Movie reviews

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.