Movie reviews

CZARNY MERCEDES (BLACK MERCEDES)

Recommended. A superb historical thriller. Perfect script, intricately twisted but clear-cut. The initial murder is re-played later in the context of the plot the viewer has grasped. Clever and unpredictable. Wagner's "Die Walküre" and Beethoven are used as soundtrack, aptly so since the music pieces blend in seamlessly. The pre-war and war years are recreated in a way pleasing to the eye. You feel you could walk into the movie and live there. Producer Włodzimierz Niederhaus makes a cameo in the Jewish ghetto restaurant.


INDIAN WEEK IN URSYNOW

BAJIRAO MASTANI (2015)

Recommended. A full-blown blockbuster. The scale is just epic. Stunning cinematography with shots like paintings from old manuscripts. Enchanting music, costumes, jewellery, palace. The story, inspired by historic events, gripping but also moving at times. Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh all excel as those involved in the romantic triangle. The film's pure perfection.


PILSUDSKI

Watchable. The beginning captures your attention and doesn't let go till Piłsudski gets home. From then on it's so wooden only obligatory school trips might be interested. Emphasis was put on the historic realism and listing all events instead of on maintaining the viewers' engagement in the plot. Skippable on the whole. A terribly contemporary Organek's song over the end credits is "To nie miało prawa się stać" ("It had no right to happen") which sums up the film pretty well.