Movie reviews

ROMANS

Watchable. I'm in two minds: 91% of sexual violence cases are crimes on women and this one is yet another film about a man. But maybe it brings the problem home to them? Besides, even though here the abuser is a priest, the movie doesn't attack the church. In fact it feels terribly religious. Slow and tedious till the hard-hitting finale. 

WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

RISK

Watchable. What's the point in this documentary? Did director Laura Poitras have a purpose at all? OK, you can catch some random pieces of Julian Assange's personality. E.g. when he's preparing his defence against sexual violence allegations, you can hear how sexist he is deep inside. Also he claims to have no emotions because he's so preoccupied with politics. And that seems to be true when you watch him in action - always calm and steady. But nothing comes out of it all.

WARSAW JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

MOOS

Watchable. Supposed to be a romantic comedy but not funny. The only amusing bit is when a mother says to a 12-year-old at his Bar Mitswa: "You touch this wine with your little fingers one more time and I'll circumcise you again with my own hands." The rest is a drama about trying to make it when you're young. Shown light-heartedly. So you can relive some of your past issues without an unnecessary burden.

BEN-GURION, EPILOGUE

Watchable. The founder of the state of Israel is very down to earth. He mucked in all the manual work necessary in the commune, building settlements from scratch. And had a clear, realistic and reasonable view on the shape of the country. E.g. taking into account the question of re-gaining the territory versus maintaining peace with all neighbours he would have chosen peace but got outvoted. When the general public didn't want German reparations "covered in blood", he put his foot down for the sake of future generations. Able to see past their trauma he demanded the payments.  The documentary is quite thorough but some parts are comprehensible only for those in the know. I'm quite ignorant in the history of Israel or its politics so some fragments weren't clear to me.

ETHIOPIQUES - MUZYKA DUSZY (ETHIOPIQUES - THE REVOLT OF SOUL)

Watchable. The only jazz I'm able to listen to is African, at least in its origins, anything westernized and its soul is lost. The director doesn't like a video clip as a documentary form so, in spite of 21 titles listed in the credits, little music made its way into the film. The maker is happy it leaves you craving more. I felt a little disappointed, my favourite music documentaries usually followed the music-talking-music-talking pattern. But the Polish documentalist, Maciej Bochniak, gave full voice to the Ethiopian band members and their producers which, complemented by African-art-like animation in bright colours with photos inserted in the place of faces, made it black to the core. While the film covers a span of a few decades, it's not very infomative, e.g. why did they stay in the US instead of returning from the tour? Also the process of recording music under Haile Selassie's regime is not fully explained and even the reason why it was banned is not given. The film claims the music style is pertinent to Ethiopia which I dare to disagree with, as it much resembles Nigerian music of the 60s and 70s and cultural motifs have always travelled across the continent in Africa. Why would that be any different? The director's focus was on life stories. Sadly the musicians never made it in the US where you need to be a hustler. It's mostly a tale of how hard it is to sell and to cross the cultural barrier. The little music that there is is fun. Listen to it loud!

Apparently more Ethiopiques music can be found on Spotify and Deezer.