Movie reviews

على كف عفريت (BEAUTY AND THE DOGS)

Recommended. It happened in Tunisia. But could be anywhere. A hard-hitting story which is so realistic I was not surprised to read at the end it was inspired by real events. It takes you step by step through the night when the crime took place: from just before, skipping the actual rape, throughout the aftermath. You just want her ordeal to end, expect somebody will save her but that's not going to happen. All her hopes get taken away one by one. But in the course of the night she finds enough inner strength to survive. The protagonists' names: Maryam and Youssuf refer us both to Christianity, like indicated in the film where the names are perceived as anti-Muslim, and to the Quran which constitutes the second bottom of the tale. She could be the holy mother of the prophet, who was also persecuted, though in different ways. And, like in the Sura of Yusuf in the Quran, Youssuf gets falsely accused and jailed. Is he a prophet too?

PETER RABBIT

Recommended. It's going to be the hit of the spring. I was laughing my head off. The best comedy I've seen in a long time. Exceptionally good translation and dubbing in Polish bring out the wit in: "I got carried away a bit. The way it happens at war", "I think I broke my rib. How many ribs do rabbits have?" or "She keeps baring her teeth at him. For them it means she likes him." (I'm translating 'back' into English from Polish now so the original may vary slightly) Electrocution and demolition are hilarious. Plenty of cheerful pop music of the like of "We No Speak Americano". Top-notch animation - the furs look like real and all the creatures are downright cute. The scene with an apologetic rabbit looking like a beaten dog grabs your heart. Domhnall Gleeson has such sexy eyes he looks smoking hot even with his hair dyed brown. Filmed in New South Wales, Australia - strangely the down under makes for the English countryside. Ends in mid-credits with the store scene being the last one.

불한당: 나쁜 놈들의 세상 (THE MERCILESS)

Watchable. Follows the standard pattern of Korean crime movies, with an obligatory scene of extremely cruel torture and with even the same two actors as usual: Im Si-wan and Sol Kyung-gu.

THELMA

Watchable. Image one: a father and a child walking on ice under which fish are visible. Scene two: the father attempts to shoot his daughter. Shot three: the movie title flickers. The final pieces of the puzzle are handed in to the viewer only towards the end. It's about how family curb your uniqueness and how, in this case, religion is the means. Outstanding cinematography with several great shots of otherwise mundane places. Decent ambient electronic music. Feels a bit lengthy though, in spite of being just under two hours.

GRAND FROID

Watchable. This dark comedy about an undertaker facing bankruptcy would be funnier if only it weren't so drowsy. It has some amusing bits, e.g. when an old lady gets nearly run over by a truck and he's waiting to see if she gets killed. But it's mostly just a slow, quiet tale about a few likeable losers.

As I was sitting waiting for the screening I overheard some marvellous - it was "The Post". The music by John Williams is great even on its own.