Movie reviews

SILACZKI (WOMEN POWER)

Recommended. Damn it, was I ignorant! I took my education for granted. The same with voting rights, walking streets alone and travelling on my own. Or the right to be paid the same as men (women and children used to get 1/2 or even 1/4 of men's pay a century ago).
Niepodlegla (Independent) program and PISF (Polish Film Institute) under new management refused to support the production financially. Probably because women's protests feature heavily in the film. Enactments of demonstrations from more than 100 years ago mix with black marches from 2017 so it's hard to distinguish which is which. The solidarity slogan is used which must be the director's tongue-in-cheek reference to her previous film "Solidarność według kobiet" ("Solidarity according to women"). A curious fact from the documentary is that Polish school textbook stalwart Maria Konopnicka lived with a woman (as partners) for some time.

THE HATE U GIVE


Recommended. It analyzes predjudice at all angles and disassembles the mechanisms behind US black ghetto violence, depicts cultural differences between blacks and whites, clarifies our perceptions of the two races, highlights how blacks find themselves between a rock and a hard place fearing both the police and the local gang. It does an amazing job of explaining the pitfalls of ending up dealing drugs. An extended patchwork family showcases these aspects of black lives. The story's heartfelt so I was crying most of the time.

ETER (ETHER)

Walked out. Not only does it drag, the plot is a figment of someone's sick imagination since the protagonist conducts medical experiments on unwilling patients.


HUMAN DOC FILM FESTIVAL 

ALEPPO'S FALL

Watchable. Overtalked but explains how the lack of the vision of the future brought on the fall of the Free Syrian Army fighting against Assad's regime in Aleppo. Shot by a Syrian living in Norway who returned to find out how the Arab Spring turned into Fall.

THE FEELING OF BEING WATCHED

Watchable. I'm in two minds about it. On the one hand, as a non-Muslim I'm happy all Muslim activists in the US are under surveillance. On the other, it looks like dumping public money in something which doesn't reveal any significant crimes. It struck me how well-off and supportive of each other the Bridgewater community is. It's a sprawling middle-class area of neat houses and educated people, women in particular. They have learnt to act likeable so as not to be seen as a terror threat. That includes: never argue with your family in public. The nearby US only panopticon prison appears to work as well. Still, the film on the watched community is just like its maker i.e. nice, without a bite. 

ON HER SHOULDERS

Watchable. Nadia Murad Basee Taha's story is not really told which makes this documentary frustrating to watch. But it shows something else very well: her tears stand in disparity with the hair-styling, fine dining and photo shoots. She spent 2 years campaigning for Yazidi rights and aid for refugees starving in camps. Instead she was made into a celebrity.

JANKA


Recommended. It's easy to understand why it's her who created Polska Akcja Humanitarna (Polish Humanitarian Action). Firstly, in result of polio, she's been severely crippled all her life. She actually grew up in a special school where everyone was like her. She had a hump, a leg paralysis and even spent 8 months under iron lungs. Curiously she was also either psychologically abused or maybe even beaten by nuns. She learnt early on how to cope with adversities in life. Also the sight of handicapped people was her natural environment. The film uses Janina Ochojska's own commentary to archive footage and animation. Makes impression.