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.
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