I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
Recommended. Being a white European I'll never get any closer to the black American experience than this. The documentary is one of several films recently undoing the American myth. Made by blacks telling whites straight in their faces of the oppression at whose receiving end they've been for 400 years and still live in the fear of getting shot. Partly as a result of culture of violence in the US and partly because slavery is gone so Negroes aren't needed any more. Is it what blacks tell us it is? That whites want them exterminated?
Monday 30 October 2017
Friday 27 October 2017
PUPPY
Watchable. A short film preceding "The Emoji Movie". A very simple story told with a pinch of salt. "The Prince of Darkness" turns "a puppy waiter", as Dracula puts it, until lots of skeletons arrive. Will be OK for Halloween.
THE EMOJI MOVIE
Watchable. Quite fun, with music and dance but only one amusing scene - a video with a funny cat. A double-dimension story with a hacker named Matrix, flying cars and skyscrapers like in "Blade Runner", "Valerian" or "The Fifth Element" and the Bots look like Transformers. The characters go through plenty of popular apps. The story becomes moving towards the end. Very good Polish translation, with a number of puns. Mostly for teens. One early mid-credit, no post-credits.
CZŁOWIEK Z MAGICZNYM PUDEŁKIEM (THE MAN WITH THE MAGIC BOX)
Recommended. Futuristically ruined in an unspecified war Warsaw looks absolutely spectacular thanks to visuals by Studio Produkcyjne ORKA. The film reverberates with movie classics, plays with the current political situation in Poland and Europe, contains also references to Bodo Kox's earlier "Dziewczyna z szafy". It starts with a verbal mention of "Men In Black" in the context of erasing memory. "Blade Runner" showed an investigation in Chinatown, here we find a date in a Chinese restaurant, omnipresent dust, a real rose and an android. One of music pieces composed and orchestrated by Sandro di Stefano resembles a slowed-down and toned-down version of Clint Mansell's "Lux Aeterna". Just like in "Seksmisja" ("Sexmission") the protagonist's daughter in one time is an elderly lady senior to him in another. An escape from 1952 communism leads to another regime in 2030. The chief of the Bureau for National Security wears a brooch (the current Polish Prime Minister is famous for wearing one) attached to her uniform. A TV news strip informs of a massacre of Muslims in France. There's a complete vision of the future: shoes with neon soles worn by an 83-year-old, a fluorescent skirt glows in the dark, payments are effected with a chip implanted in one's hand, patients in a coma are suspensed in vapour, we see a VR walk in the wood. The radio's illegal, the internet restricted and controlled. Water's rationed. Computers take the form of flat transparent wave-hand monitors. LCD commercials are individualised to the point of absurdity.
I remain under the impression of customer service in Cinema City (where I saw the above movies). Friendly as always. I also realized that hearing "Goodbye" from the staff does make me feel better.
SHOT CALLER
Recommended. A brilliant, gripping and intense crime drama confirming what behaviourists say: no matter where it's the place in hierarchy that counts, you have to be on the very top to become free from stress. The convict ends up reading "The Human Animal". Perfectly acted by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, with great music by Antonio Pinto.
CE QUI NOUS LIE (BACK TO BURGUNDY)
Recommended. Should be served with good wine. Otherwise you leave thirsty. A pleasant, peaceful, simple, uplifting tale of running a vineyard and dividing family property in order to pay a tax on inheritance. I just felt totally happy after seeing it.
I saw the French movie courtesy of Cinema City.
BABA Z LEDU (ICE MOTHER)
Walked out. About elderly people's daily problems.
Watchable. A short film preceding "The Emoji Movie". A very simple story told with a pinch of salt. "The Prince of Darkness" turns "a puppy waiter", as Dracula puts it, until lots of skeletons arrive. Will be OK for Halloween.
THE EMOJI MOVIE
Watchable. Quite fun, with music and dance but only one amusing scene - a video with a funny cat. A double-dimension story with a hacker named Matrix, flying cars and skyscrapers like in "Blade Runner", "Valerian" or "The Fifth Element" and the Bots look like Transformers. The characters go through plenty of popular apps. The story becomes moving towards the end. Very good Polish translation, with a number of puns. Mostly for teens. One early mid-credit, no post-credits.
CZŁOWIEK Z MAGICZNYM PUDEŁKIEM (THE MAN WITH THE MAGIC BOX)
Recommended. Futuristically ruined in an unspecified war Warsaw looks absolutely spectacular thanks to visuals by Studio Produkcyjne ORKA. The film reverberates with movie classics, plays with the current political situation in Poland and Europe, contains also references to Bodo Kox's earlier "Dziewczyna z szafy". It starts with a verbal mention of "Men In Black" in the context of erasing memory. "Blade Runner" showed an investigation in Chinatown, here we find a date in a Chinese restaurant, omnipresent dust, a real rose and an android. One of music pieces composed and orchestrated by Sandro di Stefano resembles a slowed-down and toned-down version of Clint Mansell's "Lux Aeterna". Just like in "Seksmisja" ("Sexmission") the protagonist's daughter in one time is an elderly lady senior to him in another. An escape from 1952 communism leads to another regime in 2030. The chief of the Bureau for National Security wears a brooch (the current Polish Prime Minister is famous for wearing one) attached to her uniform. A TV news strip informs of a massacre of Muslims in France. There's a complete vision of the future: shoes with neon soles worn by an 83-year-old, a fluorescent skirt glows in the dark, payments are effected with a chip implanted in one's hand, patients in a coma are suspensed in vapour, we see a VR walk in the wood. The radio's illegal, the internet restricted and controlled. Water's rationed. Computers take the form of flat transparent wave-hand monitors. LCD commercials are individualised to the point of absurdity.
I remain under the impression of customer service in Cinema City (where I saw the above movies). Friendly as always. I also realized that hearing "Goodbye" from the staff does make me feel better.
SHOT CALLER
Recommended. A brilliant, gripping and intense crime drama confirming what behaviourists say: no matter where it's the place in hierarchy that counts, you have to be on the very top to become free from stress. The convict ends up reading "The Human Animal". Perfectly acted by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, with great music by Antonio Pinto.
CE QUI NOUS LIE (BACK TO BURGUNDY)
Recommended. Should be served with good wine. Otherwise you leave thirsty. A pleasant, peaceful, simple, uplifting tale of running a vineyard and dividing family property in order to pay a tax on inheritance. I just felt totally happy after seeing it.
I saw the French movie courtesy of Cinema City.
BABA Z LEDU (ICE MOTHER)
Walked out. About elderly people's daily problems.
Friday 20 October 2017
BIEGACZE (RUNNERS)
Recommended. 3 people: a mother of 3 just 5 weeks after last birthgiving, a corporation employee and a guy with a damaged knee cap. All of them take part in a megamarathon: 240 kilometres in a hilly terrain. They really do - it's a documentary. Which of them will triumph? What each of them puts her/himself through defies belief. Great techno music to the rhythm of runners' steps. And the basic question: what for? Other vital issues pop up along the way: Is each life valuable out of 7 bn people on Earth? How to live when you've had alcoholic parents? The film tackles running at from all angles: physical, lifestyle, impact on work and relationships, competition, motivations. And leads the viewer from the preparations to the finish line. I don't run any marathons, hate the ones blocking traffic in the whole city but this film is about a selection of truly tough individuals.
Recommended. 3 people: a mother of 3 just 5 weeks after last birthgiving, a corporation employee and a guy with a damaged knee cap. All of them take part in a megamarathon: 240 kilometres in a hilly terrain. They really do - it's a documentary. Which of them will triumph? What each of them puts her/himself through defies belief. Great techno music to the rhythm of runners' steps. And the basic question: what for? Other vital issues pop up along the way: Is each life valuable out of 7 bn people on Earth? How to live when you've had alcoholic parents? The film tackles running at from all angles: physical, lifestyle, impact on work and relationships, competition, motivations. And leads the viewer from the preparations to the finish line. I don't run any marathons, hate the ones blocking traffic in the whole city but this film is about a selection of truly tough individuals.
Thursday 19 October 2017
KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE
Watchable. The only cinema in Warsaw with Dolby Atmos played the movie in the system for a short time and only at some of the scheduled hours. So I ended up with the standard 5.1 sound - sounding flat - which is a shame, because there's lots of music and sound effects. Great music extends over the credits. The whole thing is very good entertainment with just two shortcomings: firstly, all women are either sex objects or evil psychopaths, secondly, grinding people for burgers is too brutal for an otherwise light fun. Gays are treated more gently - Elton John, acting as himself, is one of the good ones. The flick starts with a gadget overload but after a while you get a proper plot. An ingenious one. I was at first apprehensive about introducing Statesman but that's actually the biggest fun. Cultural stereotypes put a smile on my face that didn't disappear till well after the movie. English Savile Row gentlemen and American whiskey swiggling entrepreneurs fight hand in hand and Channing Tatum even dons a suit and a bowler hat at some point. Apart from some laughs, e.g. when a retirement resort is facing imminent demolition, one of the elderly guys remarks: "the first proper shit I've had in 3 weeks", the movie questions our attitude to drugs: is it better to get rid of the problem letting all users die or to save and treat them all? Part 3 is surely coming. I can't wait.
At least I saw the film in the comfort of my local Cinema City.
WARSAW FILM FESTIVAL ART OF EDITING OPEN WORKSHOPS
Editor Milenia Fiedler and director Urszula Antoniak demonstrated in how one scene can be cut in many ways to differing effects. They also shed some light on why films, especially Polish ones, often have clearly audible background sounds and hard to hear dialogues. It turns out they are sometimes screened when not all loudspeakers function properly so e.g. only the back ones, behind the screen work while the dialogues should come from the side ones which happen to be switched off. Also, sometimes in postproduction the dialogues don't get cleaned properly when they the staff are rushed to complete the process in 3 months.
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS IN CONCERT
It took place at Warsaw Torwar - quite stuffy so I was lucky to sit a bit separated from the smelly crowd of children. Even though most of the attendees were in their 20s, the minority of kids created the most noise, dirt and smells.
When the viewers were still gathering in the concert venue, some trivia were screened in English. Apparently, with 50 Oscar nominations, John Williams is the most often nominated person alive. He started off as a studio pianist working for the greats like: Mancini, Newman and Bernstein. Director Mike Newell rightly noticed that John Williams' music always gives a story gravitas. Someone from the sound team perceived John Williams as a guy who would come up with 6 or 8 notes that people remember forever. The composer himself never reads the script in order not to have visual preconceptions. He normally works on the ready film material. "Harry Potter" was different because a trailer was released for which he needed to compose a score without seeing the movie. That's how "Hedwig's Theme" was created.
Recommended. 15 years after the original release of the movie and 19 years after I read the book I could truly marvel at the genius of the story - in turns: gripping, heart-wrenching, funny, thrilling, with twists and turns and fairy-tale music.
SLUMBER
Watchable. A very standard horror. About nightmares so everyone can immediately put themselves in the shoes, or bedroom slippers, of the protagonists. Neither scary nor ingenious but once you start to follow the story you can't stop. Ridiculously, the suggested solution to the problem of nightmares, is refraining from sleeping. The beginning resembles "Mama", bits from the middle are like in "Paranormal Activity", scenes with a blender (from a whole lot of films starting from "Gremlins" in the 80s) are there too, as well as elements of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and even "Flatliners". A sequel is likely. Unfortunately.
THOR: RAGNAROK
I saw just the first 15 minuts in order to check whether the number of sound and visual effects awards seeing it in Dolby Atmos or Imax respectively. I think it does. Both. I'm just not a fan of the series so I'm only going to see and hear it twice. So I skipped the 5.1 2D regular size version.
Watchable. The only cinema in Warsaw with Dolby Atmos played the movie in the system for a short time and only at some of the scheduled hours. So I ended up with the standard 5.1 sound - sounding flat - which is a shame, because there's lots of music and sound effects. Great music extends over the credits. The whole thing is very good entertainment with just two shortcomings: firstly, all women are either sex objects or evil psychopaths, secondly, grinding people for burgers is too brutal for an otherwise light fun. Gays are treated more gently - Elton John, acting as himself, is one of the good ones. The flick starts with a gadget overload but after a while you get a proper plot. An ingenious one. I was at first apprehensive about introducing Statesman but that's actually the biggest fun. Cultural stereotypes put a smile on my face that didn't disappear till well after the movie. English Savile Row gentlemen and American whiskey swiggling entrepreneurs fight hand in hand and Channing Tatum even dons a suit and a bowler hat at some point. Apart from some laughs, e.g. when a retirement resort is facing imminent demolition, one of the elderly guys remarks: "the first proper shit I've had in 3 weeks", the movie questions our attitude to drugs: is it better to get rid of the problem letting all users die or to save and treat them all? Part 3 is surely coming. I can't wait.
At least I saw the film in the comfort of my local Cinema City.
WARSAW FILM FESTIVAL ART OF EDITING OPEN WORKSHOPS
Editor Milenia Fiedler and director Urszula Antoniak demonstrated in how one scene can be cut in many ways to differing effects. They also shed some light on why films, especially Polish ones, often have clearly audible background sounds and hard to hear dialogues. It turns out they are sometimes screened when not all loudspeakers function properly so e.g. only the back ones, behind the screen work while the dialogues should come from the side ones which happen to be switched off. Also, sometimes in postproduction the dialogues don't get cleaned properly when they the staff are rushed to complete the process in 3 months.
HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS IN CONCERT
It took place at Warsaw Torwar - quite stuffy so I was lucky to sit a bit separated from the smelly crowd of children. Even though most of the attendees were in their 20s, the minority of kids created the most noise, dirt and smells.
When the viewers were still gathering in the concert venue, some trivia were screened in English. Apparently, with 50 Oscar nominations, John Williams is the most often nominated person alive. He started off as a studio pianist working for the greats like: Mancini, Newman and Bernstein. Director Mike Newell rightly noticed that John Williams' music always gives a story gravitas. Someone from the sound team perceived John Williams as a guy who would come up with 6 or 8 notes that people remember forever. The composer himself never reads the script in order not to have visual preconceptions. He normally works on the ready film material. "Harry Potter" was different because a trailer was released for which he needed to compose a score without seeing the movie. That's how "Hedwig's Theme" was created.
Recommended. 15 years after the original release of the movie and 19 years after I read the book I could truly marvel at the genius of the story - in turns: gripping, heart-wrenching, funny, thrilling, with twists and turns and fairy-tale music.
SLUMBER
Watchable. A very standard horror. About nightmares so everyone can immediately put themselves in the shoes, or bedroom slippers, of the protagonists. Neither scary nor ingenious but once you start to follow the story you can't stop. Ridiculously, the suggested solution to the problem of nightmares, is refraining from sleeping. The beginning resembles "Mama", bits from the middle are like in "Paranormal Activity", scenes with a blender (from a whole lot of films starting from "Gremlins" in the 80s) are there too, as well as elements of "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and even "Flatliners". A sequel is likely. Unfortunately.
THOR: RAGNAROK
I saw just the first 15 minuts in order to check whether the number of sound and visual effects awards seeing it in Dolby Atmos or Imax respectively. I think it does. Both. I'm just not a fan of the series so I'm only going to see and hear it twice. So I skipped the 5.1 2D regular size version.
Tuesday 17 October 2017
THE CRUCIFIXION
Watchable. Engrossing as a journalist investigation story: is the exorcist a murderer or a failed saviour of the tortured nun? A few visual effects give you the creeps but it's not very scary.
LA MARCHE DE L'EMPEREUR (MARCH OF THE PENGUINS)
Recommended. Blue hues of Antarctic snow and ice, all shades of pink on the sky and its reflections on the ground. 4K pictures including underwater shots. Some of the most beautiful expanses of land and ocean on Earth are inhabited by large colonies of penguins. The gentle, puffy creatures are strongly family-oriented. They couple up in spite of all other love candidates looking exactly the same. They share care of the egg and the chick. The father travels dozens, sometimes even 100 km from the interior to the ocean for food. The film first lets you unwind and then become amazed at the moral and visual beauty of penguins' life. Shame both English and Polish translations miss the original French title pun - "Emperor's March" like the music piece from "Star Wars"
FLATLINERS
Watchable. Excellent music, apart from the ending. You almost want to leave your body for the rhythm and fly amid the skyscrapers of Toronto where it was shot. The story of guilt is unnecessarily horror-like. The realistic part: competing to get into a top medical school, friendship, studies, relationships, taking on responsibilities is the most involving.
IN GUERRA PER AMORE (AT WAR WITH LOVE)
Watchable. At first I was interested in the rom com rather than the war story. The comedy, though nice, was not amusing. But I found out how Americans got duped into instilling all mafia bosses in positions of town mayors in Sicily at the end of WW2: first the overseas troops were allowed to enter without a single shot fired, then they were presented with a list of "anti-fascists" to be released from prison.
The last 3 movies seen courtesy of Cinema City.
PATTI CAKE$
Watchable. Starts with a few seconds of quality rap. Next you see a girl who's got a raw deal in life: morbidly obese, from a broken family, with a thrashy job of a barmaid in a shabby drinking den. In addition she's white and it ain't no advantage among black rhyming potheads. But you warm up to her as she's trying to land a better job to pay her nana's medical bill and you realize she hails from a whole bloodline of musical talent. You witness all her failures and hear a number of good songs (written by Geremi Jasper). The movie gets better and better to a great finale. Leaves you wanting to chant: "PBNJ, P-PBNJ! PBNJ, P-PBNJ!"
BLADE RUNNER 2049 IN DOLBY ATMOS
Watchable. The first "Blade Runner" of 1982 was set in 2019. We still haven't got flying cars, androids or a colony on the Moon but we have huge advertising LCD screens in the city. Those are replaced by holograms in the new installment. "Tears in Rain" by Vangelis from the original "Blade Runner" are, hmm, replicated in the new one. Having said that, there are few sound effects and relatively little music so the standard sound format (5.1) should be sufficient. The 2049-based flick is quite in line with the previous. Los Angeles gets replaced with Mexico City, Iceland, Spain, Nevada as shooting locations but the climate is retained, as is the omnipresent dust. In Poland it's available in 2D only but I had the impression 3D would be even better, would make you feel the depth of the space. You still need to read the book ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick) to comprehend the details. The original puzzle of who is human and who pretends to be here changes into the enigma of the blade runner's identity. While it's implied he might be human, what can account for the languages he understands? E.g. in shops he communicates in English but understands his interlocutors speaking some exotic lingos. The pregnancy is such a cheap movie plot trick and here it's used completely out of the blue ruining the credibility of the story from the onset. The romantic subplot is based on "Her". Worst of all, following a recent fashion, it may become a trilogy.
THE BIG SICK
Watchable. The title is hardly enticing, my first association was with someone vomiting. Luckily it's not that bad. And it's not a spin-off of "The Hangover" either. It's a drama about a comedian providing only occasional laughs, e.g. a Pakistani asked to give his views on 9/11: "It was a tragedy. We lost 19 our best guys." or when his father says: "You are still kicked out of the family" handing him in a box of biryani and adds: "Goodbye forever. Just do me a favour and text us when you reach New York." A big part is sappy even though it's based on a true story. The best thing about the movie is that for Westerners it's a rare chance to glimpse what it's like to be a Muslim immigrant growing up in the US while for immigrants there's a direct question the protagonist asks his Pakistani parents: "Why did you bring us to America and want us to live like back there?" The father is played by Anupam Kher, the seemingly full time Indian family father both in Bollywood and in Hollywood now. Another issue tackled in the film is ghosting someone. You do it without batting an eye when you want to ditch someone you date but you lose your mind when your parents want to do it to you.
Watchable. Engrossing as a journalist investigation story: is the exorcist a murderer or a failed saviour of the tortured nun? A few visual effects give you the creeps but it's not very scary.
LA MARCHE DE L'EMPEREUR (MARCH OF THE PENGUINS)
Recommended. Blue hues of Antarctic snow and ice, all shades of pink on the sky and its reflections on the ground. 4K pictures including underwater shots. Some of the most beautiful expanses of land and ocean on Earth are inhabited by large colonies of penguins. The gentle, puffy creatures are strongly family-oriented. They couple up in spite of all other love candidates looking exactly the same. They share care of the egg and the chick. The father travels dozens, sometimes even 100 km from the interior to the ocean for food. The film first lets you unwind and then become amazed at the moral and visual beauty of penguins' life. Shame both English and Polish translations miss the original French title pun - "Emperor's March" like the music piece from "Star Wars"
FLATLINERS
Watchable. Excellent music, apart from the ending. You almost want to leave your body for the rhythm and fly amid the skyscrapers of Toronto where it was shot. The story of guilt is unnecessarily horror-like. The realistic part: competing to get into a top medical school, friendship, studies, relationships, taking on responsibilities is the most involving.
IN GUERRA PER AMORE (AT WAR WITH LOVE)
Watchable. At first I was interested in the rom com rather than the war story. The comedy, though nice, was not amusing. But I found out how Americans got duped into instilling all mafia bosses in positions of town mayors in Sicily at the end of WW2: first the overseas troops were allowed to enter without a single shot fired, then they were presented with a list of "anti-fascists" to be released from prison.
The last 3 movies seen courtesy of Cinema City.
PATTI CAKE$
Watchable. Starts with a few seconds of quality rap. Next you see a girl who's got a raw deal in life: morbidly obese, from a broken family, with a thrashy job of a barmaid in a shabby drinking den. In addition she's white and it ain't no advantage among black rhyming potheads. But you warm up to her as she's trying to land a better job to pay her nana's medical bill and you realize she hails from a whole bloodline of musical talent. You witness all her failures and hear a number of good songs (written by Geremi Jasper). The movie gets better and better to a great finale. Leaves you wanting to chant: "PBNJ, P-PBNJ! PBNJ, P-PBNJ!"
BLADE RUNNER 2049 IN DOLBY ATMOS
Watchable. The first "Blade Runner" of 1982 was set in 2019. We still haven't got flying cars, androids or a colony on the Moon but we have huge advertising LCD screens in the city. Those are replaced by holograms in the new installment. "Tears in Rain" by Vangelis from the original "Blade Runner" are, hmm, replicated in the new one. Having said that, there are few sound effects and relatively little music so the standard sound format (5.1) should be sufficient. The 2049-based flick is quite in line with the previous. Los Angeles gets replaced with Mexico City, Iceland, Spain, Nevada as shooting locations but the climate is retained, as is the omnipresent dust. In Poland it's available in 2D only but I had the impression 3D would be even better, would make you feel the depth of the space. You still need to read the book ("Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" by Philip K. Dick) to comprehend the details. The original puzzle of who is human and who pretends to be here changes into the enigma of the blade runner's identity. While it's implied he might be human, what can account for the languages he understands? E.g. in shops he communicates in English but understands his interlocutors speaking some exotic lingos. The pregnancy is such a cheap movie plot trick and here it's used completely out of the blue ruining the credibility of the story from the onset. The romantic subplot is based on "Her". Worst of all, following a recent fashion, it may become a trilogy.
THE BIG SICK
Watchable. The title is hardly enticing, my first association was with someone vomiting. Luckily it's not that bad. And it's not a spin-off of "The Hangover" either. It's a drama about a comedian providing only occasional laughs, e.g. a Pakistani asked to give his views on 9/11: "It was a tragedy. We lost 19 our best guys." or when his father says: "You are still kicked out of the family" handing him in a box of biryani and adds: "Goodbye forever. Just do me a favour and text us when you reach New York." A big part is sappy even though it's based on a true story. The best thing about the movie is that for Westerners it's a rare chance to glimpse what it's like to be a Muslim immigrant growing up in the US while for immigrants there's a direct question the protagonist asks his Pakistani parents: "Why did you bring us to America and want us to live like back there?" The father is played by Anupam Kher, the seemingly full time Indian family father both in Bollywood and in Hollywood now. Another issue tackled in the film is ghosting someone. You do it without batting an eye when you want to ditch someone you date but you lose your mind when your parents want to do it to you.
Monday 16 October 2017
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL
WRONG SIDE RAJU
Recommended. "Truth is what you can prove in court" - the gripping half-rom-com, half-courtroom-drama was written over 1.5yrs by 3 guys and is full of twists and turns. Set in Gujarat, a city with an alcohol ban (out of respect for Mahatma Ghandi who was born and raised there), where the main protagonist initially is a smuggler. Supremely well-acted.
The movie is available on Netflix.
DWIE KORONY (TWO CROWNS)
Recommended. Who would have thought the famous saint designed spaceships? I had never heard of him setting up a mission in Japan either. I learnt the details of how his charisma manifested during the imprisonment in a concentration camp. That's how religion stops boring. Partly a documentary, partly feature adding a light touch - a combination working out surprisingly well.
VERDWIJNEN (DISAPPEARANCE)
Watchable. Wintry Arctic: vast, empty, snowy landscapes, dog-sledding, vodka, an accident with a moose, sauna, ice-fishing, ice-swimming, an ice-grotto and a story of a toxic daughter-mother relationship. Reminded me my own Arctic winter holiday which was far better as lacked any toxicity.
On 19th October Kamera Akcja Festival starts in Łódź. PISF (Polish Film Institute) director has just been revoked by the Minister of Culture and that's going to be one of main topics discussed.
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL
DEAR MAYA
Recommended. What happens if you meddle in somebody's affairs? Do you give them a new lease of life or do you destroy it? Two 16-year-old girls give a middle-aged lady a false hope of love and then spend 6 years trying to find out if she survived. Gripping and very emotional: true Bollywood.
BAANDHON (WAVES OF SILENCE)
Watchable. Relatively subdued colours and no interval. Gets you fond of an elderly couple who are trying to divorce over and over again about tiny issues from their school years which only show how much they love each other. Then they get hit with a terrible loss. It ends sad. The movie's devoted to those who lost their loved ones in terror attacks in Mumbai.
WRONG SIDE RAJU
Recommended. "Truth is what you can prove in court" - the gripping half-rom-com, half-courtroom-drama was written over 1.5yrs by 3 guys and is full of twists and turns. Set in Gujarat, a city with an alcohol ban (out of respect for Mahatma Ghandi who was born and raised there), where the main protagonist initially is a smuggler. Supremely well-acted.
The movie is available on Netflix.
DWIE KORONY (TWO CROWNS)
Recommended. Who would have thought the famous saint designed spaceships? I had never heard of him setting up a mission in Japan either. I learnt the details of how his charisma manifested during the imprisonment in a concentration camp. That's how religion stops boring. Partly a documentary, partly feature adding a light touch - a combination working out surprisingly well.
VERDWIJNEN (DISAPPEARANCE)
Watchable. Wintry Arctic: vast, empty, snowy landscapes, dog-sledding, vodka, an accident with a moose, sauna, ice-fishing, ice-swimming, an ice-grotto and a story of a toxic daughter-mother relationship. Reminded me my own Arctic winter holiday which was far better as lacked any toxicity.
On 19th October Kamera Akcja Festival starts in Łódź. PISF (Polish Film Institute) director has just been revoked by the Minister of Culture and that's going to be one of main topics discussed.
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL
DEAR MAYA
Recommended. What happens if you meddle in somebody's affairs? Do you give them a new lease of life or do you destroy it? Two 16-year-old girls give a middle-aged lady a false hope of love and then spend 6 years trying to find out if she survived. Gripping and very emotional: true Bollywood.
BAANDHON (WAVES OF SILENCE)
Watchable. Relatively subdued colours and no interval. Gets you fond of an elderly couple who are trying to divorce over and over again about tiny issues from their school years which only show how much they love each other. Then they get hit with a terrible loss. It ends sad. The movie's devoted to those who lost their loved ones in terror attacks in Mumbai.
UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL
During the festival I skipped "Gnizdo gorlytsi" ("The Nest of the Turtledove") which had won last year's edition as I had seen it then. I also chose to ignore a meeting on Ukrainian cinema led by Jakub Majmurek. It's enough I stayed for meetings with directors conducted by him. He was nearly as rude to the audience as the last time I saw him - at a Czech film screening.
GOLOVNA ROL (THE LEADING ROLE)
Walked out. A documentary about making a documentary - like watching paint dry - and about the most mundane home matters like shopping lists.
Январь — март/UROD (UGLY)
Watchable. Disturbing at times (the heiress deprived of dignity in hospital, screams of agony) and painfully protracted throughout. About love at the stage when you love the person warts and all, fully accepting them ill or vomiting. Beautiful cinematography. Playing with sounds and silence.
RODNYE (CLOSE RELATIONS)
Watchable. That's when I first heard of the action "take in one stray dog" during the war - how wonderful someone thought about them! Putin is seen virtually as Stalin, young men get killed, Poland is perceived as a country which had gone from rags to richess. These trivia were the most interesting, otherwise it's just too intrinsically Ukrainian.
БЛАКИТНА СУКНЯ (BLUE DRESS)
Watchable. Intriguing as first you hear of a woman dying from a psychologic trauma and then her son's investigating her past. The rest is a moving love story, unfortunately intertwined with several movie excerpts which, while forming part of the story, look archaic, silly and should be cut short.
MOLOCH
Watchable. Very good shots of work on heights. The story of sex violence and the aftermath is involving but, as for the rest, it's not even clear who is who, especially in the drink driving case. Dimmed light pictures don't help.
NAJPIĘKNIEJSZE FAJERWERKI EVER (THE BEST FIREWORKS EVER)
Watchable. A smart idea to show modern day young Poles' reaction to riots and an armed conflict in the country. Two sensual lesbians and drug-taking are juxtaposed with curfews and tanks.
DIXIELAND
Watchable. Birds are sitting on electric wires and a boy sings as if they were notes on a stave is the most memorable sequence. I like neither jazz nor children but in this documentary the music sounds like in pre-war films and the children are smart and talented. A feel-good movie. Lacks a point but is pleasing to watch.
THE TRIAL: THE STATE OF RUSSIA VS OLEG SENTSOV
Recommended. A film-maker subjected to tortures like in Guantanamo because he dared to oppose Russian invaders. An Ukrainian arguing with Putin about "the little green men", his manipulative answers and Oleg Sentsov's pronouncements are spot on.
MY GRANDMOTHER FANNY KAPLAN
Watchable. Slow and dragging on. On what love makes to a woman rather than on terrorism in Lenin's times. Documentary bits give just the background to a fictitious story filling in our knowledge gaps: Fanny Kaplan gets perfidiously used by the man she longed for and is helpless in the face of love. Clearly it's the ones we love that matter, not the ones who love us.
SHKOLA NOMER 3 (SCHOOL NUMBER 3)
Watchable. Teenagers from Donbass talk about the start of the war, loss of loved ones as well as of the games they played before the conflict and their first loves to a powerful effect. A bit too long though, not all the 13 teens should have been included.
ENCYKLOPEDIA MAJDANU
Watchable. Very good music and form of the series of 6 documentaries by Lysenko. Hard to understand at times when you don't know Ukraine. Uplifting - leaves hope as you see a number of people with the will to fight and to take care of the wounded.
PRYPUTNI (THE STRAYED)
Watchable. The worst translation into English ever: inaccurate, into English slang and full of mistakes. The film itself is about a number of specific individuals, like in Bruno Dumont's movies, so the story's weird, absurdly brutal and strangely enchanting after a while.
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL
The festival organizers decided to step outside Bollywood and show a selection of Indian cinema without songs and dancing as well as in a few different languages. At the opening the director of "Sarkar 3", Ram Gopal Varma, mentioned his phone conversations with Sanjay Dutt who was in London at the time. The director would send the actor pictures of Poland and Sanjay Dutt suggested that they cheat and make Warsaw to be London next time ("Brexit takes on a new meaning" as an organizer remarked). But Ram Gopal Varma has a different idea: he loved Polish locations and wants Poland to be Poland either in his own movie or in a co-production. I'm looking forward to it.
SARKAR 3
Recommended. Great music even though there's no dancing. Young hot act: Amit Sadh. Excellently scripted and played. Luxury settings include a residence with an own pool of dolphins. "Game of Thrones"-style betrayal in the family and no holds barred power struggle. A political thriller with jaw-dropping twists of action and a fantastic finale.
PEWNEGO RAZU W LISTOPADZIE (ONCE UPON A TIME IN NOVEMBER)
Recommended. The plot departs from the usual view of the homeless and makes it a bit like "The Pursuit of Happyness". Here the protagonists are an evicted teacher and her law student son (young hot act Grzegorz Palkowski). The storyline contains quite a lot of action but it's basically a gripping drama with bitter undertones. Polish law and state together with the police, the judicial system and charity organizations all get clouted. Especially the attitude to the dog highlights the inhumanity of the system and higher morals of the deprived. No happy ending in the Polish story.
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL
VENTILATOR
Recommended. Kieślowski-style moral dilemma Indian way - family-oriented and faster-paced, as Priyanka Chopra mentions in her cameo: "It doesn't drag." I found the movie very uplifting. Several issues are tackled: A woman is fighting to get her own toilet (Indians often have to go in the open, lacking proper facilities). Her voice isn't heard just because of that - she's a woman. Then there's the hard decision about life and death. The first half is humorous, with everyone guessing what the "ventilator" is and "not telling" the whole village. Then it gets serious and touching to the core.
Director paid respects to Kieślowski who had inspired him. He came to the meeting with fans straight from the Polish director's grave. He was charming, warm-hearted, even shook hands with everyone in the audience.
During the festival I skipped "Gnizdo gorlytsi" ("The Nest of the Turtledove") which had won last year's edition as I had seen it then. I also chose to ignore a meeting on Ukrainian cinema led by Jakub Majmurek. It's enough I stayed for meetings with directors conducted by him. He was nearly as rude to the audience as the last time I saw him - at a Czech film screening.
GOLOVNA ROL (THE LEADING ROLE)
Walked out. A documentary about making a documentary - like watching paint dry - and about the most mundane home matters like shopping lists.
Январь — март/UROD (UGLY)
Watchable. Disturbing at times (the heiress deprived of dignity in hospital, screams of agony) and painfully protracted throughout. About love at the stage when you love the person warts and all, fully accepting them ill or vomiting. Beautiful cinematography. Playing with sounds and silence.
RODNYE (CLOSE RELATIONS)
Watchable. That's when I first heard of the action "take in one stray dog" during the war - how wonderful someone thought about them! Putin is seen virtually as Stalin, young men get killed, Poland is perceived as a country which had gone from rags to richess. These trivia were the most interesting, otherwise it's just too intrinsically Ukrainian.
БЛАКИТНА СУКНЯ (BLUE DRESS)
Watchable. Intriguing as first you hear of a woman dying from a psychologic trauma and then her son's investigating her past. The rest is a moving love story, unfortunately intertwined with several movie excerpts which, while forming part of the story, look archaic, silly and should be cut short.
MOLOCH
Watchable. Very good shots of work on heights. The story of sex violence and the aftermath is involving but, as for the rest, it's not even clear who is who, especially in the drink driving case. Dimmed light pictures don't help.
NAJPIĘKNIEJSZE FAJERWERKI EVER (THE BEST FIREWORKS EVER)
Watchable. A smart idea to show modern day young Poles' reaction to riots and an armed conflict in the country. Two sensual lesbians and drug-taking are juxtaposed with curfews and tanks.
DIXIELAND
Watchable. Birds are sitting on electric wires and a boy sings as if they were notes on a stave is the most memorable sequence. I like neither jazz nor children but in this documentary the music sounds like in pre-war films and the children are smart and talented. A feel-good movie. Lacks a point but is pleasing to watch.
THE TRIAL: THE STATE OF RUSSIA VS OLEG SENTSOV
Recommended. A film-maker subjected to tortures like in Guantanamo because he dared to oppose Russian invaders. An Ukrainian arguing with Putin about "the little green men", his manipulative answers and Oleg Sentsov's pronouncements are spot on.
MY GRANDMOTHER FANNY KAPLAN
Watchable. Slow and dragging on. On what love makes to a woman rather than on terrorism in Lenin's times. Documentary bits give just the background to a fictitious story filling in our knowledge gaps: Fanny Kaplan gets perfidiously used by the man she longed for and is helpless in the face of love. Clearly it's the ones we love that matter, not the ones who love us.
SHKOLA NOMER 3 (SCHOOL NUMBER 3)
Watchable. Teenagers from Donbass talk about the start of the war, loss of loved ones as well as of the games they played before the conflict and their first loves to a powerful effect. A bit too long though, not all the 13 teens should have been included.
ENCYKLOPEDIA MAJDANU
Watchable. Very good music and form of the series of 6 documentaries by Lysenko. Hard to understand at times when you don't know Ukraine. Uplifting - leaves hope as you see a number of people with the will to fight and to take care of the wounded.
PRYPUTNI (THE STRAYED)
Watchable. The worst translation into English ever: inaccurate, into English slang and full of mistakes. The film itself is about a number of specific individuals, like in Bruno Dumont's movies, so the story's weird, absurdly brutal and strangely enchanting after a while.
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL
The festival organizers decided to step outside Bollywood and show a selection of Indian cinema without songs and dancing as well as in a few different languages. At the opening the director of "Sarkar 3", Ram Gopal Varma, mentioned his phone conversations with Sanjay Dutt who was in London at the time. The director would send the actor pictures of Poland and Sanjay Dutt suggested that they cheat and make Warsaw to be London next time ("Brexit takes on a new meaning" as an organizer remarked). But Ram Gopal Varma has a different idea: he loved Polish locations and wants Poland to be Poland either in his own movie or in a co-production. I'm looking forward to it.
SARKAR 3
Recommended. Great music even though there's no dancing. Young hot act: Amit Sadh. Excellently scripted and played. Luxury settings include a residence with an own pool of dolphins. "Game of Thrones"-style betrayal in the family and no holds barred power struggle. A political thriller with jaw-dropping twists of action and a fantastic finale.
PEWNEGO RAZU W LISTOPADZIE (ONCE UPON A TIME IN NOVEMBER)
Recommended. The plot departs from the usual view of the homeless and makes it a bit like "The Pursuit of Happyness". Here the protagonists are an evicted teacher and her law student son (young hot act Grzegorz Palkowski). The storyline contains quite a lot of action but it's basically a gripping drama with bitter undertones. Polish law and state together with the police, the judicial system and charity organizations all get clouted. Especially the attitude to the dog highlights the inhumanity of the system and higher morals of the deprived. No happy ending in the Polish story.
INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL
VENTILATOR
Recommended. Kieślowski-style moral dilemma Indian way - family-oriented and faster-paced, as Priyanka Chopra mentions in her cameo: "It doesn't drag." I found the movie very uplifting. Several issues are tackled: A woman is fighting to get her own toilet (Indians often have to go in the open, lacking proper facilities). Her voice isn't heard just because of that - she's a woman. Then there's the hard decision about life and death. The first half is humorous, with everyone guessing what the "ventilator" is and "not telling" the whole village. Then it gets serious and touching to the core.
Director paid respects to Kieślowski who had inspired him. He came to the meeting with fans straight from the Polish director's grave. He was charming, warm-hearted, even shook hands with everyone in the audience.
Wednesday 11 October 2017
SUBURBICON
Watchable. A movie attacking what's become of American values. Follows in the footsteps of the whole series of productions titled "American......" which seem to have created a genre of their own. Desintegration of family, religion which is just nominal and which divides and segregates instead of connecting. Ironed dresses and suits disguise dirty deeds. The 60s are obviously the mirror of contemporary times. It deconstructs the image of peaceful middle class suburbia. Everyone's playing mind games on others and on themselves. Old-fashioned "Is that right?" is the catch phrase. Greed is no longer good either. Earlier „American Pastoral” turned on family, showing them helpless in the face of their daughter's derangedly violent behaviour. This one targets hypocritical parents, alongside other societal issues: scapegoating blacks and gun violence (treated separately). Marriage and blood ties have become decrepit. The sequence after the recognition at the police lineup is accompanied by music matching the picture-perfect facade incongruous with what's just taken place. In another scene a white woman, who claims to have nothing against blacks, says: „They should better themselves, educate themselves.” But when they try to better themselves, the whites throw roadblocks in their way. Only children are free from the predjudice, blissfully unaware the biased society expects them to become equally racist. With so many memorable segments, it's quite PC: the only black family portrayed here is perfectly neat and just like everyone else in the town and demons come out of the white population only. The mayhem is over the top. There's too much gore which shows the same delight in violence in the film makers as the pride the American protagonists take in their gun culture. The movie appears much better when analyzed a few hours later than during watching.
TINY GIANTS 3D
WILD AFRICA 3D
Watchable. Both by BBC Earth. Documentaries for adults who want to admire the beauty of nature. One is about the hard life of chipmunks and mice. The other shot in 11 countries, if I counted well, and with African music. Pretty ordinary but both, truly BBC way, with some amazing pictures. Even without the 3D, they'd be amazing just due to mind-blowing takes. Why on Earth are they marketed at children?! Kids don't understand the films and get scared of predatory animals. Caviare to the general.
APOCALYPSE CHILD
Watchable. I sat through it to see Philippino culture. It reminded me of a roommate I had years ago. Seing how thoughtlessly the protagonists engage in sex, without thinking of consequences, kind-of explained to me why Philippinas get pregnant at such a young age. The actual plot of the movie is made so mundane that even when a past tragedy is revealed at the end, it makes no impression.
UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL
The scope of makers as well as of protagonists was quite international, both of documentaries and of feature. It looks like no one in that country is pure blood. The festival was going to focus on contemporary Ukraine this year. But it was only nominally contemporary since Ukrainians tend to dwell on the past. Just like Poles.
KIEDY TEN WIATR USTANIE (WHEN WILL THIS WIND STOP)
Watchable. I learnt a lot about Crimean Tatars - the history and the present of Stalin's and Putin's (respectively) persecution. A cattle carriage exile and lagers then, dismissals from work and quiet deportations now. They speak Tatar and Russian. The families live in decent, tastefully furnished houses, with beautiful gardens or conservatories at home, taking care of pets. And you just can't help but feel sorry for such kind and beautiful people being discriminated against, isolated socially, with TV and the Internet cut off. The documentary is slow-paced and feels lengthy though.
Watchable. A movie attacking what's become of American values. Follows in the footsteps of the whole series of productions titled "American......" which seem to have created a genre of their own. Desintegration of family, religion which is just nominal and which divides and segregates instead of connecting. Ironed dresses and suits disguise dirty deeds. The 60s are obviously the mirror of contemporary times. It deconstructs the image of peaceful middle class suburbia. Everyone's playing mind games on others and on themselves. Old-fashioned "Is that right?" is the catch phrase. Greed is no longer good either. Earlier „American Pastoral” turned on family, showing them helpless in the face of their daughter's derangedly violent behaviour. This one targets hypocritical parents, alongside other societal issues: scapegoating blacks and gun violence (treated separately). Marriage and blood ties have become decrepit. The sequence after the recognition at the police lineup is accompanied by music matching the picture-perfect facade incongruous with what's just taken place. In another scene a white woman, who claims to have nothing against blacks, says: „They should better themselves, educate themselves.” But when they try to better themselves, the whites throw roadblocks in their way. Only children are free from the predjudice, blissfully unaware the biased society expects them to become equally racist. With so many memorable segments, it's quite PC: the only black family portrayed here is perfectly neat and just like everyone else in the town and demons come out of the white population only. The mayhem is over the top. There's too much gore which shows the same delight in violence in the film makers as the pride the American protagonists take in their gun culture. The movie appears much better when analyzed a few hours later than during watching.
TINY GIANTS 3D
WILD AFRICA 3D
Watchable. Both by BBC Earth. Documentaries for adults who want to admire the beauty of nature. One is about the hard life of chipmunks and mice. The other shot in 11 countries, if I counted well, and with African music. Pretty ordinary but both, truly BBC way, with some amazing pictures. Even without the 3D, they'd be amazing just due to mind-blowing takes. Why on Earth are they marketed at children?! Kids don't understand the films and get scared of predatory animals. Caviare to the general.
APOCALYPSE CHILD
Watchable. I sat through it to see Philippino culture. It reminded me of a roommate I had years ago. Seing how thoughtlessly the protagonists engage in sex, without thinking of consequences, kind-of explained to me why Philippinas get pregnant at such a young age. The actual plot of the movie is made so mundane that even when a past tragedy is revealed at the end, it makes no impression.
UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL
The scope of makers as well as of protagonists was quite international, both of documentaries and of feature. It looks like no one in that country is pure blood. The festival was going to focus on contemporary Ukraine this year. But it was only nominally contemporary since Ukrainians tend to dwell on the past. Just like Poles.
KIEDY TEN WIATR USTANIE (WHEN WILL THIS WIND STOP)
Watchable. I learnt a lot about Crimean Tatars - the history and the present of Stalin's and Putin's (respectively) persecution. A cattle carriage exile and lagers then, dismissals from work and quiet deportations now. They speak Tatar and Russian. The families live in decent, tastefully furnished houses, with beautiful gardens or conservatories at home, taking care of pets. And you just can't help but feel sorry for such kind and beautiful people being discriminated against, isolated socially, with TV and the Internet cut off. The documentary is slow-paced and feels lengthy though.
Friday 6 October 2017
LOVING VINCENT/TWÓJ VINCENT
Watchable. I'm a great fan of Van Gogh's painting style and expected to be mesmerised by this homage paid to his art. I hadn't known much about his life however. Contrary to my expectations I found the crime story around his puzzling death more interesting than the artistic layer. From what I saw of Van Gogh in London and Amsterdam, the paintings used in the movie weren't very representative, at the same time they hailed from his most famous period characterised by vivid colours, basically they were neither famous, nor did they show his development as an artist. Reminiscences were shown in black and white in a style which didn't resemble Van Gogh's drawings. What's more, his paintings were altered to adjust them to the movie and actors' features were kept. In the plot it's hard to make out who is who. Nevertheless, it was the first time I heard about the riddle of whether he committed suicide or was mugged and murdered.
ZGODA (THE RECONCILIATION)
Watchable. What consent or agreement from the title is the movie actually about? The story of cursed soldiers and their obsession with one woman is very simple. What struck me was no female nudity in spite of a few scenes of sex and of rape. Just like in "Historia Roja" the cinematography is dark but in "Zgoda" at least you can distinguish the characters.
Watchable. I'm a great fan of Van Gogh's painting style and expected to be mesmerised by this homage paid to his art. I hadn't known much about his life however. Contrary to my expectations I found the crime story around his puzzling death more interesting than the artistic layer. From what I saw of Van Gogh in London and Amsterdam, the paintings used in the movie weren't very representative, at the same time they hailed from his most famous period characterised by vivid colours, basically they were neither famous, nor did they show his development as an artist. Reminiscences were shown in black and white in a style which didn't resemble Van Gogh's drawings. What's more, his paintings were altered to adjust them to the movie and actors' features were kept. In the plot it's hard to make out who is who. Nevertheless, it was the first time I heard about the riddle of whether he committed suicide or was mugged and murdered.
ZGODA (THE RECONCILIATION)
Watchable. What consent or agreement from the title is the movie actually about? The story of cursed soldiers and their obsession with one woman is very simple. What struck me was no female nudity in spite of a few scenes of sex and of rape. Just like in "Historia Roja" the cinematography is dark but in "Zgoda" at least you can distinguish the characters.
Thursday 5 October 2017
KROTKAYA (A GENTLE CREATURE/UNA FEMME DOUCE)
Recommended. "Krotkaya" goes one step further than "Leviathan". It's a bleak, Kafkaesque picture of Russia, with murder being an everyday subject of conversations, corruption, false promises, alcoholism, human trafficking and sexual violence treated as a norm, human rights advocates facing predjudice and absurd allegations. In the midst of all these distorted norms a strong but helpless woman. It's long but totally gripping. Russia in a nutshell. Undeservedly not submitted for an Oscar.
PHOTON
Walked out. A monotonously spoken, archaically shot lesson on evolution. Looks like from the 1970s.
The "Jest życie po końcu świat" book premiere followed the release of "Ptaki śpiewają w Kigali" ("Birds Are Singing In Kigali"). Movie director Joanna Kos-Krauze and one of lead actresses Jowita Budnik acted like stars of the evening: both arrogant and as vague as the movie. The director ridiculed food allergies. She actually had sent back home some European staff who couldn't eat certain products in Africa, since she had seen it as a lack of sensitivity. If she had had some knowledge she would have known that a lack of hygiene, like in war-torn zones, successfully prevents the occurence of allergies. In Europe such health issues are genuine. It was Joanna Kos-Krauze who manifested a lack of sensitivity. And a lack of education.
The "Happy Olo" premiere was a welcome contrast. Aleksander Doba is a hands on, down to earth guy, fond of people and very warm-hearted. I tried some freeze-dried foods: a delicious pasta with nettle (which he hadn't eaten, preferring meat), strawberries and smoothies all made of freeze-dried fruit - the kind of meals the kayaker had on his Atlantic journeys. The kayak was on display too. No one was guarding it and kids were able to open it and get inside which upset the hero. He lets children go in but only in his presence. During interviewes and answering ad hoc questions he showed some signs of impatience too. Clearly the tour promoting the movie and both books is taking its toll on him. Apart from hearing the story of his she-shark encounter again, I found out the desalinator would break down during all his voyages and he had to pump water by hand. Once a membrane, at other times other parts, something would go wrong with it each time. His entrance to the screening room was brilliant: he circled a column three times - "Actors go out three times at the curtain call, so I entered thrice." He's a firm believer in achieving one's goals even at 71. He greeted the audience in the other screen differently as he "hadn't learnt it by heart." It was remarkable how he may have been fed up with all the necessary hype but would go out to the people, sing books, pose for pictures with a great smile and cheerfulness.
Recommended. "Krotkaya" goes one step further than "Leviathan". It's a bleak, Kafkaesque picture of Russia, with murder being an everyday subject of conversations, corruption, false promises, alcoholism, human trafficking and sexual violence treated as a norm, human rights advocates facing predjudice and absurd allegations. In the midst of all these distorted norms a strong but helpless woman. It's long but totally gripping. Russia in a nutshell. Undeservedly not submitted for an Oscar.
PHOTON
Walked out. A monotonously spoken, archaically shot lesson on evolution. Looks like from the 1970s.
The "Jest życie po końcu świat" book premiere followed the release of "Ptaki śpiewają w Kigali" ("Birds Are Singing In Kigali"). Movie director Joanna Kos-Krauze and one of lead actresses Jowita Budnik acted like stars of the evening: both arrogant and as vague as the movie. The director ridiculed food allergies. She actually had sent back home some European staff who couldn't eat certain products in Africa, since she had seen it as a lack of sensitivity. If she had had some knowledge she would have known that a lack of hygiene, like in war-torn zones, successfully prevents the occurence of allergies. In Europe such health issues are genuine. It was Joanna Kos-Krauze who manifested a lack of sensitivity. And a lack of education.
The "Happy Olo" premiere was a welcome contrast. Aleksander Doba is a hands on, down to earth guy, fond of people and very warm-hearted. I tried some freeze-dried foods: a delicious pasta with nettle (which he hadn't eaten, preferring meat), strawberries and smoothies all made of freeze-dried fruit - the kind of meals the kayaker had on his Atlantic journeys. The kayak was on display too. No one was guarding it and kids were able to open it and get inside which upset the hero. He lets children go in but only in his presence. During interviewes and answering ad hoc questions he showed some signs of impatience too. Clearly the tour promoting the movie and both books is taking its toll on him. Apart from hearing the story of his she-shark encounter again, I found out the desalinator would break down during all his voyages and he had to pump water by hand. Once a membrane, at other times other parts, something would go wrong with it each time. His entrance to the screening room was brilliant: he circled a column three times - "Actors go out three times at the curtain call, so I entered thrice." He's a firm believer in achieving one's goals even at 71. He greeted the audience in the other screen differently as he "hadn't learnt it by heart." It was remarkable how he may have been fed up with all the necessary hype but would go out to the people, sing books, pose for pictures with a great smile and cheerfulness.
MANIFESTO
Watchable. Composed of quotes of several 20th century art manifestos read out by Cate Blanchett speaking with different accents and professional mannerisms in 13 totally different roles deserving an Oscar for the role and make up at least. When watching it's best to ignore the philosophical nonsense and just get engulfed in the images and changes in the language since all manifestos are pure form, I just couldn't tell them apart by art trends though I have some educational and professional art background. Shot on locations in Germany, mostly Berlin but also e.g. a disused factory in Cottbus. Locations are a great pick and render the film hypnotic.
NA UKLADY NIE MA RADY
Watchable. Very true to life: entrepreneurs are pestered by salesmen of all sorts, politicians are enticed to accept bribes and nepotism and get later blamed by the media regardless of what they have or haven't done, law enforcement services fight between themselves for cases to take or discard. It's just hardly funny and was meant to be a comedy.
Seen courtesy of Cinema City.
MLYNARSKI. PIOSENKA FINALOWA
Watchable. I used to think of Wojciech Młynarski as of a boring old prick. From the documentary I know he was quite good-looking when young and very smart, with a sharp mind. The music style is not what I listen to but it was an ongoing commentary to social and political developments of his era and very to the point. His suffered from bipolar disorder which was responsible both for his creativity, brilliant mind and social mixing abilities and for his darker periods which destroyed his family. A surprisingly involving film, even for those younger than Wojciech Młynarski would be now.
Watchable. Composed of quotes of several 20th century art manifestos read out by Cate Blanchett speaking with different accents and professional mannerisms in 13 totally different roles deserving an Oscar for the role and make up at least. When watching it's best to ignore the philosophical nonsense and just get engulfed in the images and changes in the language since all manifestos are pure form, I just couldn't tell them apart by art trends though I have some educational and professional art background. Shot on locations in Germany, mostly Berlin but also e.g. a disused factory in Cottbus. Locations are a great pick and render the film hypnotic.
NA UKLADY NIE MA RADY
Watchable. Very true to life: entrepreneurs are pestered by salesmen of all sorts, politicians are enticed to accept bribes and nepotism and get later blamed by the media regardless of what they have or haven't done, law enforcement services fight between themselves for cases to take or discard. It's just hardly funny and was meant to be a comedy.
Seen courtesy of Cinema City.
MLYNARSKI. PIOSENKA FINALOWA
Watchable. I used to think of Wojciech Młynarski as of a boring old prick. From the documentary I know he was quite good-looking when young and very smart, with a sharp mind. The music style is not what I listen to but it was an ongoing commentary to social and political developments of his era and very to the point. His suffered from bipolar disorder which was responsible both for his creativity, brilliant mind and social mixing abilities and for his darker periods which destroyed his family. A surprisingly involving film, even for those younger than Wojciech Młynarski would be now.
Monday 2 October 2017
PARK
Watchable. It's all about the carnal. A group of teens whose activities are all physical. Their way of expressing joy or coping with a tragedy is invariably physical. The male and female leads are both beautifully muscled. While the events are chronological, they're just a sequence of scenes with no clear beginning or ending.
SIMRAN
Watchable. Not your average Bollywood, at least in the Polish version shortened by half from nearly 4 to about 2 hours (why? why?): little music, no dancing and based on a true story. All that makes for a more realistic view of the community. In a patriarchal Indian family the offspring can't just talk to parents, they must obey. I wouldn't use "my father's going to kill me" even as a figure of speech. The protagonist is genuinely scared of her father. The story is quite American (it's set in the Indian diaspora in the US) or rather... about an Asian girl who gullibly believed in the American dream. The picture of contemporary world, shown with a pinch of salt, is bizarre yet plausible: online tutorials teach you how to rob a bank or how to kill someone and not get caught, an object bulging under a jacket can scare bank employees into handing over the money, with them firmly believing they had been attacked by Al-Qaeda. Kangana Ranaut is superb in her capability to enact a number of moods and behaviours of the ever changing girl in one movie, truly Bollywood-style.
Seen in the comfort of Cinema City, at least most of their cinemas have kept the comfy seats. Still, I'm upset Bollywood gets cut short in Poland! Absolutely outrageous!
Watchable. It's all about the carnal. A group of teens whose activities are all physical. Their way of expressing joy or coping with a tragedy is invariably physical. The male and female leads are both beautifully muscled. While the events are chronological, they're just a sequence of scenes with no clear beginning or ending.
SIMRAN
Watchable. Not your average Bollywood, at least in the Polish version shortened by half from nearly 4 to about 2 hours (why? why?): little music, no dancing and based on a true story. All that makes for a more realistic view of the community. In a patriarchal Indian family the offspring can't just talk to parents, they must obey. I wouldn't use "my father's going to kill me" even as a figure of speech. The protagonist is genuinely scared of her father. The story is quite American (it's set in the Indian diaspora in the US) or rather... about an Asian girl who gullibly believed in the American dream. The picture of contemporary world, shown with a pinch of salt, is bizarre yet plausible: online tutorials teach you how to rob a bank or how to kill someone and not get caught, an object bulging under a jacket can scare bank employees into handing over the money, with them firmly believing they had been attacked by Al-Qaeda. Kangana Ranaut is superb in her capability to enact a number of moods and behaviours of the ever changing girl in one movie, truly Bollywood-style.
Seen in the comfort of Cinema City, at least most of their cinemas have kept the comfy seats. Still, I'm upset Bollywood gets cut short in Poland! Absolutely outrageous!
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