Movie reviews

SPLAT! FILM FEST ONLINE 

SHORT FILMS

DIABLA 

Watchable. While it reflects the dream of revenge after being raped, the supposed "witchcraft" seems to hurt the girl rather - judging from the blood and the actual revenge requires no magic. A sharp knife is sufficient. Poorly acted too. One thing the film succeeds in is its depiction of the machismo culture in Mexico.

AND THEN GOD LAUGHED

Recommended. Fantastic script: the protagonist is amiable, the criminal investigation is thoroughly engaging and provides good suspense, the ending is brilliant. The whole film maintains black humour. Superbly acted, especially by Jon Weintraub in the leading role. 

SYNCHRONIZACJA (SYNCHRONIZATION)

Watchable. 2084 and winter outside - optimists. The action is intriguing but what "program" Wanda has created is never revealed. What's more, the plot combines witchcraft with science which only makes it less plausible. And it's gross - all that talking about semen extraction... A mess.

Most films are loud enough, all have clear big subtitles on black background and all run smoothly. You can start a film one day and continue the next. Technically, the festival's little short of perfection. The short film section is superb: varied in genre and cultures but maintaining high quality throughout. I'll be looking forward to the next edition, hopefully online too, at least short films. 

WATCH DOCS FESTIVAL ONLINE

I wasn't able to see the last film on my voucher. Mojeekino.pl claims I've seen 10, I know for a fact I've seen 9 (eight films + one 2-film set). The festival's over. I'm upset. That's on top of the problem with stuttering screenings. The platform's utterly annoying. On the other hand, I learnt a lot about the world - like every year, all films were of high quality, they also had large subtitles on black background and were audible. You could start a film one day and continue the next. Q&As and debates are still available on Facebook which is very convenient. They are subtitled so you don't need to wait for interpreting and hear the same thing twice like it used to be in real life. The online festival was a hit, the platform a miss.