Movie reviews

THE KILLING OF A SACRED DEER

Recommended. The atmosphere is so dense and intense you can cut it with a knife. Further culinary analogies are in the film itself: during a barbecue the stalked surgeon says, supposedly about a steak, "I don't like it overdone"; the stalker, refering to his way of eating spaghetti, explains: "I stick the fork in and turn and turn"; finally, in one of the last scenes, ketchup on French fries looks like blood. There are more metaphors. The whole plot is based on Iphigenia's, mentioned by a school teacher in the movie. The Greek tragedy told about a young woman whom her father has to sacrifice to appease gods so that a wind starts blowing to move sails of troops. Hence her father lures Iphigenia with a promise of marrying her off to Achilles. In the film the stalker boy acts as both Achilles and prophet Calchas, forcing the surgeon to sacrifice one of the children - the choice the father has to make adds to the tension, is it even possible to kill a sacred deer? - and seducing the girl who, like original Iphigenia, offers to sacrifice herself. The ending is ominous and chilling.

3. WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

우리들 (THE WORLD OF US)

Recommended. A thoroughly realistic picture of school bullying as well as of how things work between girls and how between boys. Nearly made me cry a couple of times.

터널 (TUNNEL)

Recommended. One person stuck in the midst of political and economic interests. The question of who and what matters more is asked in a compelling and entertaining way. Chilling corporate values, politicianst showed with a pinch of salt, a lovable main character and a hilarious Shostakovich joke once the tension has dropped.

The film's on general release too.


SCAFFOLDING

Watchable. About a secondary school student with a short fuse and a very irreverent attitude to teachers, acted by Asher Lax, no idea how old but looking 40, not 17. For a larger part it's a clash of values: his father and his peers: construction workers, see books as a waste of time, his school obviously perceives it differently. Asher resists attempts at educating him but... at some point you realize it's literature that makes him start questioning the status quo. At his final school exam he's asked how the ending influences the meaning of a work. So, of course, you know the ending of the film is going to reveal the whole point. The teacher's suicide and its long aftermath show how far-reaching our actions are, even without our awareness.