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.
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