Friday 29 June 2018

WHITNEY

Recommended. She had everything going for her. Absolute pitch: when she unexpectedly had to cover for her mother, she was able to imitate all her movements on top of singing everything her way and years later she learnt the tune to perform at Superbowl after hearing it just once. She was a beauty too and worked as a model dreaming of singing. Robert de Niro was "chasing" the beautiful young budding singer as we hear in a TV podcast. Even if her mum was strict teaching her to sing, she did a tremendous job. The girl  was surrounded by a loving and supporting family and the church she loved going to. The church choir was her starting point but, unlike the talents in "Twenty Feet From Stardom", she made it. Her stardom gets a setting full of glamour of the 80s so her star shines all the brighter. Her musical mastery in the film impresses even me, who has never been a great fan of hers or the genre. Curiously drugs, alcohol and cigarettes (in this order) didn't do any damage to her voice for several years. But her childhood nightmare of "devil chasing her" came true on a number of occasions. First witness of her father's infidelity, she later tied a knot with Bobby Brown who, unable to handle living in the shadow of her success, quickly became unfaithful. He also painted demons and devils on the walls of his room. Pretending to be a happy family worked for the public eye but Dee Dee Warwick, Dionne Warwick's sister, abused sexually Whitney and her brother in childhood which damaged the singer in her prime years. Funnily, her family didn't like Whitney's true friend Robyn because she was gay. Whitney claimed never to have had sexual relations with her but the fear of homosexuality among her Christian family was greater than any suspicion of anyone within the family could be a true pervert. On top of that her actual father once filed a 100 m $ lawsuit against her. Interestingly, one person who truly understood her was Michael Jackson. You also learn of the black community's, including the Houstons', perception of "Bodyguard". Showing a black woman acting white, including falling into Kevin Costner's arms, just like white couples did in movies, presents the view known from "I Am Not Your Negro" - the black history was different and she was just a girl from the hood, like all others. In this light it's not surprising she fancied Bobbie Brown – a typical „nigger”. She had brilliant ideas for films which, due to her drug addiction, never saw a daylight, e.g.: "David and Bathsheba. Me and Mel Gibson." When her end was nigh, she knew she would die and was preparing for it, not scared. Her faith in God protected her at least from that.

THE LEISURE SEEKER

Recommended. Filled with love till the end. A dignified elderly couple go on their last road trip with adventures. Due to his memory lapses once he drives away without her. Another time thugs want to rob them off. The old gentleman is obsessed with his wife's... first boyfriend. She manifests her forgiveness for his trespasses. Acted wonderfully by Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland. The journey takes them through varied landscapes of the United States casually showing the beauty of changing climate zones. On the other hand it highlights what happened to some of American symbols. Hemingway's house has become a wedding venue. The writer, who committed suicide, is no coincidence, he's central to the plot. The ending's very sad and left me depressed for the rest of the day.

Thursday 28 June 2018

DEADPOOL 2

Damn it! I overlooked the Stan Lee mural again. At least I did notice Brad Pitt when his character, Vanisher, gets electrocuted. I caught some details I either missed or forgot to mention here before. When Peter - the middle-aged chubby guy - applies for the job with a picture of Chris Pine, maybe with a slightly elongated face but it was shown very briefly, Deadpool asks: "Are you a catfish?" Another time he comments that X-Men symbolised racism of the 60s - I personally never thought about it that way but to Americans that's probably obvious. Wade's sexism to Domino continues when she enquires: "Are all X-Force members dead?" and he puts her down: "All the main ones." There's a Harry Potter reference when he muses: "Is there like a sorting hat?" in the prison. George Michael and David Bowie's deaths get a mention. The mid-credit starts with a girl repairing a device with a Wonder Woman-like remark: "How is it possible for such a small thing to turn back time?" Bond-style "Pool. Deadpool." appears in the final credits.

Tuesday 26 June 2018

BIG BOOK FESTIVAL

No, I'm not going to write about books here, unless film-relevant. I attended a meeting with "Brokeback Mountain" book author, Annie Proulx. She had spent several years in the forested area of Wyoming and located the action there. In the movie she wanted every detail retained. Yet, Wyoming lacked the infrastructure needed for such an enormous venture. So pictures were taken of Wyoming locations and... almost copies were found in Canada where the film was eventually shot. The locations were spot on. Wyoming residents thought it was Wyoming.

Monday 25 June 2018

NIGHT FILM MARATHON - THE MARATHON OF HORROR

I skipped "Hereditary", which is on general release, to spare myself the disappointment and the rubbish ending again and I saw only the three exquisite films which had their one-off shows that night:

DELIRIUM

Recommended. On the one hand it resembles "The Shining" - a man has to stay alone in a huge house for a month, his hallucinations (or not) include a (motor)bike and blood. But these are just subtle references to the classic. This one breaks the horror pattern. For a larger part you don't know what's real and what's not. There are also references to some world-shocking crimes revealed in the recent years.

47 METERS DOWN

Recommended. Everything that could go wrong underwater happens here which makes it quite realistic. There's nowhere to point and say it's not true. Each part of it could happen. Basildon Underwater Studios and Dominicana make for Mexico in the movie. But it looks genuine. Ah, they go shark diving. These animals are one of the dangers in this gripping story.

REVENGE

Recommended. She's hot and beautiful - acted by Matilda Lutz, they are cold-blooded perverted killers. The plot is filled with feminine force - directed by a woman, Carolie Fargeat - and creative, e.g. in the way it shows her waking up repeatedly. Excellent party-like music by Rob. Outstanding cinematography. A slasher movie dripping in blood but in what style!

Friday 22 June 2018

PETER RABBIT

Recommended for the third time. I still noticed details I probably missed before: rabbits fencing with celery sticks at the party, further remarks on humans e.g. on the garden tools shop assistants: "they both wear aprons which clearly implies they are hedgehogs", ladies wearing different floral blouses and dresses which match the flowery garden. Also now I finally realize the fox is the one who chased the rabbits in the very beginning and the house buyers are the same people who rebuked the young Mc Gregor in the town. The way rabbits bounce off obstacles and express such a variety of emotions is amazing animation-wise. Several scenes were hilarious even this time e.g. cleaning after the party involving taking carrots out of the ceiling. I also noticed more touching fragments than before and a wide range of music used.
EYE ON JULIET

Recommended. Kim Nguyen is incredible. How is it possible that some Canadian guy with an Asian name understands African (black in "War Witch" and Arab in "Eye on Juliet") cultures and women so well? This time we have globalisation, hexagons and a very modern variation of "Romeo and Juliet". And it does make sense in the movie. Kim Nguyen has created another extraordinary story, this time shot in the US, Ouarzazate Province in Morocco and a little in Paris. Regular pictures mix with night vision and a dash of slow motion. A genius combination of elements seemingly from different cinematic universes. About universality of feelings. And with humour, especially in the scene of a robotic guidance of a blind elderly Arab to whom the operator won't admit he's a robot.




Sunday 17 June 2018

14TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

THE IMPURE

Recommended. Disturbing how huge the trafficking of Polish women into brothels of Buenos Aires was. Pimps would marry them or kidnap from streets and houses - the result was the same. When already captured, for disobedience you could be put outside naked and poured on with cold water. 6000 women asked for help but later failed to testify rendering the pimps free to go. By law an "impure" woman could quit first serving men for free for a month. All that in the early 20th century among Jews. And it's the first time somebody is bringing these facts to light.

NURNBERG UND SEINE LEHRE (NUREMBERG: IT'S LESSON FOR TODAY)

Watchable. Surprisingly dull. It recounts the whole history of Nazi conquest and then you hear the meaningless blablabla of the masterminds defending themselves. It was worth seeing only to learn two things: Hitler always issued a statement proclaiming friendship between 2 countries less than a year before invading it. The defendants at the trial each pretended to be unaware of what was going on right under their noses and of the consequences of their political decisions. Unbelievable in the face of what they did. Luckily most were hanged or got life imprisonment.


LE SENS DE LA FETE (C'EST LA VIE)

Watchable. A romantic comedy with the emphasis on romantic. Just a handful of situations are funny, e.g. a guy wearing trousers looking like pyjamas hears comments about it even in Tamil and the groom flies away at his wedding reception because the staff forget to hold onto the balloon. The event gets saved by Indian staff who all played in an orchestra back home which makes for one little social comment in the movie. It's basically about a party where everything goes wrong but, as one of the characters remarks, where things get awry, everything is as it should be. So in the morning all relationships and positions, at work and society, are either newly created or refreshed.


14TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

THE JEWISH UNDERGROUND

Watchable. It's better to be familiar with what Shin Bet is to understand it well. But even without background knowledge you see how close in geographic terms the Israeli and Arab worlds are and how distant they are mentally. You only hear the Jewish side and the discussion is about the effects rather than moral grounds. There's so much hostility towards Arabs that the terrorists have got enormous social and political support. They enjoyed big privileges in prison and were to be pardoned even before they were sentenced. Now they are major political advisors. A clear sign law never matters as much as a salient idea does.

SHALOM BOLLYWOOD: THE UNTOLD STORY OF INDIAN CINEMA

Watchable. Traces Jewish origins of the notion of a heroine in Bollywood and the story of Jewish women and men in Indian cinema. Sadly it ends in the 80s. Is there no one now?


SHOW DOGS

Watchable. 80s style music and fun action in the style of "Beverly Hills Cop" with the difference that here the guy is not black. He's a dog in a movie full of glamour: pampered pedigree dogs, beautiful women in cocktail dresses, opulent parties. The dog can't wait for someone to "finally train" his human partner. Lots of slapstick with dogs and a cute baby panda. Very entertaining even if just like all other talking animal comedies. In the finale the dogs set up a team with a licence to bite. Deleted scenes followed by set stills are shown over the credits. Some of the photos show Will Arnett cuddling "Max".

Even children in the audience were well-trained.


14TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

(Я ДОЛЖНА РАССКАЗАТЬ) I MUST TELL

Recommended. A very emotional, very personal account of a woman who, at the age of 14-17, was in the Jewish ghetto in Vilnius and in the Stutthof concentration camp. Harrowing. Impressive how she was lucky, or had to help her luck, repeatedly to survive.

NUSSBAUM 95736

Recommended. A less intimate story, in fact you get the impression he skips the most horrid experiences. But it's a deepened testimony of how you perceive others. Are you going to sacrifice a stranger's life to save your brother's? Will you accept a German daughter-in-law after the experience of 2 concentration camps? It's peculiar how a patchwork family was formed out of those who lost parents and who lost a child. While the film highlights the hypocritical "Arbeit macht frei" on the gate, it's another testimony that those few who survived were the ones who worked.

MISS HOLOCAUST

Watchable. The Holocaust survivors' beauty pageant serves only to show it's there and that you can celebrate your survival and have fun in life. Other than that it only presents the competition step by step. No obvious depth.


BLOCKERS

Watchable. Not as ludicrous as in the trailer which comprised of the worst bits. Still, it's silly enough. I recognised right away the tale about parents trying to stop their daughters losing virginity on prom night was written by a bloke. As it turns out, it was scripted by two men. Their idea of girls' world is downright masculine and presented as if they wanted to persuade girls to have sex more eagerly. Luckily it's all quite entertaining. Glamorous dresses, music ranging from Taio Cruz ("Dynamite"), through Chick Norris, to Mozart, eye-catching interior decors. Lots of slapstick, mildly funny, e.g. a guy tripping over the same boy twice, with one hilarious bit when a mum sneaking on her daughter gets electrocuted. Homosexuality is treated lightly too. Serious undertones apply to parents who won't let their teenage offspring experience life on their own, even if they adamantly state they will.

RAMPAGE

Watchable. Starts promising: first comes a note about illegal genetic engineering and then you get an awesome view of a space station. But action quickly brings you back to Earth where giant: gorilla, wolf and fancy reptile, looking like a dragon and emerging from the Chicago River like Godzilla, wreak havoc in the city. Dwayne "Rock" Johnson, who I took to after "Jumanji", saves the day. Unsophisticated fun.

THE EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF THE FAKIR

Recommended. A truly extraordinary modern-day fairy-tale taking you across the globe and all layers of the society. You meet pickpockets, cons, a blind beggar, refugees as well as a marketing VD and a film star. In the colourful world the main topic is inequality and what determines our lives: luck, karma, parents' status? I cried and laughed, e.g. a refugee to a British immigration officer: "I don't want to stay in England." "Why? Is it weather?" Shot in Paris, Mumbai, Brussels, Rome but featuring the UK, Libya and Spain as well.  With "Madaari" dance number and 2 more Bollywood and Burkinabe songs.

GOD'S NOT DEAD: A LIGHT IN DARKNESS

Should have walked out. The black priest first says he understands Swahili the best, then he utters his last words: "Mungu ni mzuri wakati wote" ("God is good all the time") in Swahili and a few minutes later he's mentioned as a priest from... Ghana. Swahili's not spoken there! The characters in this part are barely tolerable, the adult brothers' bickering is silly. I waited all the time for the trial which eventually didn't take place. Waste of time. Can a church be located on a state university campus is a valid question but the movie lacks a decent storyline.

HEREDITARY

Watchable. The family story is so engaging you don't notice what rubbish horror it is till it's too late. Starts with death, then comes talking about signs, then the omens appear and towards the end more and more characters act insane. Not scary.

UN BEAU SOLEIL INTERIEUR (LET THE SUNSHINE IN)

Watchable. Overtalked but overly realistic - about trying to rebuild your love life in middle age. The road of romance takes her from a fat, old, married, rude chap, through a few affairs, again including a married guy, in which she's desperate for love or at least commitment. It's quite life-like when the men manipulate her one after another.

LOVE EXPRESS. ZAGINIECIE WALERIANA BOROWCZYKA (LOVE EXPRESS. THE DISAPPEARANCE OF WALERIAN BOROWCZYK)

Recommended. From Docs Against Gravity to HBO. A big chunk of the history of cinema. With a clever observation that the sex revolution in the cinema of the 70s was male: by males and for males. Also an intro to Borowczyk comprehensible to people who didn't watch movies back then. Fully autonomous artistic vision appears to be quintessential to creating a good film. With amusing close-ups on Slavoj Žižek (famous for "The Pervert's Guide to Ideology") who's "quite an actor" that the director "would be happy to cast again".

LE TRIP À TROIS 

Watchable. Not funny at all. Are all francophones obsessed with sex? It's Canadian so at least music is moslty in English.

CZUWAJ

Watchable. The very beginning with the air view of a coach going into the woods is tacky - resembles trashy horrors. Then comes quite a reasonable introduction with ambiguous characters. But from the first murder on it's more and more stereotypical and, even with the movie lasting 90 minutes, feels protracted. You eventually learn who killed and why but the final scene is frustratingly inconclusive in terms of punishment. There's a black and white version of the movie as well but the cinematography is poor either way. So is the acting. Worst of all the whole film looks as if the creators couldn't make up their minds if it's going to be crime/thriller/psychologic/Catholic-nationalist drama.

At the premiere the young actors got their costumes (scout uniforms) as memoirs. Artur Barciś, who acted as the priest, joked he "wasn't even given a cassock".

THE CHANGEOVER

Watchable. Fantasy with elements of horror for teenagers. A weird movie. The magical story has little suspense and is poorly acted. Shot with plenty of close-ups. Uneven music ranges from barely bearable to really catchy - the best piece is played along with the credits. The post-credit takes you back to the reckless and joyful beginning.

BLANKA

Recommended. Watch your wallet if you ever wander into the slums of Manila. The little girl begs and steals so primarily it's a warning for potential tourists to the Philippines. But the whole story's more than that. It's poignant. The world of slums is one of extreme poverty: sleeping right on the street in a city that never sleeps, stealing from strangers and friends alike, bathing in the contaminated and littered sea, being vulnerable to robberies and kidnappings and of desperate attempts to form a family. The story's quite unusual, the girl's tough and resourceful, yet her naive dream is one coming from a world where money's everything. Every human is for sale. Crosses everywhere: round people's necks and in their ears, God slogans on walls look alien. Money only can't replace what the treet children truly covet. An important picture but so depressing I don't want to see it again.

LOVING PABLO

Recommended. He was outrageous, audacious and smart as hell. Whatever Pablo Escobar did was bold. His first depicted move was getting the beautiful journalist divorced. Achieving that his own way. Fast forward and a special 500-men unit was formed to apprehend him. He even served his prison time on his own conditions. Javier Bardem impersonated the drug lord convincingly. The movie's got good suspense, twists of action - based on facts -  and a great score, even over the credits. Clever entertainment. It also explains what sicarios are (teenage hitmen whose families will get 20 000 dollars, which is more they could ever earn, if they get killed on the job) - right before the release of the second part of "Sicario".

PRZY PLANTY 7/9

Recommended. It was the first time I heard about the incident from 1946. The pogrom was so shockingly brutal. How was it possible that a few dozens people gathered murder 42 people in total for a few hours. The police, soldiers, civilians, including plenty of women. After those testimonies you just see different ways of coping with the guilt but the whole documentary is tear-jerking, not just the harrowing accounts.

RACE 3

Watchable. Nefarious gang dealings, the megarich and family at the core of motivation. The production follows the stalwart rules of blockbuster Bollywood: obligatory muscled men in glamourous cars, gorgeous women in breathtaking dresses, spectacular choreographies, with scantily clad mostly blonde dancers and with music getting better and better as the plot develops and brings in new twists of action. The very first choreography was dreadful though - duck faces and actors out of the rhythm. Later pole-dancing finds its way into the movie, clearly getting worldwide recognition, it features in one of the dance bits in the middle of the film. Combat scenes are realistic, based in actual martial arts. Russians are invariably stereotypical blondes, with women being whores and men inept suitors of Indian beauties. My first impression, however, was of overdone editing and camerawork giving dynamic scenes an artificial look. Slow mo's fine but what they did additionally was accelerating the picture which made it all appear fake and at times quite absurd, e.g. when a car gets sped up and you see a background woman suddenly walking unnaturally fast. Of course, it is all fictitious and far-fetched - obvious in the genre - but the visuals are spoilt. In one scene an actress has eyeshadow visible on her lashes and unconcealed skin blemishes. Quite a lot of imperfections for one cinematic release. Still, Salman Khan, who produced the movie and probably got digitally de-aged again since he looks younger and younger in subsequent productions, voluptuous Jacqueline Fernandez and curvaceous Daisy Shah together with opulent residences, designer cars and glamorous outfits provide enough break from reality. Catchy tunes stay in your mind after leaving the theatre.

The screening renewed my deliberation on why Indian cinema, matching the quality of American films, doesn't find following in the West. Action with music videos in between would be fine with European viewers. I think the reason may be Indian audience. In Poland that is. In Britain I saw dozens of Bollywood movies with no greater disturbance. Does a different sort of Indians come to Poland than to the UK? I usually try to sit far from others, even at western movies, so as not to hear others' conversations - couples and groups of friends occasionally can't refrain from talking. But this time it wasn't enough. First even mere turning off the lights and then each star's (Anil Kapoor, Salman Khan, Saqib Saleem, Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah) first appearance on the screen was met with deafeaning applause. The same happened at key moments or whenever actresses' legs were shown, even not the leads', an extra in hotpants prompted a roaring cheer as well. Apart from that some kid was talking along with the film, a guy would shout out something loud, clearly eager to be heard by the audience. No one objected. Being probably the only white person in the room I felt helpless. I've noticed that the cinema plays Bollywood louder than other films. Must be for a reason. Yet, the volume from the loudspeakers and the extra decibels from the audience can be tolerated only by those hooked on Bollywood already.

Saturday 16 June 2018

TAXI 5

Watchable. Great music: Arabic, Western, Latino, name it. Marseille looks bewitching. Hilarious gags: the police don't recognize a suspect from a nearly identical picture and a criminal explains his weed plantation as "fresh, aromatic herbs: rosemary, basil, emmental". Only vomiting and dog excrement flying onto people detract from the fun.

The trailer of "I Feel Pretty" looks like it's going to be a comedy with serious undertones. I'm looking forward to it.

GHOST STORIES

Watchable. Slow, with sentimental music and all standard horror gimmicks which fail to scare taken the lack of atmosphere. The guy with Polish name "Marek" is said to be Russian, speaks with Russian accent and uses Polish word "złośliwy" (malicious) which turns into "złowrogi" (sinister) in Polish subtitles. Rubbish ending. I waited because in the middle you're told "it's always the last key that opens the door". But here this door ruins what was bad already.

SOBIBOR

Recommended. It's brutal. Nazi labour camps were. The contrast between what the loudspeakers announce and what is found, let alone what awaits the new arrivals, is startling. The shower scene re-works creatively the corresponding scene from "Schindler's List". Nazis partying is another shocking fragment. Consulted on history, Yiddish and perfectly cinematic at the same time. Also Polish is correct. Great acting. The characters of Pechersky and Shlomo deserve special attention since those people played a great role in Nazi captures after the war. The best lesson from the story is: in case you end up in a concentration camp, run early, as long as you're still fit and have some body fat. And plan well. That's the secret beyond the only successful escape. The most disconcerting info comes in the print at the very end. I'd love to see a continuation about how so many of the escapees were turned in to Nazis by locals. 

MOMO (FINDING MOMO)

Watchable. Another in the series of French comedies dealing with "others" and our prejudices. Not really comic but Christian Clavier's as great as ever and saves the movie. Still, the only funny bits are ones with animals: the look of the cat and the scene with the dog at the vet's who recognizes the Alsatian understands only German so he switches from French to German to explain to the dog to be nice to his masters and then charges them 80 euro. Most of the film however is making fun of disabled people and women's maternal instincts. Hardly amusing. No mid- or post-credits in this one.

MCQUEEN

Recommended. A perfectly structured documentary: from the famous fashion designer's humble beginnings - though his works were mind-blowing even in the early stage - through his successive collections and growing acclaim up to the grand finale show on the catwalk and his tragic death. He was a genius but also a mean person, using and manipulating people, had no qualms about cutting off his mentor to keep his riches to himself and used to persuade people to work for him for free - though this was partly justified since he badly needed money himself. Tragically his eventual massive success - well deserved - didn't bring him relief but work, work and ever more work. Cocaine and his closed ones' deaths were the final nails to his coffin. The film's inspiring, gripping and enchanting. Once the series of early credit shots end, that's the end.

JEUNE FEMME (MONTPARNASSE BIENVENUE)

Watchable. Easy to relate to for anyone who's lived in another city. The pictures are as grey as her life. Only one scene, which shows a little fragment of Paris and a bridge with lights, is picturesque but the beautiful city is just a backdrop to all things grinding: looking for accommodation and for a job, healing your broken heart and forehead, meeting people and trying to prove yourself, sexual harassment and a rape attempt, last but not least a pregnancy. The protagonist is neither satisfied nor cheerful but she's happy-go-lucky which is her survival tactic. 


大鱼·海棠 (BIG FISH & BEGONIA)

Watchable. Colourful but not saturated, very much like Chinese paintings. Red dolphins - the colour is lucky in Chinese culture and since they don't exist in reality if you spot one, it's a soul. Fairy-tale like: the pictures, the music, the story. The mid-credit shows you need to demonstrate courage, bravery and love to become a soul guardian. May have been more powerful had it been more subtle.

ZIMNA WOJNA (COLD WAR)

Recommended. All the awe is justified. It's a film so hard-hitting you need a while to recover from it. Starts subtly and then unnoticeably entangles you with emotions so powerful they stun you. High contrast black and white, probably enhanced in post-production, deserves an applause in its own right. It extracts details and makes each shot an artwork. Meticulously recreated 1950s in communist Poland: in scenography, music, dialogues, costumes. Original folk songs by Tadeusz Sygietynski and jazz by George Gershwin. Krzysztof Materna makes a cameo as a compere. The female lead, Joanna Kulig, resembles Jennifer Lawrence. A cold war is waged not only between the East and West of Europe but also between the two star-crossed lovers as well as between the musician and his careerist friend.

Friday 15 June 2018

15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

DREAMING MURAKAMI

Watchable. I've never read Murakami and found it a useful introduction to his works. I also learnt that the Japanese duality of your inner self and your outer self is often reflected in literature, especially his. That's what the Frog and the Snail appear for. There were some remarks on the language too, e.g. that you need to know 1850 characters to read a newspaper, that a double ideogram for a tree is a grove and a triple is a wood or that a man and a tree means resting i.e. like leaning against a tree, similarly a mother and a child equals love. Add his Danish translator's biography and that's the film. Relatively short and pleasant. Plenty of Murakami quotes and a bit of weirdness in the form of a walking frog. Still, all that doesn't explain why some people are drawn do Murakami's stories, even in The West.

TURYSCI (TOURISTS)

Recommended. Great fun, I could keep watching on and on. Takes you round the world as seen by Polish tourists. Lots of holiday pleasures and new experiences: some shocking, like dog meat, some enjoyable, e.g. dancing, some unpleasant, like a tourist practically assaulted by greedy African women and children robbing all her money. With great music - both local and composed by Zamilska. I don't know what the authors shot the film for but it bewilders you with such an array of countries and cultures it's pure fun, even if with no clear point. And it's not true what people say about mindless tourists. The tourists are more of a mirror the rest of the world is reflected in. From the meeting with the makers I know they despise Polish folks on foreign trips. Luckily the film doesn't show that. It's just summer enjoyment.

PLAYING MEN

Watchable. 8 sports and games men play in Turkey, Croatia and Italy. Entertaining, with lots of surprises. My favourite part was the cheese rolling down through the whole town of Navara in Italy. It would bounce off walls and keep rolling on without any help of a man. Not all games were equally interesting. The passages in between were a bit too long. The editing could be more dynamic.

Summing up the festival, it bewilders you with the quality as well as the quantity. The films and the music gigs were amazing. The debates were skippable. The meetings with filmmakers were as good, or occasionally as bad, as their works. The educational screenings for schools comprised of outstanding short documentaries about children and teenagers and the educator was perfectly well prepared for working with kids. I hope the new generation will be better for the world and others than the current ones. A number of films had mid- and post-credits. Apparently even the documentary genre has embraced this tactic. The program was filled to the brim. It's best to take the 9 days off and spend them at the cinema and accompanying events from morning till night. Cinemas should offer sleeping couches for enthusiasts like me.


BELLE ET SÉBASTIEN 3: LE DERNIER CHAPITRE (BELLE AND SEBASTIAN, FRIENDS FOR LIFE)

Watchable. A very wintry film with plenty of snow. This part is heart-wrenching and so dark I could barely stand it. But of course the dogs are wonderful (Belle acted by 4 different ones) and it ends well, mostly.

Wednesday 13 June 2018

15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

ENSAYO DE DESPEDIDA (FAREWELL ESSAY)

Walked out. Why would I watch photographs of a family of some strangers or their house being emptied?

EX-PAJE (EX-SHAMAN)

Watchable. A bleak picture of white men ruining natives' habitats in Brazil. At the same time a picture of modernity mixing with tradition among Indians - no running water but electricity and the Internet. Adults hunt for monkeys, children play computer "Hunting" games. I wonder if the folk tale that a snake can't look into fire is true. The necessity to kill snakes survives all epochs.

MUCHOS HIJOS, UN MONO Y UN CASTILLO (LOTS OF KIDS, A MONKEY AND A CASTLE)

Watchable. Partly about hoarding - the protagonist has accumulated so many objects over her lifetime she can't fit them into a flat. But that's only part of the picture. The 81-year-old lady has such a rich personality the film watches like Almodovar's. No beggining or ending but she fills the picture completely. 

DOLPHIN MAN VR

Recommended. It's as if you were there: you have goggles on your nose making breathing a bit harder and the fish, sea mammals and divers look enormous which reflects the triple close-up you experience in water. A shark turns round in the last moment. And of course it's all around you: in front and back, to the left and right, above and below. Total immersion in virtual diving.

THE SUN LADIES VR

Recommended. Puts you right at their dining table or in front of the troop of the women soldiers who normally fight against ISIS. Since the Muslim radicals believe they won't go to paradise if killed by a woman, the female soldiers sing for the enemy to know who's killing them.

I SAW THE FUTURE VR

Watchable. Only depth, practically in one direction but it's fascinating that a few decades ago Arthur C. Clarke predicted the future correctly.

GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT AND BAMI

Watchable. A swearing long-legged model with a voice but singing the same song with different, vulgar lyrics every time. Cool hats. The documentary lacks her modelling and acting career.

IMPULSO

Watchable. Well-structured, the dancer moved amazingly but it just failed to electrify me. Though, I admit, I felt like tapping my feet on my way back.

SENGIRE (THE ANCIENT WOODS)

Watchable. Only pictures, no music. Images and sounds of a Lithuanian wood with rare sights like a badger or a bison. Let's you unwind. The cinematography is correct but doesn't bewitch you. Feels drowsy at times.

THE CLEANERS

Watchable. Touted as revelatory, it's just about the removal of porn, terrorism or child abuse from the Internet. The job takes its toll on the moderators so all the more I feel grateful those conscious people with integrity do it. No conspiracies here.

Sunday 10 June 2018

SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY AT IMAX 3D

Recommended. A simple story but tremendously satisfactory. You get all the major bits: Han's surname, early career, how he meets Chewbacca and acquires the Millennium Falcon. Often times I felt touched. I had been apprehensive since Alden Ehrenreich did not look like young Harrison Ford. But from the first scene I knew he was spot on. His movements and facial expressions were so Han Solo I loved him from the start. Two scenes show how beneficial it is in life, including, ehem, professional life, to speak foreign languages. I'd especially recommend learning Wookie. Only 2 pieces in the score are by John Williams: the Han Solo theme and the Star Wars theme and those are used sparingly but at times vital for the whole series development. It was shot in the Dolomites and in Fuerteventura. Both Imax and 3D are spectacular. 

The trailer of  "The Incredibles 2" is very promising and modern: the superdad stays home taking care of the kids while his superwife gets the job.

Upcoming "Ant-Man and the Wasp" looks good on the giant Imax screen, especially the superforceful stopping of a vehicle which no one in the nearby cafe notices since everyone is looking at their own mobile/laptop screen.


15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

A CAMPAIGN OF THEIR OWN

Watchable. Overtalked and assuming you know how politics in the US work. Made for Americans rather than anyone else. But it shows that even Bernie Sanders' supporters had more trust in Hilary because of Bernie's age. Also, even though "she's Wall Street", people favoured her for being able to accomplish things.

WALDHEIMS WALZER (THE WALDHEIM WALTZ)

Watchable. Shows both sides of the argument as well as the fact the deeds of our youth can come back to us a few decades later. While it's a bit protracted with too many utterances thrown in, especially some boring political ones, it asks on the margin the vital question of why it was Hitler who won. He gave jobs to the unemployed, the Rothschilds didn't. It also stresses it wasn't only Jews who were killed.

DIE GRUNE LUGE (THE GREEN LIE)

Watchable. It denounces corporate lies. No palm oil, used in every other processed food product, in the world is sustainable, in fact sustainability awards are handed in by the industry itself. BP has never completed the clean-up after the Mexican Gulf spill resulting from the Deepwater Horizon disaster which in turn originated from the drill platform maintenance neglection. Tesla cars need much more energy to manufacture than petrol ones. At the same time corporations hold as much power as emperors did centuries ago. Only stringent regulations could save the world but they are unlikely to be imposed since activists are typically silenced. The only minus of the film is too long conversations between the two makers-investigators.

GÉNÉRAL IDI AMIN DADA: AUTOPORTRAIT (GENERAL IDI AMIN DADA: A SELF-PORTRAIT)

Watchable. The self-portrait presents a megalomaniac Ugandan leader. "I'm the mosty heighesty head of state." The film starts with a public execution footage. "After a century of colonization isn't it a distorted view of us that Amin sends us?" He talks to his cabinet of ministers: "We have more women managers than any African country. We have how many? We have 4." I don't know if the faulty subtitles were burnt into the film or added in Poland but when the leader calls "Jambo rafiki" ("Hello, friend"), the subtitles appear for some reason and say: "Jambaro fiki".
15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

THE STRANGER

Recommended. About a perfect psychopath. Made by a very smart girl. Just see how she unravels his slick lies.


Then I took another break in the festival to see:

BOOK CLUB

Watchable. About sex lives of people around the age of 70 but much better than recent "Finding Your Feet". Fun to watch. With Candice Bergen - fantastic as a federal judge who adjourns a hearing because her son is on the phone, Andy Garcia - a pilot who asks a woman out by making a cabin crew member take down her details: "We need your full name and address, your phone number, your email address and which evenings you have free.", Don Johnson, Jane Fonda - both as fit as ever, Diane Keaton. Accompanied by insignificant music, with a schematic, predictable plot, but full of raunchy jokes.


And back at the:

15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018


BREXITANNIA

Watchable. Black and white, consisting of dull utterances one after another, in similar - nearly all British, obviously - accents. The black and white picture makes all skin colours similar even when you hear them talk about racism. At least it does provide an array of explanations. I'm no longer shocked the majority voted out.

HATETS VUGGE (GOLDEN DAWN GIRLS)

Watchable. It confirms all the social psychology findings about hate speech leading to violence and about being in denial. Nothing new.

L'AVOCAT DE LA TERREUR (TERROR'S ADVOCATE)

Watchable. He defended the Serpent and several African dictators but the film deals at length with the cases of Algerian Djamila or Magdalena Kopp of Baader-Meinhof with both of who he became infatuated. It mentions his defense of Klaus Barbie only briefly. At the same time you get the explanation of him having been treated unjustly because of his half-Vietnamese origins, his dislike of bulling as well as of his first defense where facing a hoodlum he thought he might have been just like him. He's a shrewd lawyer. Still, it's 138 minutes of talking heads with little insight.

DESERT OF THE REAL

Watchable. Half the audience walked out, most in the first half an hour. The film's complete chaos. The few deserted cities are so eerie each could form a set of a science fiction movie. The war and arms fair footage is inspiring too. The selfie and social media side is total rubbish. It's all mixed up incoherently. Ah, I've learnt there are a few Venices recreated all over the world, mostly in China.

MOUNTAIN

Recommended. Mountains haven't won me over. The picture has. It takes you through the history of exploration of mountains presenting stunning images and showcasing incredible sports.

Saturday 9 June 2018

15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

78/52

Recommended. A thorough analysis of "Psycho" - the structure of the famous shower scene, precision in planning other elements in this and other Hitchcock's movies. Makes you appreciate them more. It also places the film in history showing how avant-garde it was at the time and how it affected cinema for years to come. It also proves any re-shooting was and will be doomed to failure. Made me notice details I wasn't aware of.

EL SILENCIO DE LOS OTROS (THE SILENCE OF OTHERS)

Recommended. Renders the agony of the victims of Franco's regime emotionally. You just feel the injustice the Amnesty Act, which equalled to not punishing the culprits, has caused and how grief grows in time as manifested in the case of Chile and Spain where amnesties were implemented and justice still hasn't been done.

DIE DRITTE OPTION (THE THIRD OPTION)

Watchable. Spoken monotonously and unemotionally but tackles the issue of terminating disabled foetuses from all points of view. Shows what life awaits such children if born in Austria where they get excellent care but forcing them to learn walking or basic vocabulary appears to cause them pain. Yet you realize killing the foetus is traumatic to a prospective mother as well. 

ワールドイズマイン (THE WORLD IS MINE)


Watchable. Sweet and kawaii but pointless. It shows what it's like to cosplay but with no background. Just a peculiar hobby. For the Japanese it's a chance to be oneself, to escape into a fantasy world or to be admired but you get this insight accidentally. There's a post-credit. Equally pointless.

HET MEISJE VAN 672K (THE GIRL OF 672K)

Recommended. Short but thorough and visually attractive. Everything you need to know about being an Instagram star and a bit about YouTubers too. If I used Instagram at all, I'd become her fan too. Impressive how at 13-15 years old the girl learnt professional photography and editing. She's incredibly creative. Also about disadvantages, e.g. having to upload new pictures every 3 days in order not to lose fans. Also about how you can find your talent and ignore your weaknesses making up for them elsewhere.

BORNENE PA SILKVEJEN: INDIEN - MUSIK I BLODET (KIDS ON THE SILK ROAD: INDIA - MUSIC IN MY BLOOD)

Watchable. There's a whole village of wedding musicians. The job makes a living but provides no recognition. The story of a boy who has different plans is simple and naive but it's a short documentary with plenty of information about the profession.

SULUKULE MON AMOUR

Watchable. The dance is shown only in slow-motion and without accompanying music so you don't even know if the 2 girls have talent. Luckily it's very short.

AVANT LA FIN DE L'ÉTÉ (BEFORE SUMMER ENDS)

Watchable. A pleasant film about a laidback summer holiday with plenty of insight into Iran, e.g. conscription meaning 2 years in the army, France resembling the north of Iran a lot, the great influence of Islam on their daily life. One of the guys makes an interesting observation that in France he is what he wants to be but he's happier in his home Iran. Nothing deep, yet generally informative.

Friday 8 June 2018

15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

EASTERN MEMORIES

Watchable. Amazing cinematography, definitely the best of the whole festival. The cinematographer had lived in Japan before and both makers: Niklas Kullström and Martti Kaartinen had spent 6 months in Mongolia so they knew the locations. Unfortunately the monotony of the narration makes it drowsy even if Michael O'Flaherty's clear, distinct voice hypnotises you at the same time. I loved a traditional Mongolian song superimposed with techno and a club scene. The film follows in the footsteps of Finnish traveller and linguist J. G. Ramstedt's memoirs which were filled with profound cultural observations such as the custom that when 2 horse riders meet in the middle of the vast steppes of Mongolia they will always meet, talk, provide each other with information, travel advice and help. Actually asking if they needed any help was the basis. Wasn't it marvellous? Or pieces of wisdom such as: "A land can own a man, a man can't own a land." In Mongolia at the end of the 19th century the concept of permanent residence was laughed at - people die so why build a house that lasts centuries? Another curious fact is that according to Mongols you should look both into the past and into the future. The film impresses with the picture, sound and wisdom. 

A WOMAN CAPTURED

Recommended. A powerful documentary about a woman who ran away from slavery. She was 1 of 12,000 estimated slaves in Hungary, 1 of 45 million such people worldwide. Enslaved at 42, she runs 10 years later, looking twice as old since the experience took a terrible toll on her. It's a mystery why she ended up like this, apparently for the second time in a row. But the intimate portrait captures your heart. Also, it ends well and it's due to the documentary being shot she gets the courage finally.

POSSESSED

Watchable. Artistic cinema. With interesting music by Laurel Halo. The visuals are intriguing but the factual content is next to none. The voiceover says to build a future you need to imagine it first. Early on it blames the 1945-79 generation for leaving the "melting world" to the supposedly-loved children. Chaos in between. As if the artist didn't have an actual message to convey.

LENNO & DE MAANVIS (LENNO AND THE ANGELFISH)

Watchable. A short documentary in an attractive form, showing Lenno in different activities, very colourful. A bit disturbing since he's blamed for aggression, while what we see is his family venting their anger on him, and he's been sent to a special centre for difficult kids. In reality we see tears in his eyes and we hear him miss his family and getting upset when he's treated unfairly. It clearly shows a self-fulfilling prophecy. Very smart but at times it's not clear who is who and what his family situation is.

LUISTEN (THE LISTEN)

Recommended. Another short documentary. Very touching. Tackles the variety of problems children have. I wonder why immigrants are moved from one centre to another constantly. It's certainly bad for children who can't form friendships. Very attractive form - showing school age children in colourful clothes as well as their pets. The issues are heavy though. Every adult should see how much they overlook children's needs in everyday life. It's also striking how many problems are disguised with aggression or silence. Also about what relief it brings to talk. And about how children don't differ from us.

LOVE MEANS ZERO

Recommended. It's a sports school of success. Winning is mentality. Nick Bollettieri's rule in sport and in life is: "Don't think! React!" He's had 8 wives he can't remember now! The documentary was the time when he had to stop and think for once in his life. He got his job completely by chance, never won a match in his life but successfully trained the likes of Andre Agassi and Boris Becker, dropping several others once their peak was over. The documentary shows also the fierce competition between Boris Becker and Andre Agassi and the importance of keeping your cool in rivalry. Becker once overtly flirted with Brooke Shields, then Agassi's wife, to disconcert the opponent. Successfully. Even though I have never watched a tennis match in my life (other than in live action movies) I found this film totally engaging.

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE PIANO


Watchable. Charlie Gonzales', just like Charlie Siem's, father was a businessman and Gonzo has learnt how to make money. And while an Austrian musician finds Gonzales' skills basic, Chilly makes up for it with creativity, boldness, versatility. He's at ease with all music genres: punk, jazz, classical, even techno. I had known nothing about him before and I left impressed. In Canada the division between pop and classical is not so strict so he wasn't successful in his home country. He made it in Berlin. He's also a talented lyrics writer. In his case an ear for music goes in pair with a sharp mind. The musician didn't agree to reveal anything about his private life and you feel the lack of that layer in the film.

THE CHINESE HUSTLE


Watchable. It took me a while to get my head around the terminology, procedures and technicalities but after a while I got the grasp of the main facts of the gigantic fraud and of how that was possible. It's not illegal in China to defraud foreign investors. And that's very Chinese thinking, I admit. As for the film-making, some talking should be cut out as it muddles the info.

Several documentaries have mid- and/or post-credits.


In between the doc festival I saw some live action:

DEADPOOL 2

Recommended. 2 hours of fun with pop culture references. Starts with Deadpool's dead Logan musical box and ends in a dignified choral song about a "fucking shithole". This part is still outrageously irreverent but in such smart ways it blew me away. You get DMC combat officers, a reference to George W. Bush, yet the film mostly draws on X-Men, Terminator, Thanos, "Domino", with occasional references to "Proposition", X-Force, "Wonder Woman" and many other titles I spotted but can't recall now. Wade signs on a kid's cereal box as Ryan Reynolds and dies hoping "the Academy is watching". Some mentions are only two-word-long, e.g. "Good day" with English accent. The protagonist drops the "X-Men" name for the sake of gender-neutral "X-Force" and when the only woman on the team remarks it's derivative, he responds: "Thank you, Peter." After seeing the movie I found out I had missed Stan Lee's and Brad Pitt's cameos so I'll have to see it again. I will do it with pleasure.


Then I went back to documentaries:

15TH DOCS AGAINST GRAVITY FILM FESTIVAL 2018

LA QUETE D'ALAIN DUCASSE (THE QUEST OF ALAIN DUCASSE)

Watchable. The doc is a gourmet cuisine RTW. It's impressive how meticulously the 21-star chef plans each dish visiting his and other restaurants all over the globe incessantly. Yet, for somebody brought up eating veg, he serves way too much meat and seafood. Especially in the Versailles restaurant where culinary items cost 15-1000 euro.