15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018
KOLYMA - ROAD OF BONES
Watchable. The place of former gulags (labour camps) where nowadays Donetsk refugees are relocated to their amusement. Most inhabitants however claim it their home - poor but theirs. The film succeeds in presenting differing views on the past. 80% of prisoners were genuine criminals and they get their say too. The area is not as gruesome as it appears to the Polish/German documentalist. After all, like one of the interviewees notices, the whole world is built on ashes. The film shows also the climate e.g. frozen foods dealt in a market and its peculiar inhabitants. It gives too much space to those quirky individuals.
LAND OF THE FREE
Watchable. It's an engulfing and intimate portrait of 3 ex-convicts and their families, yet it doesn't break the ground. Apparently 3 out of 4 ex-cons in LA reoffend and it's a huge problem in the US. One interesting detail is a convict's girlfriend wearing "S" like in "Superman" in a brief scene - she truly is a superwoman sorting all daily life issues as she can't rely on him even when he's free. A very pleasant watching without anything you wouldn't have known or expected already. However, the project's going to continue for another 12 years and I'd love to find out how life works out for the protagonists over time. Hoping to see the sequel in the future.
GENERATION WEALTH
Recommended. Worth seeing at least for the astounding excess the rich live in. Fascinating stories are there too. And a chance to see pictures of Kate Hudson and Kim Kardashian when they were 12 and bragging about their parents' wealth and status. It states affluenza occurs where traditional culture is lost. Then money gives a new life direction.
SCORE: A FILM MUSIC DOCUMENTARY
Recommended. Makes you very emotional as it plays all the most famous tracks of the greatest movie score composers including my personal number one - John Williams - as well as Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman and a number of others. John Williams calls his simple yet catchy notes the grammar of the movie. You learn that Hans Zimmer played the keyboard in the "Video Killed the Radio Star" video. I'm sure now I'm going to listen to movies more. John Cameron's talking about the "Titanic" score over the credits.
ANOTE'S ARK
Watchable. So much can be done to save the population of the sinking archipelago of Kiribati: huge Australia or vast New Zealand could take them in or a Japanese corporation could build an artificial archipelago. Unfortunately before President Anote managed to get any international commitment, a new party came into power in his homeland Kiribati and the policy got drowned in politics. Very informative yet the political layer is much more to the topic than the family story illustrating the great issue.
Tuesday 29 May 2018
Wednesday 23 May 2018
15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018
DET RODE KAPEL (THE RED CHAPEL)
Watchable. I hate spastics used in movies in general and here it doesn't work either. The documentary reveals nothing about the country. The only piece of information new to me was that the North blames Americans for starting the Korean war while in reality it was their own encroachment on the South. You learn stuff only from the Danish commentary which isn't substantiated in the film. All you really see is the buildings and interiors looking like 50 years ago and hapless North Koreans struggling to make the Danish guests' performance less ridiculous. Speaks volumes about the Danish film-maker, not North Koreans.
A MODERN MAN
Watchable. About Charlie Siem - a world-renowned violin player and Armani model. He's timeless, representing monumental beauty and eternal music. He's perfectly professional, extremely focused, controlling each and every detail of his life and career since everything he's achieved has always been of his own doing. He lives like a prince - no friends, only servants and people he needs to manipulate when they call terms "unnegotiable". With his upper-class upbringing he wants to be in control. Everything has to be his way. He says he has no friends but he gets plenty of support from his family and colleagues. He's got plenty of people around him and irregular interactions with acquaintances. He puts no effort into relationships living in an emotional exile of his own choosing. He wants a flawless life and he's got it. An interesting insight into a very privileged life. Yet, the perfectionist seems just flat. He may appear lonely yet he isn't since he's strived for independence in his life. He has little connection to his inner emotions. He's put himself on display. A beautiful picture it is but with no substance. He mingles with the great - sits next to Dakota Johnson and Julianne Moore at a fashion show and his physiotherapist has got a 7-year-long queue. The latter fact isn't mentioned in the film, I heard it from the director later. The documentary is very good but feels one-dimensional just like the protagonist.
DET RODE KAPEL (THE RED CHAPEL)
Watchable. I hate spastics used in movies in general and here it doesn't work either. The documentary reveals nothing about the country. The only piece of information new to me was that the North blames Americans for starting the Korean war while in reality it was their own encroachment on the South. You learn stuff only from the Danish commentary which isn't substantiated in the film. All you really see is the buildings and interiors looking like 50 years ago and hapless North Koreans struggling to make the Danish guests' performance less ridiculous. Speaks volumes about the Danish film-maker, not North Koreans.
A MODERN MAN
Watchable. About Charlie Siem - a world-renowned violin player and Armani model. He's timeless, representing monumental beauty and eternal music. He's perfectly professional, extremely focused, controlling each and every detail of his life and career since everything he's achieved has always been of his own doing. He lives like a prince - no friends, only servants and people he needs to manipulate when they call terms "unnegotiable". With his upper-class upbringing he wants to be in control. Everything has to be his way. He says he has no friends but he gets plenty of support from his family and colleagues. He's got plenty of people around him and irregular interactions with acquaintances. He puts no effort into relationships living in an emotional exile of his own choosing. He wants a flawless life and he's got it. An interesting insight into a very privileged life. Yet, the perfectionist seems just flat. He may appear lonely yet he isn't since he's strived for independence in his life. He has little connection to his inner emotions. He's put himself on display. A beautiful picture it is but with no substance. He mingles with the great - sits next to Dakota Johnson and Julianne Moore at a fashion show and his physiotherapist has got a 7-year-long queue. The latter fact isn't mentioned in the film, I heard it from the director later. The documentary is very good but feels one-dimensional just like the protagonist.
Tuesday 22 May 2018
15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018
MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A.
Recommended. Starts with her saying she's "a terrorist's daughter" which grabs your attention immediately. You soon realise her father's a freedom fighter leading the Tamil Tigers - the only opposition the Sri Lankan dictatorship reckons with. Her uncle records rapes on women, some of whom are later ripped with grenades put in their vaginas to... conceal the traces of rape. The documentary, shot by Maya's school friend Steve, follows her from her arrival in the UK as a refugee, through the turning point when her protest song about the war back home had 1 million free Napster downloads which made her a star overnight. The video in which she repeats "I'm po-pu-lar" with a pout is amazing. The film features a lot of great music and Matangi's "bad dance moves" at home. She comes across as incredibly charismatic and talented, very headstrong. The movie proved to be a great hit among the festival audience.
In her home country the refugee hip hop star, currently residing in Britain, stays in all the time. Like she explained at the meeting after the screening that's because on the day of her arrival in Columbo, the capital, the 14 soldiers and police officers who had raped a woman at the main roundabout of the city, got acquitted of charges which resulted in mass protests. She was also harassed by uniformed men on a bus and was told by her mum to say no word or they'll end up killed in the jungle with no one knowing. She talked also about how years ago in the US she and her friend's tried to crash a Jay-Z's party. They actually got to his villa but turned back hearing women could enter only naked. Nowadays she's recording for his label. Another trivia she shared was that she had been growing up in admiration of Madonna as a strong woman and when she was invited by her to be her support at Super Bowl, for which the hip hop girl was paid $500, she felt appalled by how Madonna was pushed around by "those cowboys": "bend over!", "look here!" so she showed her middle finger to the cameras. Later she got sued for the gesture for... 16 million dollars. Looks like the case got dropped luckily. As for Napster, no hurt feelings, she used to use it too. With copyright she's "on people's side"
UNREST
Watchable. It proves chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), like it's called these days, exists. It actually disables people. In some cases after infections the germs stay in the body affecting the system so badly you can't walk farther than a few steps in the most severe cases. What's disturbing, since 85% are women, the condition's rarely taken seriously. In Scandinavia girls with the disease are typically taken away from families who are blamed for negligence and forcefully hospitalised. The documentary's shot by one of sufferers whose mild smile and 70s-style locks are quite annoying to look at.
MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A.
Recommended. Starts with her saying she's "a terrorist's daughter" which grabs your attention immediately. You soon realise her father's a freedom fighter leading the Tamil Tigers - the only opposition the Sri Lankan dictatorship reckons with. Her uncle records rapes on women, some of whom are later ripped with grenades put in their vaginas to... conceal the traces of rape. The documentary, shot by Maya's school friend Steve, follows her from her arrival in the UK as a refugee, through the turning point when her protest song about the war back home had 1 million free Napster downloads which made her a star overnight. The video in which she repeats "I'm po-pu-lar" with a pout is amazing. The film features a lot of great music and Matangi's "bad dance moves" at home. She comes across as incredibly charismatic and talented, very headstrong. The movie proved to be a great hit among the festival audience.
In her home country the refugee hip hop star, currently residing in Britain, stays in all the time. Like she explained at the meeting after the screening that's because on the day of her arrival in Columbo, the capital, the 14 soldiers and police officers who had raped a woman at the main roundabout of the city, got acquitted of charges which resulted in mass protests. She was also harassed by uniformed men on a bus and was told by her mum to say no word or they'll end up killed in the jungle with no one knowing. She talked also about how years ago in the US she and her friend's tried to crash a Jay-Z's party. They actually got to his villa but turned back hearing women could enter only naked. Nowadays she's recording for his label. Another trivia she shared was that she had been growing up in admiration of Madonna as a strong woman and when she was invited by her to be her support at Super Bowl, for which the hip hop girl was paid $500, she felt appalled by how Madonna was pushed around by "those cowboys": "bend over!", "look here!" so she showed her middle finger to the cameras. Later she got sued for the gesture for... 16 million dollars. Looks like the case got dropped luckily. As for Napster, no hurt feelings, she used to use it too. With copyright she's "on people's side"
UNREST
Watchable. It proves chronic fatigue syndrome, or myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), like it's called these days, exists. It actually disables people. In some cases after infections the germs stay in the body affecting the system so badly you can't walk farther than a few steps in the most severe cases. What's disturbing, since 85% are women, the condition's rarely taken seriously. In Scandinavia girls with the disease are typically taken away from families who are blamed for negligence and forcefully hospitalised. The documentary's shot by one of sufferers whose mild smile and 70s-style locks are quite annoying to look at.
Sunday 20 May 2018
15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018
SINGLED OUT
Watchable. What two Spanish women single out in the documentary is a mass phenomenon. The audience comprised mostly of women around the age of 40 and the picture presented single females in their 30s from from the West, from the Near East and from the Far East. Peculiar info is that in China find-a-partner fairs are organised, women are pushed into getting married as soon as they turn 18, the pressure increases at 25 and peaks at 30. In all that a Ph. D. is an obstacle. In Turkey single women happen to be harassed and Erdoğan is trying to remove gender equality from the constitution, simultaneously calling unmarried childless females, or even those with fewer than 3-5 children "half-women". Worldwide, the higher educated and better-earning the woman is the lower is her chance of finding a relationship. The film doesn't go deep into the phenomenon but presents cultural differences. And there's one cute image of bats hanging upside down. Important scenes are displayed along with the credits.
SINGLED OUT
Watchable. What two Spanish women single out in the documentary is a mass phenomenon. The audience comprised mostly of women around the age of 40 and the picture presented single females in their 30s from from the West, from the Near East and from the Far East. Peculiar info is that in China find-a-partner fairs are organised, women are pushed into getting married as soon as they turn 18, the pressure increases at 25 and peaks at 30. In all that a Ph. D. is an obstacle. In Turkey single women happen to be harassed and Erdoğan is trying to remove gender equality from the constitution, simultaneously calling unmarried childless females, or even those with fewer than 3-5 children "half-women". Worldwide, the higher educated and better-earning the woman is the lower is her chance of finding a relationship. The film doesn't go deep into the phenomenon but presents cultural differences. And there's one cute image of bats hanging upside down. Important scenes are displayed along with the credits.
Wednesday 16 May 2018
15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018
THE FUTURE OF WORK AND DEATH
Recommended. A fantastic documentary on all things SF. It does not assume to have any answers, instead it poses several vital questions. Taken that in all probability in the next 20, 30, 50 years most jobs will disappear, longevity will increase further and the rich will be able to reverse aging, what will the world look like? Pros and cons are considered. E.g. Alzheimer's may affect as much as half the population. Plentiful data is given in support of the makers' claims that the advancements are bound to happen shortly. We already live in the world of abundance - producing 138% of what is needed for sustenance - and unequal distribution. Yet, even black Africa has seen massive healthcare improvements over the last 20 years. One hint for future planing we hear is that prospective jobs will need the most human of skills. The more robotic employment will be, the more human we'll need to get to stay in the career race. Transhuman ideology is heard too. Will we transfer the neuron networks which form our brains onto silicon ones and replace our physical selves with android bodies capable of sensing the surroundings in our quest of immortality?
THE FUTURE OF WORK AND DEATH
Recommended. A fantastic documentary on all things SF. It does not assume to have any answers, instead it poses several vital questions. Taken that in all probability in the next 20, 30, 50 years most jobs will disappear, longevity will increase further and the rich will be able to reverse aging, what will the world look like? Pros and cons are considered. E.g. Alzheimer's may affect as much as half the population. Plentiful data is given in support of the makers' claims that the advancements are bound to happen shortly. We already live in the world of abundance - producing 138% of what is needed for sustenance - and unequal distribution. Yet, even black Africa has seen massive healthcare improvements over the last 20 years. One hint for future planing we hear is that prospective jobs will need the most human of skills. The more robotic employment will be, the more human we'll need to get to stay in the career race. Transhuman ideology is heard too. Will we transfer the neuron networks which form our brains onto silicon ones and replace our physical selves with android bodies capable of sensing the surroundings in our quest of immortality?
Monday 14 May 2018
15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018
IN PRAISE OF NOTHING
Recommended. Iggy Pop's voice and the images are mesmerising. Shot by 62 cinematographers in 70 countries yet by no Poles since they didn't get the game of filming Nothing. The spellbinding pictures and sounds get an inspiring poetic narration - written overnight by director Boris Mitic. The narrative's tongue-in-cheek and observes the workings of the world: Americans try to buy Nothing, Asians attempt to clone it, Arabs want to re-tame, Europeans keep debating on what to do with it. At the same time the third world trades natural resources for entertainment.
IN PRAISE OF NOTHING
Recommended. Iggy Pop's voice and the images are mesmerising. Shot by 62 cinematographers in 70 countries yet by no Poles since they didn't get the game of filming Nothing. The spellbinding pictures and sounds get an inspiring poetic narration - written overnight by director Boris Mitic. The narrative's tongue-in-cheek and observes the workings of the world: Americans try to buy Nothing, Asians attempt to clone it, Arabs want to re-tame, Europeans keep debating on what to do with it. At the same time the third world trades natural resources for entertainment.
L'AMANT D'UN JOUR (LOVER FOR A DAY)
Watchable. An unemotional study of love. With some observations about love, e.g. that when you're in love even a street seems beautiful or how you notice details like someone touching your beloved woman's neck when giving her a coat. And with remarks about current political situation - the movie's French - on how you shouldn't sympathise with the enemy as that way you let yourself get killed whether at war or by jihadists.
KARSTEN OG PETRA LAGER TEATER (CASPER AND EMMA AT THE THEATRE)
Watchable. Very suitable for nursery age children. Full of well-meaning and nice children, adults, toy pets and real animals: pets and one mouse unwelcome by adults. Explains the world to children. Still, not everyone is into theatre. And the film's too long even for grown-ups.
Watchable. An unemotional study of love. With some observations about love, e.g. that when you're in love even a street seems beautiful or how you notice details like someone touching your beloved woman's neck when giving her a coat. And with remarks about current political situation - the movie's French - on how you shouldn't sympathise with the enemy as that way you let yourself get killed whether at war or by jihadists.
KARSTEN OG PETRA LAGER TEATER (CASPER AND EMMA AT THE THEATRE)
Watchable. Very suitable for nursery age children. Full of well-meaning and nice children, adults, toy pets and real animals: pets and one mouse unwelcome by adults. Explains the world to children. Still, not everyone is into theatre. And the film's too long even for grown-ups.
Saturday 12 May 2018
SCOPE 100
This year's Polish winner is:
AVA
Watchable. Light summer fun. Hot sun and hot young people. Shot in and around Bayonne, the part of France close to the Spanish border. Starts with a beach and a lovely dog. Then you meet a beautiful girl and a handsome boy - both mischievous. Things get steamy too which is shown quite graphically. Lastly, there's a budding love. A very pleasant movie. The only minus is that the girl, acted by Noée Abita - 19-year-old at the time - is said to be only 13 in the depicted story so her getting stark naked, a number of times in that, feels somewhat pedophiliac.
This year's Polish winner is:
AVA
Watchable. Light summer fun. Hot sun and hot young people. Shot in and around Bayonne, the part of France close to the Spanish border. Starts with a beach and a lovely dog. Then you meet a beautiful girl and a handsome boy - both mischievous. Things get steamy too which is shown quite graphically. Lastly, there's a budding love. A very pleasant movie. The only minus is that the girl, acted by Noée Abita - 19-year-old at the time - is said to be only 13 in the depicted story so her getting stark naked, a number of times in that, feels somewhat pedophiliac.
Tuesday 8 May 2018
TULLY
Recommended. I detest little children and find babies revolting so for me the beginning was just about all the nasty stuff: the body fattened and deformed by pregnancies, poo and piss everywhere, sleepless nights, kids throwing tantrums, one of them being "corky" - autism rather than Down's syndrome in my opinion, having to cook for the whole family, breastfeeding, visits at school, a daytime job gets mentioned too. Charlize Theron is so realistic - looks and acts like a genuine knackered mother. Then Mackenzie Davis makes the spectacular entry. She's amazing as Tully, the night nanny. And it's her personality that makes the film. Several issues get tackled on the margins: "good" schools versus budget ones, life expectations, house chores sharing. Nothing is what it first seems to be. The movie just blew me away.
Recommended. I detest little children and find babies revolting so for me the beginning was just about all the nasty stuff: the body fattened and deformed by pregnancies, poo and piss everywhere, sleepless nights, kids throwing tantrums, one of them being "corky" - autism rather than Down's syndrome in my opinion, having to cook for the whole family, breastfeeding, visits at school, a daytime job gets mentioned too. Charlize Theron is so realistic - looks and acts like a genuine knackered mother. Then Mackenzie Davis makes the spectacular entry. She's amazing as Tully, the night nanny. And it's her personality that makes the film. Several issues get tackled on the margins: "good" schools versus budget ones, life expectations, house chores sharing. Nothing is what it first seems to be. The movie just blew me away.
DUCK DUCK GOOSE
Watchable. Great music, pretty good animation, predictable yet suitable for children storyline. Kids laughed a couple of times. What almost ruins the movie though are the teenager-style dialogues full of slang (at least in the Polish translation) - not exactly for younger audience. There's a mid-credit with the turtle.
D'APRES DU UNE HISTOIRE VRAIE (BASED ON A TRUE STORY)
Watchable. If I hadn't been under the impression that I was watching a more feminine version of "Misery", I would call it intriguing. It's still full of mystery even though it follows the beaten track of a praying-mantis-woman genre. Thoroughly engaging, with a clear-cut storyline. Eva Green creates tension from the first appearance. The puzzle remains after the movie ends. Is she a fan? Or is she writing the novelist's biography? Is she real at all? Has the befriended writer taken over Her personality? Is the ghost writer trying to destroy her? It's clearly a different take on ghosting celebrities' biographies than in Polanski's own earlier "The Ghost Writer". A silly error slipped in: the X-ray of the supposedly metatarsal fracture... doesn't show the metatarsus.
Watchable. Great music, pretty good animation, predictable yet suitable for children storyline. Kids laughed a couple of times. What almost ruins the movie though are the teenager-style dialogues full of slang (at least in the Polish translation) - not exactly for younger audience. There's a mid-credit with the turtle.
D'APRES DU UNE HISTOIRE VRAIE (BASED ON A TRUE STORY)
Watchable. If I hadn't been under the impression that I was watching a more feminine version of "Misery", I would call it intriguing. It's still full of mystery even though it follows the beaten track of a praying-mantis-woman genre. Thoroughly engaging, with a clear-cut storyline. Eva Green creates tension from the first appearance. The puzzle remains after the movie ends. Is she a fan? Or is she writing the novelist's biography? Is she real at all? Has the befriended writer taken over Her personality? Is the ghost writer trying to destroy her? It's clearly a different take on ghosting celebrities' biographies than in Polanski's own earlier "The Ghost Writer". A silly error slipped in: the X-ray of the supposedly metatarsal fracture... doesn't show the metatarsus.
Sunday 6 May 2018
BEYOND THE SUN
Watchable. It's fairy-tale like in its naivety. All people are good, kind and well-meaning and the only dangers come from wild animals, weather and falling rocks. Pope Francis first makes a cameo speaking from a wall portrait Harry-Potter-style and then at the very end. The Polish version is all dubbed apart from the two Pope scenes which are voiced over. He doesn't say anything extraordinary though.
Watchable. It's fairy-tale like in its naivety. All people are good, kind and well-meaning and the only dangers come from wild animals, weather and falling rocks. Pope Francis first makes a cameo speaking from a wall portrait Harry-Potter-style and then at the very end. The Polish version is all dubbed apart from the two Pope scenes which are voiced over. He doesn't say anything extraordinary though.
Saturday 5 May 2018
TRUTH OR DARE
Watchable. Engrossing and really fun. When you analyze, it's pretty schematic but it doesn't give you a minute to step back and analyze. It's dubbed a horror but it's not really scary, just some teenage-level spooks. The ending is out of line with the protagonist's character. But a lovely 80s-style song over the credits leaves you with a good overall impression.
Watchable. Engrossing and really fun. When you analyze, it's pretty schematic but it doesn't give you a minute to step back and analyze. It's dubbed a horror but it's not really scary, just some teenage-level spooks. The ending is out of line with the protagonist's character. But a lovely 80s-style song over the credits leaves you with a good overall impression.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)