Here's what to expect, in the order it was presented by the organizers: This year's festival is going to last 11 days and encompass more than 600 movies, including 224 full-length, 124 will be premieres, from 54 countries. Free screenings will take place in the Wrocław market square. Xavery Żuławski will present his latest film "Mowa ptaków" ("Bird Talk"), written by his father just before his death 3 years ago but very up-to-date, "for now". Olivier Assayas's - "Clouds of Sils Maria", "Personal Shopper", "Doubles vies" ("Non-fiction") - retrospective is hardly enticing, I've seen three of his movies, each was dull and about nothing. Albert Serra, known for "Roi Soleil", just like Godard, started as a critic. Serra's retrospective is planned as well. "Liberté" ("Freedom"), which will be on general release, is going to divide the audience, it's kind of "Sade". Albertina Carri's, from Argentina, film includes incest, BDSM etc. "La flor" ("The Flower") is a film in 3 4-hour parts divided into segments, each in a different genre, it's like a serial but it's not necessary to see all of it. There'll be the 2nd part of the "Oslo/Reykjavik" section. The 70s are the leitmotif of this year's festival so there'll be a section on erotic cinema which used to be parallel to ordinary cinema but has virtually disappeared by now, even in Paris and London - it was popular in the 70s, before the video revolution. Apart from that, the "Body" section is going to treat the body as the battlefield of culture and politics, e.g. in a story about a teenager from Mauritania who has to gain weight before her marriage or about a girl whose face gets damaged by acid and she wants her life not to change but that's impossible nowadays. The "Third Eye" small section is all about spirituality, witches, e.g. about Luster Fuego from Brazil who danced with snakes and was murdered for "talking to Satan" for this. Also a witch debate will take place. A film about the world from fungi perspective has been scheduled as well, just as an exhibition on pregnancy and an installation where "Roi Soleil" will be played on a loop. The 4-hour-long director's cut of "Loro" will be shown, in two parts, only in Italy and Poland. "Polish Days" will be an event where representatives of the biggest festivals, e.g. Toronto, Sundance etc. and sales agents will be presented with films in different stages of development right from pitching. The program of the festival includes this movie:
LE DAIM (DEERSKIN)
Watchable. It's weird. A budget film which tells a cohesive story. The murder spree is predictable and the 79 minutes feel lengthy but the simplicity of means results in a clear storyline. Is Georges a western-genre hero? Or is it a fallow deer revenge? Is he plain mad? Or is there a method in this madness? With a mid-credit.
THE SALT OF THE EARTH
Recommended. It's engaging even in the beginning when you learn how Sebastiao Salgado became a photographer and what's it like to do this job. His ability to compose a picture impresses. But the power of the documentary lies in what is shown and even more in what you hear: on the one hand human brutality, atrocities of war, the genocide in Rwanda where corpses covered 150 km and on the other the beauty of the natural world. Most astonishingly, it proves a forest can be replanted the way the Salgados did in Brazil reforesting 600 ha with 2,5 million trees. So there is hope for the planet.
PRZEGLĄD KINA SZWAJCARSKIEGO (SWISS CINEMA SCREENING)
PAUSE
Watchable. Hardly a comedy. I chuckled about twice but most is on the sad side. Mediocre western-style music. "The Future Is Now" spectacle in the film looks more impressive than the actual movie. Engaging enough due to a relationship story but skippable.
FIGHTER
Watchable. The new Polish production about MMA and boxing is swiftly directed, easy to follow. The script is pretty standard for the genre, with reasonably good dialogues. The two main protagonists act well, especially taking into account that the actors have no idea how to fight. Editing creates fight dynamics, Piotr Stramowski and Mikołaj Roznerski provide muscled silhouettes.
Большое Путешествие (THE BIG TRIP)
Recommended. This tale enthrals. Not only is the animation delightful, with detailed and varied textures, rocks along the river looking like real and the animals resembling big cuddly toys, the story's adorable too. The hare is totally lovable and cute even when he's reckless and irresponsible. The dialogues are the highlight, e.g. the pelican says he played a part in "Pelican America" but turned down an invitation to the premiere because there was a Falcon Millennium. References to cultural and social life abound. Some situations are hilarious, e.g. when the bear has woken from a nightmare where all other animals tell him he's their dad and he sees the hare sleepwalking calling him "daddy". The music includes widely recognizable folk song "La cucaracha", pop hits and classical pieces perfectly matching the action.DRUNK PARENTS
Watchable. The hapless upper middle-class parents in financial troubles, who, trying to resolve the situation, find themselves in dire straits makes you root for them. But the film's moronic rather than funny. Decent music.
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