THE OTHER STORY
Watchable. The director announced it as a story based on facts with something unbelievable in the middle. To me there were no suprises, there were several little twists though so it was engaging but with no "wow" factor.
LADY TITI SINGS THE BLUES
Watchable. I didn't laugh out loud but still thoroughly enjoyed the humour of the dress-up comedy of errors with strong social and gender undertones. I loved the way the man in the lead role struts, especially when deciding in which direction to run - the funniest bits.
In the 1990 there was big immigration of Jews from Ethiopia and the former USSR to Israel. The community was underfunded which led to the creation of a ghetto, crime and drugs. In the most extreme cases Ethiopians are killed by the police and the officers don't even go to trial. So the community don't want to vote for Netanyahu any more after 30 years. The Q&A was with the Israeli producer and the Ethiopian (female) director. At first she wanted to make a drama about it but the producer suggested a comedy and it worked out. The main protagonist is dressed up as a woman to experience being one. He's played by a dancer from the famous Batsheva Dance Company, not an actor. In the audition he knew how to move like a woman. On set he used to forget he was a man. But it had taken him 3 months to create the female image of Worko. He learnt it by imitating his wife's movements. Homosexuality is "non-existent" in Ethiopia so that was another issue to tackle. It's been the first and the last so far screening outside Israel.
COVERED UP
Recommended. About how high standards Hasidic community members have to live up to, the price they pay for being looked after so well and about how the family works, which is visible especially in the scene where the father tells a girl to tuck in loose hair to look modest enough.
I asked the director/protagonist who's divorced, what went wrong, with so many precautions taken by the families before a couple is matched. She responded she had been seeing her prospective husband for 9 days.
YOU ONLY DIE TWICE
Watchable. Hard to comprehend, too much data. But when you hear a Nazi might have been pretending to be a Jew, it nails you to the seat. Nothing is what it seems. The investigation leads to surprising findings.
To sum up the festival, it comprised 33 movies form 15 countries, selected from 800 works. The films were of exceptionally high quality this year and delivered a comprehensive picture of a community of strict rules but supportive to its members. 9000 tickets were issued and 3000 votes cast. I don't know what the entry tickets were for though since you were let in if there were free spaces and extra seats were brought in. The interpreters usually mistranslated what the guests said. The volunteers often had no clue what to do and how. But the core staff were very pleasant and respectful of everyone, even though some people in the audience clearly were homeless or had mental issues. A problem of it being a free event.
GOOD BOYS
Recommended. The trailer implied a low-brow comedy like several class B American stuff. But it's a humorous and intelligent story of the pains of growing up as well as learning the adult world. The tweens, acted masterfully by Jacob Tremblay as Max, Brady Noon as Thor and Keith L. Williams as Lucas, are so cute and the comedy so sweet you remember what it was like to be 12. Several pop culture references appear: "Annabelle", "Game of Thrones", "Stranger Things".
LEGIONY (THE LEGIONS)
Watchable. Shot in pleasant, warm colours, unlike most Polish historical productions which tend to be so dark you can barely recognize the people - this one is clear and easy to watch. Good, humorous dialogues, e.g. "Pieniądze czekają w kasie pancernej." "Twoje?" "Jeszcze nie." ("The money's waiting in a strongbox." "Yours?" "Not yet."). The storyline's balanced and well-structured: military scenes and ordinary life/love ones come alternately. The plot is quite typical for such patriotic enterprises
ANGEL HAS FALLEN
Watchable. The start is mundane but exactly 20 minutes in, the action takes off with a blast. In an ingenious way. And there are some other entertaining surprises later on. Excellent sound effects and visuals. A satisfactory continuation of the series.
AD ASTRA AT IMAX
Recommended. It tells very realistically about the space. And people too. Plot-wise, it's a space opera which questions itself. It does have gravity, no monkey business - at least not successful (a reference comprehensible only after you've seen the film). At Imax, it makes you feel like you're out there on a space mission. Flying onboard "Cepheus", who in Greek mythology had to sacrifice his daughter to stop a disaster, is a son who has to decide whether to sacrifice his estranged father. "Per aspera ad astra" ("through hardships to the stars").
LYING AND STEALING
Watchable. A standard plot for the genre with thieves having to work off their debts, with some inventive ways of stealing artworks, beautiful Emily Ratajkowski, good cinematography providing the glam effect. Decent music.
ДЫЛДА (BEANPOLE)
Watchable. Protracted and sick. Only the conversation with Marsha's boyfriend's parents makes sense, clarifying both girls' background from which this disturbing, plain wrong and weird relationship between Masha and Iya stems.
RAMBO: LAST BLOOD
Recommended. What can John Rambo do with his life on return? Is he still fighting the war? Well, the war is on human trafficking across the Mexican border. And he's as fit as new. With a tribute to the whole series over the end credits.
KINO DZIECI (KIDS KINO)
MOOMINVALLEY (2019)
Recommended. Delightful, with cute animals and better animation than in "Muumien joulu" ("Moomins and the Winter Wonderland") of two years ago. Soothing, soft voices in the original dubbing, with Rosamund Pike as Moominmamma. Light, 80s-style songs but also a music piece like from Disney cartoons from a century ago. Viewer-friendly - you don't have to remember the story or who is who to understand the films. It''s a mild way of teaching children how to deal with life issues, suitable for the 6+ year-olds it's aimed at. Good translation into Polish. Children watched the tales infatuated and concentrated.
DIE DREI RAUBER (THE THREE ROBBERS) (2007)
Watchable. The title song with a brass band sounds like in the theatre rather than the cinema. The rapid-movement animation style is annoying. Later varied drawing styles are used. The story and the pictures are dark but it all ends well and you learn the surprising origins of the robbers. In the Polish dubbing the voices are not always clear. There's one mid-credit and later on you hear a song and a silly conversation along the end credits.
And one for adults, outside the festival:
LES CREVETTES PAILLETEES (THE SHINY SHRIMPS)
Watchable. A light-hearted comedy. Not exactly hilarious but moderately amusing anyway. E.g. children called Gaspar and Noé, like the famous film director or, already on opening credits: "dad + dad = a well-dressed child". The highlight is their cover of Sabrina's "Boys (Summertime Love)" - that simply must be heard and seen. Ryan Gosling is mentioned as a "gay icon". I wonder what his wife would say.
KINO DZIECI (KIDS KINO)
PETTERSSON UND FINDUS - KLEINER QUALGEIST, GROSSE FREUNDSCHAFT (PETTSON & FINDUS: FUN STUFF) (2014)
Recommended. Immaculately acted. Technically superb: digital mushrooms and creatures are superimposed on authentic backgrounds. The story's complex yet perfectly suitable for children. Some bits are funny, e.g. when Petterson realises his cat can talk, other, like action, make kids react tumultously. The story contains ingenious adventures and lots of child psychology. The movie's of perfect length. Pettersson plays antics over the end credits.
OPERASJON MORKEMANN (OPERATION SHADOWMAN) (2018)
Watchable. Quite a typical treasure-hunt story for older children. Typical also for Scandinavian cinema since it's the rich who are guilty here. At least the rich and the poor make peace in the end. There's a scene just after the credits start in which the children ask questions to check how attentively you've been watching. No answers are given at this point.
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