STYLE
Recommended. Rich in colour and music. Teaches you how much of contemporary western fashion comes from Africa. I wonder if patterned tights and leggins do. They look so. It's also about how Angolans take pride in their look. "African women don't run" so they wear very high heels to strut. African men have their own style too and take great pride in their appearance. Fun to watch.
(L'AFRICAIN QUI VOULAIT VOLER) THE AFRICAN WHO WANTED TO FLY
Recommended. The first picture you see is of a Chinese temple and as the camera lowers you see black men practising kung fu. A Luc Bendza, training them, is the first African wushu master. The movie tells his incredible story of teenage fascination with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan's movies which led to a sports championship and moving to China. It also tells you how to deal with racial abuse: Luc came up to such a guy and told him in Chinese he was a disgrace to his country. The African became so popular, Gabonese press made jokes about him, e.g. there was a comic strip showing the... Chinese-Gabonese border. With Luc placed on the Chinese side. And the border guard saying: "We can train our own karatekas without your help."
GILBERTE'S WORLD
Walked out. An extremeley talented artist's day-to-day and nearly minute-after-minute struggle with a disease?! Her paintings and her flower garden are beautiful. the rest of the film is boring and frustrating.
FAI BEI SOGNI (SWEET DREAMS)
Recommended. First comes a mystery, then a tragedy happens. And you have to deal with the burden for the rest of your life. The movie's deeply sad but it moved me to the core. It has a heavy, dark atmosphere about which you know it veils a secret. On a happier note, it's about "se" ("if") meaning a failure and a "nonostante" ("in spite of") propelling you in life.
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