JIM KNOPF UND LUKAS DER LOKOMOTIVFUHRER (JIM BUTTON AND LUKE THE ENGINE DRIVER)
Watchable. Based on a children's book by Michael Ende. A traditional style fairy-tale, with a quest to save a princess and dragons on the way, but a globalised one: Jim is black and the land of the princess resembles China. The exotic land setting gives a chance to show the relativity of cuisine: we wouldn't eat worms or other "delicacies" while the Asian host hearing about cheese reacts: "Made from milk which went off?! Disgusting!" The quest map comprises imaginative places like the Thousand Wonders Wood but the forest with fruit looking like hanging eyeballs is only glimpsed at. The movie feels a bit slow, especially with fairy-tale-like, unhurried music, however it is filled with love of all kinds of people. "Neverending Story" it isn't but I'm looking forward to the sequel kind-of-announced by the final scene.
SKYSCRAPER
Watchable. I'd visit the Pearl building as a tourist attraction if it existed. But most of the story, obviously, is man-made fire in the extraordinary architectonic structure. A pretty standard plot, decent cinematography.
(DROLES DE PETITES BETES) TALL TALES FROM THE MAGICAL GARDEN OF ANTOON KRINGS
Recommended. A delightful animation about bugs inhabiting a meadow most suitable for nursery and primary school age children. It's colourful. Wasps' wings shine blue, green and golden. Insect anatomy is cutely recreated with a buttefly having a rolled-funnel-shaped nose. Clothes and weapons are modelled on leaves and flowers. A bee and a cricket sing "La vie en rose" together. Action bits are played to hoedown music.
ODNAJDE CIE
Watchable. Very Polish. Shabby places, people average on the beauty scale, coarse language, professional punching techniques make it realistic but also little comprehensible at times. It's engaging but the main story frame, with soldiers peddling cocaine in Afghanistan, is far-fetched. Some dialogues are smart: Justa's talk to the priest or about alimonies to her unfaithful husband or her and Sztyra each trying to persuade his ex-wife to do two contradictory things carry specific social humour. I also liked the game with the viewer when two different knockings on the door are heard and shown one after the other. Quite decent as Polish action films go.
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