19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

DOBRE ZPRAVY (GOOD NEWS)

Watchable. I think I stayed till the end only because I was trying to guess what it was about.

EXIT

Watchable. Overtalked. Some of former rightist (Nazi or jihadist) terrorists' stories are interesting - basically evil (having been raped) or the lack of prospects for the future spread evil further. Still, the best element of the film is catch electro music.

HOPE FROZEN

Watchable. Protracted. Interesting that TV interviewers ask the family the same question I was asking myself: why don't they thaw their daughter to release her soul for the next incarnation? While their love is admirable, they can't bring her back without tearing the synapses so she'd have no recollection of her life with them. The scientific method of extending life is as uncertain as the Buddhist beliefs in reincarnation. Hope permeates the film but the documentary is overlong.

After several years' of fascinating documentaries, 2018 being the best so far, the 2019 programme, with some exceptions, was much below the usual level. Previously I had been often shocked about the human rights violations depicted but this year it was hard to find anything of interest. Still, the organization was good, staff friendly, the catalogue and the screening guide very easy to follow and to take notes on, especially the catalogue was printed on very handy paper. Convenient, easy to reach venues this year too.

THE FAREWELL

Recommended. Globalisation focused in one family. Multilingual: Japanese, Chinese, English and songs in Italian. Migration tackled from all angles - on the level of skilled individuals which means everyday petty family problems, homesickness, career prospects and life path dilemmas. Different approaches to life and death - sometimes Chinese ones turn out to be better as proven in the final scene right after the end credits start rolling. After all, how do we know our culture is the right one?


19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

КОЛІР ФАСАДУ СИНІЙ (FACADE COLOUR: BLUE)

Watchable. An architectural dilemma - vaguely interesting.

JAK ZOSTALEM GANGSTEREM. HISTORIA PRAWDZIWA (HOW I BECAME A GANGSTER. TRUE STORY)

Recommended. A model example of how a movie should be scripted, directed, acted, cut and what music it should feature. It's an absolutely perfect gang leader story, similar in style to "Trainspotting" but with a totally original script. Distinct personalities, psychologically justified actions, outrageous crimes, everything told with a pinch of salt and top-notch twists and turns. The soundtrack is diverse including Alphaville, "Koyaanisqatsi" by Philip Glass or Polish band Dżem and others.


19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

WHAT WE LEFT UNFINISHED

Watchable. You get to see excerpts from Afghan movies - from the 80s, before the Talibans, when men and women were uncovered and the country colourful and lovely. You realize all the Islamic fundamentalism the country is associated with now is imposed on them. The documentary is a bit chaotic and red tape laiden.


1917

Watchable. Run-of-the-mill storyline. It looks and feels like a series of tasks in a computer game at times. Modern music exacerbates this effect. But it's touching occasionally too. One good moment is when the screen blacks out - for a long while you don't know what's going on. Like Peter Jackson's "They Shall Not Grow Old", it's based on veterans' stories. So with all the visual artificiality it is quite realistic after all.

JOJO RABBIT

Walked out. I couldn't stand this nonsense about a Hitlerjugend kid talking to an imaginary Hitler where Scarlett Johansson speaks with an accent which is neither English nor German.

MARCIN RYCHCIK "KRECONE SIEKIERA. 9 SEANSOW SMARZOWSKIEGO" - MEETING WITH THE BOOK AUTHOR

A bit of trivia: Smarzowski quotes his earlier movies, other films and literature. He also creates riddles through editing.
The clergy suggested a screening of "Kler" ("Clergy") for them to say what can stay. He gets very emotional about his films. "Wołyń" ("Hatred") was hard so he felt quite laid-back afterwards, making "Kler" ("Clergy").

BOMBSHELL

Recommended. I nearly cried at some point. The movie consists of visually appealing, of course, with Hollywood's hottest actresses, dramatised re-enactions of a huge sexual harassment case, hinting at Donald Trump as a sex predator as well. It highlights that you need to speak up, at least for the sake of future victims. Finally a movie about the topic! Still, when you see how it all ended, you leave frustrated that all the (23 at least) victims together received 50 m $ in compensation, while 2 predators got 65 m $ in severance pay from Fox News. Justice still hasn't been done. The image of the revolting perv haunts you later at night.

JAK ZOSTALEM GANGSTEREM. HISTORIA PRAWDZIWA (HOW I BECAME A GANGSTER. TRUE STORY)

I've seen it already and the review's waiting to be posted on 25th December. I'm not allowed to post it earlier.


19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

EXODUS

Watchable. Good cinematography. Shows how Afghani workers are exploited by Iranians both at work and by authorities. The cultural background isn't explained though, so some cases aren't clear.

THE TRIAL OF RATKO MLADIC

Watchable. The documentary does a good job of showing the locations of the war crimes on the one hand and Ratko Mladić's smirk on the other. He must have been happy hearing the survivors' agonizing testimonies. Yet it feels protracted a bit which renders it less emotional.

19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

FOR THEY KNOW NOT WHAT THEY DO

Recommended. Deeply moving and hard-hitting. I hadn't expected to be so impressed by LGBT issues. Vivid, likeable protagonists, shocking statistics - 41% of trans teenagers attempt suicide. The documentary features stories of success and of failure but all are filled with parents' love as well as with examples of violence like in the Orlando gay club shooting. Each of the families thought they supported their children but the very religion serves as a ruse for discrimination. The US examples show that families supporting their LGBT children as well as an open-minded society can enable a trans person enter the world of politics whereas the lack of social support means they often end up homeless. On the margin of the main issue, there's a case which proves that brain damage doesn't equal brain death which is unsettling in terms of usual practices of cutting off the life support in such cases. Excellent cinematography.

75-80 hours were shot for each story from which under 5 minutes appear in the film. E. g. Sarah's parents are funny people which you won't find in the resulting film. It took one year full-time to edit. Director Daniel Karslake observes "unconscious discomfort that men have with women" and is of the opinion that "homophobia and transphobia come from deep-rooted misogyny." In the US the worst offence is saying to a man: "you play like a woman". Also it's often misunderstood sexual orientation a choice. Bible scholar Delman Coates has analyzed the Bible verses which commonly serve as the basis for discrimination against gay people and found that they in fact refer to sexual violence rather than orientation. The director told me his first film, "For The Bible Tells Me So", explored the verses in detail. I have since watched the film but the verses were only mentioned on the margin. The director is gay, married to his partner for 28 years. Has been living in Berlin the last 5 years. Was raised in a Christian household and has been Christian all his life. "For They Know Not What They Do" has won the Audience Award at the festival. I gave it the highest note too.

KLEINE GERMANEN (LITTLE GERMANS)

Recommended. Explains how a Nazi family works and the connection to domestic violence. Incredible such families still exist. Some hark back to Wehrmacht grandfathers and the values have been passed on by subsequent generations. Children are disciplined to the point where they are locked in an ice-cold barn as punishment. It's like growing up in a sect. Another shocking example is dropping the piano cover on a girl's hands because she played Mendelssohn (a Jew). According to Germanic mythology men and women are equal but women have a lower position in such societies. One thing they pinpoint just right is that both Christianity and Islam are invasive religions.

Various organizations help people leave such societies. Inland Secret Service watch the scene but rarely help drop-outs because they're never sure if they are drop-outs for real. The rightists are not from metropolises so they have little contact with others. Such groups buy land in East Germany. Director Frank Geiger says the danger is that what they preach is close to mid-way values, just perverted, a close step to the extremism.

THE NIGHTCRAWLERS

Recommended. The Philippines had a huge drug problem. Drug addicts would rape or kill so in presidential elections, the Filipinos voted for Duterte en masse. Since then a few thousand drug dealers and addicts have been killed by the police and vengeful vigilantes. The drug problem resolution has left the society divided yet in the West it's unpopular not to condemn the killings.

19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

PODROZ Z ZYRINOWSKIM (TRIPPING WITH ZHIRINOVSKY)

Watchable. A simple mind who overtly admitted he had gone into politics because he had lacked any talents - the comparison to Hitler seems right on the spot, doesn't it? A butt of a joke in the US - probably the only country that actually invited him. Yet his talking of Russia getting "off the knees" sounds just like the rightist Polish authorities at present. Zhirinovsky was a small-time politician whose outrageous statements, like Trump's nowadays, were ridiculed, interestingly by Americans too. The film is humorous. Poor-looking Russia is shown in the background. The man is worth attention because of what we're observing elsewhere now. Poor technical quality of the film.

19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

ET MILITAERDIKTATUR BAG FACADEN (ON THE INSIDE OF A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP)

Watchable. Quality cinematography, events presented in order and with proper commentary in perfect English. I didn't realise Aung San Suu Kyi is a general's daughter or how shrewd a politician she is. The luxury the military dignitaries live and work in when the country is under international sanctions is some food for thought.

19TH WATCH DOCS FILM FESTIVAL

DIOS (GOD)

Watchable. Very good cinematography - it's all clear. Starts with all sorts of religious celebrations and accompanying commercial activities - not much different than in Poland. But later you can see Chilean religiousness is more fervorous and the opposition to the Church more fiery. People care to put undies on a figure of Baby Jezus. Next, the Pope says he can't substantiate the accusation against priests abusing children. There's also a discussion about the cost of the visit - never mentioned in Poland. Will churches burn in Poland too?

החבר דב (COMRADE DOV)

Watchable. About very local issues of the inhabitants of Israel which brings nothing new. It's just heart-warming to see there are people who believe in equal rights of both nations and a politician who does what he believes in. Poor camera work - at times it moves between people too fast and in a jerky movement.

THE TWO POPES

Recommended. It's just beautiful. Superb cinematography strikes you from the start. And content follows. The film, with documentary insertions, is deep in its deliberations on being just and on the Church to the point where it moves you profoundly a few times. But it's also entertaining throughout contrast personalities, with the easy-going Cardinal Vergogno being an absolute delight. It's a tale of imperfect popes. The three lead actors: Jonathan Pryce, Anthony Hopkins and Juan Minujín are exquisite. Dalida's hit "Ciao Bella" is sung by Swingle Brothers - choral church-like interpretation. The ending comprising of several mid- and one post-credit is brilliant.

A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON

Watchable. Just like previously in the series, there's no dialogue. In Polish cinemas only the final song is in Polish. The rest of the music is fun. The film is on the silly side. The sheep play antics all the time. The dog drinks from a cup with a bone picture. The aliens are friendly. Yet the story's eventful and complex. John Williams' theme from "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" can be heard in one of the scenes. In the closing credits you read that "No sheep were probed during the making of this film." There's a brief post-credit.

ANGELO

Watchable. In the first scene slaves are walking up the shore. They resemble refugees on hills seen in the media nowadays. But the whole film drags so badly and is so wooden, theatrical that I nearly walked out. Angelo in turns declaims, plays the flute, walks or listens to some aristocrat. At least, the scenography changes every few minutes. It's still and connotations with still life painting spring to mind, in fact it looks like a series of pictures by the old masters. The lack of background music and wooden acting precludes any potential feeling even when a man becomes stuffed as an exhibit. One fleeting moment of emotion is when Angelo's daughter realizes she's never seen the continent she belongs to. The movie also poses the question of us killing nature in order to see it up close.

Bits and pieces from the Q&A:
Markus Schleinzer, the movie director has also worked as a casting director, a producer, a director of other films and an actor. The rumour is he knows all actors, including those who say only one sentence.
According to Markus Schleinzer, "a film is lying in every minute". Though he researched the topic. E.g. people look healthier nowadays so a historic film can never be realistic.
The director comes from Vienna - a city where you hear lots of tall tales about Angelo Soliman. Those are all sweet stories. Also an empress is called Sissi by Austrians. That's why directors, like Michael Haneke, go against this perspective.
The movie starts with boats of 300 years ago filled with Africans brought by force. Nowadays we deny them entry.
Palaces were built with the wealth from the exploitation of Africa.
The director presented Angelo as somebody with no identity. They used to be presented as black princes to show how powerful the white aristocrats were.

PAN T. (MISTER T.)

Watchable. Plausibly recreated 1953. Feels too slow but such was the pace of life back then. The film's a saucy satire on communism and on artists, with an occasional reference to our contemporary times, e.g. when a protagonist says he's "najgorszy sort" ("the worst sort" - after the Law and Justice party president calling some Poles "people of a worse sort"). It's aptly high contrast black and white like the reality it tells about. A shot of two lovers is put into a frame. I see it as a feeble attempt at repeating the success of "Cold War".

ZELAZNY MOST (THE IRON BRIDGE)

Watchable. Only the pictures by Piotr Kukla are up-to-scratch. In spite of the case of a miner who's missing and his wife having an affair, there is little suspense. Tension arises only a quarter before the end. Too little Silesian dialect too. Last but not least, Poles don't know how to make use of music in the cinema.

엑시트 (EXIT)

Recommended. Top-notch action with hilarious comedy elements, e.g. when the granny tries to correct Yong-nam's hair. Excellent music, especially in one of climbing scenes and over the end credits. My palms got sweaty at the heights. Luckily it wasn't me who was scaling the buildings. 

THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON

Watchable. Uninviting at first: severely aged people and a young one with Down syndrome, in one scene there's a clear depiction on vomit as well - I nearly puked myself at sight. But it swiftly turns into a decent road movie. It's also about the American dream - for everyone, including the disabled ones. A heavy part of the film is how they are treated by the society. It's also a new take on the American family: a high-brow member, a redneck and one with Down syndrome all form one family-like unit. Dakota Johnson, famous for kinky sex scenes in "Fifty Shades of Grey", here in a caretaker's role, gets handcuffed by Tyler. The handcuffs are soft and pinkish.

THE LIGHTHOUSE

Watchable. Compelling in its weirdness. Robert Pattinson gives an Oscar-worthy performance but the tale is just sick: a dying man gutted by seagulls, feaces, a guy masturbating while dreaming of a mermaid with a tail resembling a vagina, lots of alcohol, cold sadism and violent behaviour. Black and white picture doesn't make it art. Though narrowed shots reflect the young worker's tunnel vision convincingly.

DOCTOR SLEEP

Watchable. Fantasy with horror elements. It's a whole new story loosely based on the tropes from "The Shining", like the corpse-woman in the bathroom or the face in the door. The scares appear too soon. And the parallel plots: a magical one and an alcoholic one don't match at first. But all the elements fall into place piecemeal. The flying witch somehow feels truly menacing, maybe through her semblance to folk tales, even though this one lacks a broom.The last half an hour is set in the Overlook Hotel. The showdown takes you on the tour of the hotel, the labyrinth and the mountain - you even witness the iconic blood flood like in the original. Ewan McGregor acts plausibly and his character is well-written into the hotel 'tour'. Set for a sequel.

PROCEDER

Recommended. Very well-written, directed and cut. I didn't expect a movie about: a rapper, a gangster, alcoholic and drug addict - all in one person, set in the Polish 90s, could be interesting. But the 90s are perfectly recreated and his life story full of twists and turns. The film has some humour too, e.g. when a prisoner playing scrabble puts together "rzuf" meaning "żółw" (turtle).  Excellent background music by RX Rafał Sielawa. And Tomasz Chada's rap is fine too, with life-written lyrics. The ending is moving.

JOKER

Recommended. The film carries a number of pop culture references, I'm not sure if all were intended or whether some were subconscious inspirations. Whichever it is, the movie's rich in meanings. The protagonist lives in a city where waste hasn't been collected in several days. Also porn theatres keep reappearing throughout the film. Both produce the impression of trash. At one point he says, if he died, "they'd walk over him". That's also a comment on our reality where murders of the rich and powerful are widely publicised and those of the poor don't get a mention in the media. The hint I'm not sure about whether intentional or not, was at Michael Jackson - Joker has a whitened face, as if wearing a mask, similar hair, voice, laughter and he dances. Another trope is "V for Vendetta" - that's obvious from the number of people wearing clown masks in the street. His hallucinations and growing insanity leading to violence resembles "The Voices". His romantic relationship with his neighbour is questionable too. The story puts you right inside the mind of a mentally ill person. And his mother's infatuation with television and adoration of celebrities is reminiscent of "Requiem for a Dream".
The movie makes use of visual means painstakingly too, e.g. when blood on his white face is set against a nearly-white wall and it's only later you can see it on his body as well.
But it's the music by Hildur Guðnadóttir which forms the basis of the movie. It wouldn't have the gravity otherwise. Oscar for the music, please! The sombre tones match the film palette. The music turns joyful four times: he dances on the stairs to the melody of "Hey Song" from "Dr. Who" (I saw some "Dr." on the road side too) who was a positive hero, mind it, next when he appears on TV, again when he joins the street rebellion and finally in hospital -  all instances after Arthur Fleck's transformation into the Joker.
Arthur's identity is uncertain: he might be Thomas Wayne's son, just Penny Fleck's son with an unknown father - in both cases possibly inheriting the mental disease after his mother - or adopted - we don't know who after, especially that a mentally disturbed person was allowed to adopt him. This uncertainty of both fatherhood and motherhood makes him a man from nowhere hence a ready-made symbol too because he could be anyone.
A significant scene places the story as a prequel to the series. We see the beginning of Batman's story but it's not Arthur who kills the boy's parents hence it's not him Bruce Wayne is going to fight but a Joker as a symbol of crime.

LUX FILM PRIZE DAYS

EL REINO (THE REALM)

Watchable. Feels exotic from the start - a politician is arrested for corruption. I wonder if it has ever taken place in Poland since such a thing is possible only in a country of law. Dynamic cut, shot mostly with close-ups, great techno rhythm, vivid colours typical for Spanish cinema. The film doesn't make it clear what exactly the case is but you quickly get it's about politics seen as if from within. Ends with a journalist's question which stays in your mind.

COLD CASE HAMMARSKJOLD

Watchable. The story's just incredible and unsettling. Unfortunately it's presented chaotically, certain subplots get so entangled it leaves loose ends. Yet the evidence gathered points at a clandestine organization, bankrolled by the white government of South Africa and of the UK in the 1950s/60s which, on the one hand, tried to eradicate blacks from Africa spreading AIDS at the guise of inoculations and to profit from the continent's resources - the latter successfully. Africa would be a totally different continent now if the UN Secretary General, who wanted to return the resources to the indigenous population, hadn't been assassinated.

FUSION FILM FESTIVALS - EAST EUROPE FILM FESTIVAL

Dan Hickford, director of the festival says this is an event which "puts a few festivals together".

NO-ONE

Watchable. Quite peculiar: theatrical, static. But also steamy or violent at times. The first instance of violence is predictable but shocking anyway. What's it about? About a man who's been at the top of state authority for decades, used to the fact that no one will question his power but suddenly both the coup and the loss of his wife mean a loss of the power he has always exerted. Since the film seems to conceal a bottom layer, I'd say you can interpret the romantic plot in the changing political situation - the fall of the USSR - as Ukraine's love affair with other countries.

According to the man who announced the screening, there are a few characters from Gogol and from "Master and Margarita" - I've read neither so can't comment. He attributes the plot to the Russian invasion on Crimea in 2014. The movie's Israeli-Ukrainian. According to one of the actors, a Russian movie can fill a room in Poland, not in Russia. Another actor discovers something new each time he watches it. Yet another one, the "general" from the picture views his protagonist as a man who decides to resolve things on his own and this way he becomes a monster. It's 100% fiction - clear to me but some doubted it. I asked the director, Vladimir Prudkin, why he made everyone act so theatrically and statically. In his opinion, "if you want to think you can't hurry".

PROXIMA

Walked out. Booooring. Lots of childcare and no space, at least not for the first 66 minutes (out of 107) when I finally gave up on the movie. Also, the story's quite feminist but we see the female astronaut's naked breast - so that male viewers get a kick out of it too? Feminist and sexist at the same time? Sexist it certainly is - I don't recall a single film where a male astronaut's private parts would be shown. What was director Alice Winocour thinking?

DIA DE MUERTOS (SALMA'S BIG WISH)

Watchable. Run-of-the-mill story. Pleasant, colourful animation but no match for "Coco". Poor imitation. A number of early mid-credits.

WATAHA (THE BORDER) SEASON 3 EPISODE 1&2

Watchable. Very Polish: dense with major and minor characters, dark pictures, realistc, flawed protagonists with their bigger and lesser troubles. Not very clear conversations and vagueness on top of them make watching a bit hard. Panoramic aerial shots are very good both strictly visually and mentally putting the events in a bigger perspective. Wolves scenes refer to the original title meaning 'a pack of wolves'. The ending of the 2nd episode leaves you in suspense: what is she doing at a transnational crime conference?

LES TRADUCTEURS (THE TRANSLATORS)

Watchable. Comparable to "The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons" in the sense that it's far-fetched but entertaining enough. What I found even fascinating in this one is the language workers setting - I'm perfectly familiar with the type. That's why I found the translator blatantly attempting to smoke in the bunker a bit off. Whoever works with a language spends all their life following grammar, pronunciation, syntax rules. I found it implausible that someone like that would so ostentatiously ignore the often-legal and always-social rule of non-smoking without permission, no matter if the person is tattooed or not. While lots of conversations are 100% credible, I waited for the kind of multilingual conversations our sort typically has when we hang out together. As for the first, a subsequent revelation of what kind of people the translators were before the assignment, changed my view on the smoking scene. And regarding the latter, a multilingual talk does take place - in specific circumstances. Those developments made the whole plot quite plausible. Still, all the revelations just occur with no riddle for the viewer. You just sit and are served those course-changers. The biggest twists of action are predictable.

A VIDA INVISIVEL DE EURIDICE GUSMAO (THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF EURIDICE GUSMAO)

Walked out. I have no idea what it wanted to be about.

HUMAN DOC FILM FESTIVAL

MEMORY IS OUR HOMELAND

Watchable. Not a memorable film. Very historical. Charts the journey of the Polish folk who were exiled by Soviets to Siberia when Poland was invaded both by Nazi Germany and the USSR during WW2. I didn't know they moved to Iran, then Tanzania and finally to a number of other countries, e.g. the UK, Canada or Australia. Heart-warming but not exhilarating.

More than 78 million people worldwide are refugees now, according to UNHCR. After WW2 it was around 30 million. The EU has stringent rules and procedures so it's highly unlikely anyone will be let in without solid grounds. In Poland 350 Ukrainians have received the refugee status so the 1 million that Polish authorities claimed to have taken in is not true. Also there'd be no direct cost since the EU would foot the bill. In the past, the refugees depicted in the film, were bankrolled by the Polish state which got indebted to save them.

IN TOUCH

Watchable. A banal topic in an extraordinary form. Mundane conversations between family members some of whom have stayed in a Polish village and some emigrated to Iceland are presented through Icelandic views superimposed on their Polish family houses or a football game between a father and a son on two sides of the screen, so to say. The cinematographer won an award at the festival - deservedly.

СЕВЕРНЫЙ ВЕТЕР БЫВАЕТ ТЕПЛЫМ(NORTHERN WIND CAN BE WARM)

Recommended. "God, if he's one, is nature" is the credo of the protagonist and of the film. Stunning pictures of taiga. You just want to move there rightaway. The reindeer herder persuades you that simple life, away from any city, is all you need for lifelong happiness.

HUMANITY ON TRIAL

Watchable. The legal case is so peculiar it's unbelievable even though it's true. The film is about legal procedures rather than saving refugees' lives so it fails to evoke significant emotions.

WAR OF ART

Recommended. Finally a documentary showing what's it like to be on the stringently protected/restricted tour of North Korea. One of the guardians is 100% hot and decent - I wished I was there with him. The discussions on what is art and what isn't are the same artistically inclined Western people have with laymen so that's a marginal topic. Interestingly, one of the artists from the West is wearing a Laibach T-shirt - the band famously performed in the country. Hangeul is used as patterns in the end credits of this Norwegian film - artsy.

MEZCZYZNA PO CZTERDZIESTCE WOLI BYC PRZEMYTNIKIEM (MAN IN HIS 40 CHOOSES TO SMUGGLE)

Watchable. Chaotic, you have to pick out bits of information to form the full picture of the post-war illegal trade in national resources in the Congo. I still don't know what Mai Mai warriors had to do with that. They talked about talismans and, from the other side, Pygmy people talked about being hunted down because of the belief that eating their heart will bring victory in war. The indigenous people turn out to be the most persecuted ones, apart from slave work in mines for just 1$ a day. Two Polish ex-merceneries, one after the Congo and the other after Chechnya, discuss the trade. Outcasts by Polish law, find consolation in taking advantage of the corruption in the Congolese society to make money.

I also saw just a part of "The Map to Paradise" - found out that Schwarzenegger was instrumental in the protection of the Ocean off the Californian coast when he was governor. Australia, which used to lead in marine protection, is turning a blind eye to whales mass-fished by the Japanese in Australian waters. Palau is fiercely fighting illegal fishing, e.g. of sharks. Burning Vietnamese boats has stopped them coming for the fins.

It was great to be at the festival again. Super-nice staff in both cinemas, of which Amondo provided better picture and sound quality than Kinoteka, varied topics in just 3 days. Shame not all pictures had English subtitles.


MARRIAGE STORY

Watchable. Felt fake, the acting was too theatrical, especially by Scarlett Johansson. But the action is clear, consistent, engaging, particularly the legal part of it. It cleverly depicts the contemporary parents' predicament: whatever you do with your child is always wrong. One hilarious scene is when the father watched by a child protection evaluator cuts himself forgetting to retract the blade to demonstrate a trick. The whole film presents marriage and all aspects of divorce step by step. Makes you feel it's best not to get married in the first place since whatever you say in your marriage will be used against you later.

HORS NORMES (THE SPECIALS)

Watchable. Propaganda, engaging but far from a comedy, in spite of the brilliantly acted (by Vincent Cassel) conversation with an attractive lady. Very politically correct: Jews work together with Arabs. The dance scene towards the end is even on the verge of being beautiful but throughout the film I kept wondering if it's possible to detect autism during pregnancy to prevent such births altogether. I doubt that was the point.

1800 GRAMOW (1800 GRAMS)

Watchable. Contrary to my expectations it's not cheesy or mushy and you don't have to like children to enjoy the film. They spare you explicit scenes of changed diapers or salivating babies. The plot is not so obvious either. There's a whole series of surprises round each corner. The sugary ending is more stereotypical but the whole thing is very well acted, beautifully shot and with red herrings in the plot.

WARSAW JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

MARINA, MABUSE UND MORITURI (MARINA, MABUSE AND MORITURI)

Watchable. The film presents Artur Brauner about whom I heard from his also successful daughter which made me actually want to see the documentary about him. I'm impressed with his hard work, creativity and sense of the market. I hadn't realized the superb "Wunderkinder" ("Prodigies") which I had seen at the festival had been his production too. You hear him and about him. I guess it would have been more interesting if I had seen his other movies but he had started producing right after the war so they are mostly ancient and not shown nowadays. I also doubt I'd like such archaic ones.

The quality of movies at this year's festival varied, just like before, but I'd say those I saw were 50/50 excellent or decent. The novelty was the number of venues, especially the newly created Helios cinema - the quality of the screening was the same as in Polin but the seats less comfortable. On the other hand, Polin is always a bit of a hassle because your luggage is screened at the entrance. Polin also has a larger screening room and Helios was too small taken such a huge interest. I also see little point in issuing entry tickets one or two hours before the movie because letting people in on a first come first served basis, without paper tickets, would cause less frustration.

WARSAW JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

LUNE DE MIEL (MY POLISH HONEYMOON)

Watchable. It consists of roughly three parts: disgusting (baby or toilet scenes), lightly comic (thought not funny since most of the humour is centred round drinking vodka) and sad (family arguments and regret). Judging from pictures in the opening and closing credits, it was inspired by a true family story - poor them. And the sad part is too slow. Gentle traditional Jewish music in the background and an ear-catching modern version of "Hava Nagila" over the end credits.


HUMAN DOC FILM FESTIVAL

HURDLE

Recommended. Wow! I'd love to be that fit! Though preferably not in an occupied territory. It's a fantastic sports documentary and a political picture in one film. Finally someone started with showing the map of Israel and the Occupied Territories. And the same map again with all the walls marked on it. And the shots of the actual dividing walls look at times like from "The Maze Runner". Amazing backward saltos mix with tales about innocent people shot by Israeli snipers. Fantastic music comes attached.

WARSAW JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

WUNDERKINDER (PRODIGIES)

Recommended. Lots of beautifully performed classical music: Dvořák, Rimsky-Korsakov, Mozart, Schumann etc. - the film's worth hearing for the sake of the renditions themselves - forms the framework for a tragic story. The storyline spans from the onset of WW2 till 1941 with a nowadays wrap-up. It's a gripping thriller where you know that one person will come out alive. An outstanding bomb explosion scene gives you the feeling of tension and uncertainty of the war time. The rest keeps you on the edge of the seat till the very emotional finale. It's a German production which I see as part of the wave of the national clearing of conscience - and enacted in style, as usual. It's impossible to leave the cinema rightaway. You have to come to terms with the ending first.

CRESCENDO - #MAKEMUSICNOTWAR

Recommended. Starts with mostly poor musicians who get better and achieve mastery in the end. But it's not the point. According to the producer, young people want peace. And the movie conveys a powerful peace message, being psychologically true and moving at the same time. The finale is brilliant. It can't candidate for an Academy Award because it's more than 50% English but it deserves one. The young people are amazing actors and the script is plausible too.

The movie was inspired by a Palestinian-Israeli orchestra set up in 1999. Some of its musicians were in the movie alongside the actors who impersonated Omar, Shira, Daniel, Layla and who had never played an instrument before. Both on set and in the real life orchestra, they did fight on the first day but later made friends and didn't want to part. Israel and Palestine still haven't purchased the movie - 20 countries have: Spain, Italy, Japan etc. Earlier the same producer had made Holocaust movies which had been shown at Israeli festivals each time. This one was rejected. The film doesn't say who's right and it appears that Israelis expect that. Produced by Alice Brauner, whose father, Artur Brauner, got 2 Golden Globes and 3 Academy Awards (i.e. Oscars) nominations for his productions. Her Polish was better than the interpreter's English - perfectly comprehensible anyway. Both her and the director have Polish roots. The movie idea came from her father. The director was asked to join in the last stage of the project.


KOJA JE OVO DRZAVA (WHAT A COUNTRY!)

Watchable. This Croatian production is partly a drama about coping with war traumas and remorses, partly a political satire. The plot's quite intriguing. It's slow but that lets you reflect on the developments. The bizarre events make sense in the end. Well acted, including Polish actor Daniel Olbrychski speaking Croatian as the president.

ASPROMONTE - LA TERRA DEGLI ULTIMI (ASPROMONTE: LAND OF THE FORGOTTEN)

Watchable. Set in 1951 and made in the style of old Italian films, just in colour, which has its charm. Some silliness in the plot and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi's mannerisms are annoying.

THE IRISHMAN

Recommended. Perfect execution. Of the movie, I mean. And not only. You don't feel the 3,5 hours when you witness a few decades of the US history through a mobster's eyes. And it's not very brutal. Based on good dialogue and criminal intrigues rather. You can't help but marvel at the immense extent of power they exert over politicians. The dialogues display brilliant sarcasm: "Who's going to be there? Tony, Tony, Tony and Tony" or "You know he's Pro's cousin?" "They are all cousins!" Deeply moving, on the sorrowful side, towards the end. Frank's sudden loneliness and fear of death get you thinking that what kept the chap in the mob for so many years was camaraderie. Probably the first time I cried at a gangster movie. Leaves you despondent.

HONEYLAND

Recommended. I'm glad I didn't walk out during the seemingly uninspiring early sequences. The documentary juxtaposes caring about an elderly mother and animals versus a dysfunctional family where no respect is shown to each other or animals big or small. It shows how the love of living beings makes you prosper (spiritually at least since the area is poor at large) and how anger and exploitation ruin anything you touch. Also just one season of bad neighbourhood causes an irreversible damage. Leaves you despondent too.


WARSAW JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

AKIK MARADTAK (THOSE WHO REMAINED)

Watchable. Flat, evokes no emotions. The clear-cut tale is simple, the doctor pleasant so you just keep watching, in spite of no depth.


INNA DE YARD: THE SOUL OF JAMAICA

Watchable. Recent and more distant history, musicians' personal stories, bits of music in no specific order. The lyrics have reflected current events being poor people's media. The music all sounds the same with the exception of Ken Boothe's "Everything I Own" from the 60s which I had always thought to be Boy George's song from the 80s. The shot sister who inspired another rastafarian's song moved me deeply. But most of the film just drags. For reagge fans only.

FIVE FLAVOURS FILM FESTIVAL

FRUIT CHAN MASTERCLASS

Many people left Hong Kong after the 1997 handover to China. He decided to stay for the film world. The director says Kieślowski had impact on him so in Poland he went to bow at the Polish director's grave.
Fruit Chan shot "香港製造" ("Made in Hong Kong") on tape so that no one would get interested in what he was doing. He used old tapes because of the cost. The film was successful all over Asia but was never shown in China. He has observed that young people always have a lot of emotions, at this age everything touches you. He's remarked that a reward in Locarno gives you more than Berlin or other. Hong Kong is home for many workers from the Philippines. Typhoons, SARS, demonstrations - something strikes Hong Kong every few years.
"榴槤飄飄" ("Durian Durian") title because it stinks but is nourishing. The shops which did mafia business had their little cameras so he was shooting hiding his movie camera. The children then acted more natural too. He always finds young actors through street castings which leads to conflicts with professional ones who have to work with them. The relationship of a child with a hooker in two of his films came from his imagination, not real life. After 1997 there was a wave of young girls coming to Hong Kong and Shenzhen, all of them have a history, most very sad. They all hope for a rich sponsor. They spend the money on family - in China women care about family more than men do. Queues of girls eager to act in the third part of the trilogy on prostitutes gathered in a few cities but he couldn't find the right one. 17 years later he decided: "Let's finally do it." and found a girl straightaway. She only had to put on weight so she ate hamburgers daily. He had told her she'd become famous but had asked if there would be no problem with her boss. Little nudity is displayed in Chinese movies. But in his third film there's lots of sex and nudity - by an actress cast in a supporting role. It was a bigger problem to make men undress. The director makes "more and more unabashed movies".
I asked about the inspiration for "餃子" ("Dumplings"). So, Chinese people believe that animal body parts cure their own respective body parts: chicken wings are supposed to be good for hands, chicken legs for people's legs and fish eye balls are to give you perfect vision even in water. That's why foetuses from abortions are believed to make you young. 
He's probably never met a woman using such a rejuvenating treatment. Probably, because he once had a meal cooked by an abortionist but he was warned by someone not to drink what she had prepared. He stopped seeing her after that.


ASS.DEATH.DICKS (PRONOUNCED: AESTHETICS) EP. 1

Watchable. While Horacy Muszyński's exhibition, dealing with competitiveness, the art world, people's personal boundaries and the waste be leave behind in a CSI-like scene, scared me and blew me away at the same time, the short film series is an interesting part of the artwork, though worse technically. Visually, it's a class B horror, yet with an artistic commentary. Vivid personalities made you curious. And when the first episode ends violently after just 15 minutes, you can't wait to see the next ones of the serial planned for 6 altogether. Still, it looks like the episodes will come up once every few months and will premiere in different cities.

UNPLANNED

Watchable. Film-wise, very well made: clear structure, distinct characters, suspense, twists of action, moving at times and once even on the funny side - the conversation on entering the court: "I feel like punching her in the face but I guess it would be wrong", to which Abby's husband replies: "It would be wrong. It's my job." Right, there's the courtroom drama bit too, although short. The view of the army of lawyers brought in to intimidate the opponents was quite a spectacle. The whole movie looks pleasant, warm. Only one scene emanates eerie, bluish light, like in "Paranormal Activity". Hair colours are by the hair-styling-for-a-film book: the evil one is a brunette, the one who switches sides is ginger and the good one is light blonde. Not that there's need to be aware of such movie tricks to notice the straight-in-your-face propaganda. Well, when Abby mentions the 22 K abortions she facilitated, I couldn't help but think of how much more environmental damage those lives would cause and of how Texas was spared such a huge number of ruined lives - those of unwanted children and their mothers. When you think of how things turned out for Abby, she wouldn't have found her peace, stability and her new loving husband if she hadn't aborted before. We don't know the stories of other girls. What we see is lots of blood and pain at abortions, which is what many women suffer every month at menstruation. There's birth-giving too, where only the beginning of labour is shown and it's scary enough. As for who the pro-lifers are, their constant praying makes it clear.

MIDWAY

Watchable. It could have been a notable movie, hadn't it been for Roland Emmerich. Instead it's one of his typical class B blockbusters. With a 59.5 million $ budget, however, I'd expect better visuals. And, as in Emmerich's films, it's all terribly tacky. History's simplified. The movie starts together with the opening credits. Then, without bothering to introduce characters properly, the military takes over. The ending is touching, when the men who fought the battle of Midway were commemorated - both American and Japanese. Still, my fave was the intelligence plot, partly due to the trick with sending an uncoded message about a fresh water facility failure but also owing to Aaron Eckhart as Jimmy Doolittle. It's good the story was based on historic facts but such events deserve a better depiction.

JUDY

Recommended. The director did his best to portray the famous Judy Garland, clearly loving her warts and all. As for the lead actress... contact lenses, wigs, prosthetics but it's still unequivocally Renée Zellweger acting distraught which, strangely, actually works for this character. In one scene, she plays with her children using a bunny toy - I wonder if it's from Judy Garland's biography or a reference to Renée Zellweger's earlier role of Beatrix Potter. The actress aside, it's a compelling biography of the woman who became famous as a teenager playing Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz". She grew famous to the point when she just decided to perform whenever she needed to make an extra buck. At the same time, her first birthday cake was in her 40s, judging from the movie, since she was refused it in childhood. The most masterful scene is the one where teenage Judy at the table with the nasty producer in a blink of an eye turns into adult Judy sitting with a much more benevolent producer. The film becomes quite moving and, towards the end, there's a point when it grabs you by the throat. I shed some tears. She died at just 47.

LE MANS'66 (FORD V FERRARI) AT IMAX

Recommended. Straight off Le Mans. Imax, I mean. But it's like being there minus the smells. The gripping story of natural born racers who live only to see competitors in their rear view mirror mixes tension, humour and, towards the end, sadness and regret, but it's mostly adrenaline- and serotonine+endorphines-based. They're seeing airplane evolutions in the air: "Who's the pilot?" "I think somebody we know" or during a race: "They want you to slow down" or the witty exchange about groceries after the brawl provide amusement. And even if you've never been into rotors and wrenches, now you will be. Also, on leaving the cinema, suddenly the parking lot, the smelly gas station and the car-packed road seem all that nicer.

KULT.FILM

Watchable. A mediocre film with average music. About an evergreen Polish rock band - nearly 4 decades in the business. Mundane scene and behind-the-scene stuff. Made me wonder why it's so popular in Poland that their gigs sell out. I think there are a few reasons. One is simple tunes that anyone can sing. Another one is that they're a reflection of the Polish society: the guys are partial to a drink and smoke, even ignoring the ban, they're simple minds, but commonsensical, use curse words a lot. Also, their lyrics mean something, it's not empty jabber. Except for that, the chaps help each other out. Last but not least, frontman Kazik Staszewski goes down on his knees to bow and thank the audience to finish each 3-hour long concert.

GRANICZNE CIECIE (BORDER CUT)

Watchable. Set in a Polish town on the German border with the highest density of hairdressers in the world: 43 sallons per 200 inhabitants. Of course they only cut Germans' hair, not locals' - all locals have someone who cuts hair in their own family. But the documentary, lengthy at its 70 minuts, is engaging due to the two hairdressers and their conversations. Especially the older lady's yarns create folklore, based on superstitions, beliefs like that a person's life changes every 7 years but also ghosts. Nothing much happens apart from her tales and comments on other people. And it heads nowhere.

HAIR (1971)

Watchable. 15-minute long but hilarious. The short Polish documentary juxtaposes e.g. the 10 am announcement of the competition start with the audience yawning. Shows an Italian singer whose performance resembles crying. "Everyday hairstyles" are commented on while you're shown a most extravagant fashion show. Disturbing pervy close-ups on women's parts detract from the amusement.

MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL 3D

Watchable. Excellent 3D, bringing close to you not only whatever or whoever is thrown towards the viewer but also flickering fey's wings. The 3D underlines shapes too, including facial features, clothes textures and creases or details of architecture. The emphasis is clearly put on visuals, where fantastical elements blend into real ones, e.g. Maleficent's wings into her body. Her make-up is all thought-through: pitch-black thick long eyelashes become smudges of black around the eyes, in a pattern matching her dress, when she's in fury, next she suddenly appears in grey eye shadows and more usual eyelashes when she turns into  a tender mother again. The queen is always in white and silver, only wearing dark blue when she descends into the iron forging factory. Too little of a plot and poor music detract from the beauty of the picture.

SORRY WE MISSED YOU

Watchable. Newcastle precariat. First you're manipulated into self-employment - "you're a
trooper", then even your son sees you're a skivvy. People who are up to their eyes in debt, take on all sorts of menial jobs and when they think they're getting up on their feet finally, their so-called own company only means their de facto employer sheds responsibility. Based on info from drivers and carers who preferred not to give their names. Engaging but nothing I wouldn't have know otherwise.

Apparently the problem's international. Also in Poland if you've become part of the Żabka retail franchise, losses are yours while profit is shared. Also platform jobs fall into the precariat category, e.g. Uber Eats, InPost.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

Recommended again. Home, weird home. The newly wed couple remove a yellow CSI tape to move into their dream house. Caught more details this time, e.g. references to "The Grudge", "REC", "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". An aunt "as radiant as (...) nuclear waste". Inhabitants of Assimilation watch telly on Hag Network and drink coffee in Assimilatte Cafe. Superb music, especially the main theme. Outstanding translation into Polish (saw the dubbed version today).

TERRA WILLY: PLANETE INCONNUE (ASTRO KID)

Recommended. Fantastic animation for adults and kids alike. The plot's eventful but perfectly consistent. It's constant fun of exploration: first the spaceship with a robot making bed, then the planet: colourful, with lots of varying landscapes, plants and animals. Excellent music. Only dubbed in Poland but, if you understand the language, you're going to enjoy top-notch translation, where e.g. the rescue robot is called "Ziom" (bro, old stick). The alien's behaviour resembles a dog's. The film's long enough. A number of nice pictures over the end credits with a group photo at the very end.

COUNTDOWN

Watchable. A horror flick with engaging action, a few decent jump scares, perfect suspense, rich plot, plausible and likeable characters, including a great priest, some irony, especially in the tongue-in-cheek flat-Earth-believer scene. The beginning's great, the rest still pretty good, with some ingenious ideas but unfortunately old-fashioned demons too, especially in the second part which gets quite predictable. The finale implies a sequel. The mid-credit takes you on the hacker's date which is fun.

CINEMAFORUM

VR - ANOTHER TREND OR THE FUTURE OF CINEMA

While the expert panel took nearly two hours, I whisked out only curious facts about the furute. Firstly, VR has a future doue to the porn business developing it for its purposes. I know from other sources that even the existence of the Internet is maintained by the adult movie entertainment so this doesn't surprise me. Apart from that Facebook is going to enable VR showing your life to others. As for technology, which, in my opinion, currently resembles diving: the picture is never as clear as in the cinema, the equipment is heavy  and makes nose breathing difficult, it's bound to improve too: Oculus has developed better goggles which cost nearly 2000 Polish zlotys and better ones still, costing over 3000 $ have come into existence. So far only and as much as the US Army and NASA have purchased a 5-year supply.

The 5-minute VR film based on Kafka's "Metamorphosis", available free of charge in Warsaw Goethe Institute till the end of November is so-so. The gear on your head combined with the mirror reflection of a giant cockroach gives a funny feeling but only one of numerous drawers and neither of the doors or window can be opened.

SUPERNOVA

Watchable. For the most part it's excellent. The beginning is annoying due to poor, overlit pictures. But the plot quickly turns into an intense psychologic drama, built around a single event, very realistic, with well drawn characters, plausibly acted - you just feel as if you were on the spot, however with the ending ruined by a weird radio commentary - too abstract after such a tangible story.

TERMINATOR: DARK FATE AT IMAX

Recommended. Just like "Zombieland: Double Tap", it starts straightaway, right on the producer's logo. Top-notch sound effects. The machines sound ominously scary and the beginning with a terminator squad frightened me. The movie often felt like the original - music themes from "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" are used. But the plot takes a modern twist with the notion of being constantly tracked by GPS in cellphones and cameras and, even more so, with women acting stronger and e.g. exacting an immediate revenge for sexual abuse. It's very international in action and in production including Spain, Hungary and China (Tencent). But still Hollywood quality. The script plays with the series iconic elements like "I'll be back" or dark shades but also the deep, round tank like the vat of molten steel where T-1000 was destroyed by T-800 in "Terminator 2: Judgment Day". It brings in some humour, especialy when T-800 talks about his parenthood. But the plot conveys the idea humanity is doomed anyway since AI is going to exterminate us in the future all of a sudden. At the same time it's just so great seeing Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger (in this order, also in the closing credits) again. Haven't changed that much after all. Ah, and all characters look slim again, thankfully. New characters and the new storyline are clear-cut. No confusion this time. The series has gone back to its roots.No mid- or post-credit.

THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD

Recommended. Painstakingly depicted what it was like to be in World War One: from draft to coming home. What bewildered me was hearing of politeness and amicability in the army, especially that it consisted of volunteers and that trenches excluded any possibility of hygiene: lice, using hands to wipe the bottom after defecating and never washing hands, rats, corpses. The battle is described in minute detail too. Death from a bullet was painless, 

wounds and especially limb amputations were feared the most. On return they were largely not understood by the general population. After 1 million lives lost. It's told by British veterans meaning the speech manner isn't emotional. Luckily so - the story is terrifying enough when you think about it from a distance. The song from the end credits stays with you after leaving the cinema.

It got me thinking about how wars have changed over the century: have become more civilized for the military staff but WWI didn't affect the civil population at all.

KNIVES OUT

Recommended. Clockwork thriller. Lots of excellent twists and turns. Masterful performances by Daniel Craig, who adopts American accent to enact Detective Hardlock, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, Lakeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, and Christopher Plummer. The movie plays with pop cultural tropes like O.J. Simpson's case, "7 days to die" in "The Ring" or "Baby Driver" references. It's also tongue-in-cheek internally - a funny painting depicting a person entering through a window covers such a window entrance. Purely delightful.

BASIA 3

Watchable. This set is more varied than previous ones. It's still perfect for young children, teaching them e.g. to clean up or not to talk with mouth full but tackles also the Haitian earthquake - I'm impressed how simply it exlains it to the child. Also, cultural differences are mentioned. Feels like Basia is gradually growing up. The same animation style as before.
A bit too simple for adults at times but Basia's view of the world is so disarmingly naive it's just sweet.

THE SHED

Watchable.The monster first appears in the pre-credit opening scene which seemed way too early. But the fact you know what's in the shed is played smartly later on. The high school zombie flick is engaging, with great cinematography and decently built characters. The girl wears her nails black which: firstly indicates she's no silly scream queen, secondly is the colour used by girls on Halloween. And she hammers nails too. The sheriff is a woman as well. The ending implies a sequel. The scriptwriter and director Frank Sabatella passed away in 2018. Are they going to bring him back from the dead too? No mid- or post-credit.

UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL

ГУЦУЛКА КСЕНЯ (HUTSULKA KSENYA)

Watchable. Painfully slow. It's a musical comedy with unbearable music, in addition all songs sound the same, and it's not funny at all. I was only curious how the romantic story would end and I liked the folk costumes. The scenography resembles Wes Anderson's films. The actors act as if separately, directly to the camera - no chemistry possible between characters.

ГЕРОЙ МОГО ЧАСУ (HERO OF MY TIME)

Watchable. A well-paced social satire. It takes the Mickey out of contemporary art, e.g. when an installation consisting of a pile of used everyday objects is put in the gallery, a gallery attendant wants to clean it up. Also, off-duty he wears a tiger T-shirt while the upper class guests wear bizarre dresses. I did not laugh but both the upper and lower class are ridiculed cleverly. There's a mid-credit.

To recap: Poor translations into English. Food at the opening gala was so bad I spat out most of the snacks. If that's the kind of food they have in Ukraine, no wonder they emigrate in droves. But the movies are getting better and better every year. 4 and 3 years ago most productions dealt with Maidan or war and were of poor visual quality. But Ukrainian film-makers have learnt the ropes at an astonishing speed, have created their own cinematic language, especially in comedies and have improved technically as well. This year the festival took place in just one cinema, times were set in such a way that movie beginnings didn't overlap with other film endings which was perfectly legible both in the catalogue and in the fold-out brochure. The catalogue had one movie per page (only short ones were two per page), leaving white space on a kind of paper which allowed you to take notes easily. While most films were fiven in the alphabetic order, some specials were separate but still easy enough to find.


KNIVES OUT

I've seen it already but have to wait till the midnight of 5/6th Nov. Polish time to be allowed to publish my review.


WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

영하의 바람 (SUB-ZERO WIND)

Walked out. Some family life. Deprived of emotions. And it drags.


UKRYTA GRA (THE COLDEST GAME)

Recommended. A difficult to crack spy game with moles on both sides. Set in the Palace of Culture and Science - the famous gift from Stalin, rumoured to have secret passages. I watched the movie in Kinoteka which is housed in the very Palace - the stairs in the movie are the very stairs I climbed to get to the cinema. The chess match lasting a few days is only most apt for the hidden game of two superpowers. The 60s threat has been brought back to life this year when Putin and Trump cancelled the nuclear treaty as the final note menacingly reminds the viewers.

AMAZING GRACE

Watchable. Listening to Aretha Franklin, young Mick Jagger clearly felt the rhythm. I could barely stand that bathroom singer screaming wildly to the mike. Jazz removes melody even from the most loved song. She wore beautiful outfits so while my ears felt sore, my eyes had some pleasures. In the second half some women from the audience performed an amazing dance. Then her father, a pastor, enriched the live album recording with his talk about Aretha's talent. But it was only the final "Never Grow Old" that I almost enjoyed. The song and other sounds over the end credits were the best part.

It's one of Sydney Pollack's last revealed films before his death, recently discovered after it had been shelved for 40 years for technical reasons. The "Amazing Grace" album became the best selling in the history of gospel and Aretha Franklin's.


WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

1987 (1987: WHEN THE DAY COMES)

Watchable. It tackles the same period (the 80s) of brutal repressions covered by "택시운전사" ("A Taxi Driver") but in a less shocking way. Basically, it's too expressive and has a tacky love plot but the ending, showing huge mass demonstrations all over the country makes impression nevertheless. 

This festival showcased a selection of movies from different years, in varying genres and styles and on a wide scope of topics. The films, a seminar and a Q&A started and ended perfectly punctually. You just felt impeccable organization, like clockwork. Sadly, the movies were translated into Polish from English instead of from Korean directly. The brochure and leaflet had a difficult-to-read font, with additional small on the sides. The pictures were all dark purple-brown to black and as hard to see as the writing. Also, the opening gala catering appears to have been Polish instead of Korean like in previous years.


MALEFICENT: MISTRESS OF EVIL

Watchable. Exquisite costumes, make-up, stunning scenography, lots of fantastical creatures. Even the battle and a death are colourful. And the finale just blows you away. Many elements, however, have been derived from "The Lord of the Rings", e.g. walking trees or forging iron and from "Avatar", e.g. plants glowing blue in the dark, landscapes, colourful flying creatures with big wings. The plot's more complex than in part one. There's even a bit of humour, e.g. Maleficent's advisor telling her what small talk is. It's set to be a trilogy. Luckily, even the war was fairy-tale-like. No mid- or post-credits.

MOJ KRAJ TAKI PIEKNY (MY COUNTRY, SO BEAUTIFUL)

Watchable. It's all obvious if you follow Polish news but at the end the quotes from the Bible juxtaposed with fascists' speeches highlight how un-Christian their supposedly Polish Catholic ideology is. One expert rightly notices that they wear the same clothes which equal to uniform values in the group.

DZIURA W GLOWIE (A HOLE IN THE HEAD)

Walked out. Empty and pointless. It's incredible a 20-strong team worked together on the movie and created such nothing. You need it like a hole in the head. 

WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

밀양 (SECRET SUNSHINE)

Watchable. A compelling depiction of deteriorating into clinical depression. Still, psychologically, it didn't ring true because the 5 stages of grief are omitted. Shot on tape which makes it look archaic. 

SEMINAR ON 이창동 (LEE CHANG-DONG)

Kim Young-jin and Miłosz Stelmach shed more light on the director and his movies. 
이창동 (Lee Chang-dong) didn't go to film school. He wrote 2 books first but needed a change and decided not to write plays any more. 박광수 (Park Kwang-su) offered him to work together on "그 섬에 가고싶다" ("To the Starry Island"). His directorial debut was well received so he continued this kind of job. 
The director claims he's not a pessimist. He just likes observing how people react when they have no control over their life. His script is often more emotional than the eventual movie, on the screen he's distant to viewers. In his view such a film should act as consolation because when he lost a family member he only felt better when somebody with the same experience held his hand.
밀양 ("Secret Sunshine") contains many political metaphors, e.g. a reference to a brutal mass murder by the government where it's still not clear who did it. The families haven't forgive but the new goverment has. 
In the early 2000s he was the Minister of Culture bu he didn't enjoy the post because "he didn't do all his life and now he can't continue this life". He prepared 2 volumes of a plan for the Ministry but the next government cancelled it. When he went back from flying first class to flying enonomy he was happy with it. 
Strangers to Korea often ask about Christianity in his films. It turns out there are many competing churches which make profit from the faithful. The director criticizes this phenomenon in his movies. In Korea, "he says he doesn't criticize but he does". 
The ministerial position didn't help him create movies. Korea has obligatory army service, which lasted 3 years back then, and he says he felt like in the army again. As a minister, he couldn't support movie-makers more - they had to be equal to others. In Korea, there's a  screen quota - a specific number of Korean productions must be shown at the cinema. The US pressured the country to do away with the limit - the less Korean movies will be shown the more space for American productions. The President told him to resign before he has to shorten the list. He did but was still criticized.  
밀양 is the director's hometown. On top of that its name is unusual (meaning: secret sunshine) but the town ordinary
The gaps between releasing movies are down to his perfectionism. He writes well so producers are ready to make his films but it's he who won't accept the production. Once even actors were all ready but he resigned one day before shooting because the script was "unrealistic". He's sensitive to viewers' reception and feels hurt if his movie's not popular, e.g. he expected a reward in Cannes for "버닝" ("Burning") but he didn't get one - eventually the film wasn't so popular in Korea.
Many directors dream of working in Hollywood. He doesn't, because working abroad is always exhausting, especially in Hollywood.

UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL

ЗАБОРОНЕНИЙ (STUS)

Recommended. Initially, the colours look like Technicolor from a few decades ago which is pleasing to the eye and in line with the time of the events. Entertainment, including just one brief scene of fantastic dancing, mixes with the poet's experience of surveillance. When the story takes a much darker turn, you learn a lot about KGB methods. Engaging, clear structure, touching at times, with a number of little twists of action and great music. The very ending commemorates those who died for Ukraine.

From the meeting with the director, Roman Bravko: It's the director's full-length debut. Earlier he had filmed Maidan. His drama stays very true to real events. He'd ring Lukyanenko and ask if it could have happened that way. The bed really fell and killed the poet - that's what they know from other prisoners. The legal counsel's words are in the case file. Stus remained sincere till the end which was inconvenient to the authorities because he couldn't be blackmailed. The state was afraid of Stus even when he was in jail. His words were as monumental as depicted. Stus's son was upset his father chose fight instead of family which is the most important thing to Dmytro. The producer wanted to remove the court scene but people wrote that Stus never caved in so they shouldn't either. Special services checked whether the producer wasn't coerced into the removal of the court scene. The Prime Minister also got interested in the scandal with the removal. Distribution depended on election results. The movie's had 100 K viewers, it's popular in Ukrainian cinemas, even though, lacking money for PR, news of the film has been spread by word of mouth. It's aimed at patriots, because if they had targeted it at everyone, they might have lost the patriots.

МОЇ ДУМКИ ТИХИ (MY THOUGHTS ARE SILENT)

Watchable. A satire where I saw humour everywhere, from making a parrot chirp to men using a lip balm, but nothing made me actually laugh, in spite of lots of skilled comedy acting. I can't put a finger on what was missing. Great music was one more element that made it thoroughly enjoyable. 

The lead actor is extremely tall for real.

UKRAЇNER. THE MOVIE

Recommended. The documentary gives you a chance to observe daily life in Ukraine. While the country lags a good few decades behind Poland, it's verdant and simple life has its charms. I loved the cat "charging up" lying on a charger. Accompanying music combines folk with modern styles. When it ends, you wish it lasted longer.


WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

폴란드로 간 아이들 (CHILDREN GONE TO POLAND)

Recommended. Hard-hitting, touching, informative and very humane. Not only did the war orphans have parasites, the doctor discovered every other kid had been kidnapped from South Korea. Soldiers would just bring them North during combat. Also, most of the orphans first spent 2 years in horrific conditions in the USSR. History of Warsaw and Pyongyang both destroyed in war were very much alike - the director puts pictures of ruins next to each other to highlight that. Historical memoirs combine with stories of contemporary North Korean refugees. It turns out, the runaway's family gets a lower sentence if the person has run to China than if they have run to South Korea. It's frightening when a female refugee doesn't want to tell about her experience of China.


UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL

BLOCK OF ANIMATIONS

КРАМНИЦЯ СПИВОЧИХ ПТАШОК (THE SHOP OF SONG BIRDS)
IF YOU CAN
ДАХАБРАХА - МОНАХ (MONK)
ANNA RAYNER - DARKEST OF BLUE
TIK TU - KOTKY
САМА СОБІ ТУТ (HERE BY HERSELF)
МАРИ
КІНЕЦЬ (THE END)
ELUVIUM - REGENERATIVE BEING

All watchable, "If you can" recommended. All the 9 short cartoons for adults are similar: rudimentary animation, mechanic movements, no words - forces you to think. Only "If you can" breaks the silence (not counting sound effects) with the brilliant quote from Winston Churchill which tells you how dogs surpass people in what we call humanity.

КАКОФОНІЯ ДОНБАСУ (THE CACOPHONY OF DONBASS)

Recommended. An excellent documentary about the modern history of Donbass. Explains the situation well. Devastates you at the end when you hear first about "twisted" people employed to torture insurgents and next about ordinary people on the street all too eager either to sexually abuse - men, or kick and punch - women. The final line about 7 billion humans and so much aggression is certainly food for thought.


WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

 흩어진 밤 (SCATTERED NIGHT)

Watchable. An engaging family drama in which the 10-year-old's remarks put an angle to the situation. She's an amazing actress too. The picture's mundane but I enjoyed the calm way of resolving the issue.


UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL

ДИКЕ ПОЛЕ (THE WILD FIELDS)

Watchable. Interesting at first, when the protagonist rediscovers his home countryside after years. But later it turns into a ridiculous gangster wannabe-comedy. Resembles Polish films from the 90s.

МІФ (MYTH)

Watchable. A thorough picture of an opera singer and freedom fighter, cleverly questioning the cause of his death: accident, suicide, fate, selling his soul do dark forces? Still, Vasyl Slipak's larger than life image makes this true story feel fake. It does make sense his full-heartedness in each of his life endeavours made him drop his girlfriend for his new passion - homeland. Yet the poses he takes in the pictures don't endear him to me. It's a very good documentary whose protagonist, however, deprives it of a deeper sense or emotion.