FESTIWAL FILMOW FRANKOFONSKICH (FRANCOPHONE FILM FESTIVAL) - ONLINE

LE JEUNE AHMED (YOUNG AHMED) (2019)

Watchable. The Belgian offering is the brainchild of the Dardenne brothers whose previous work includes "La fille inconnue" ("The Unknown Girl") - also dealing with the issues of acculturation of Arabs in Europe. They retake the subject, in a completely different story, in this efficient thriller which makes clever use of both suspense and depicting the issue from a few Muslim points of view. The movie's made by the numbers, with a few twists of action. Still, the by-the-book script means it's too predictable for the most part.

LES HIRONDELLES DE KABOUL (THE SWALLOWS OF KABUL) (2019)

Watchable. An elegant animation about the Taliban rule. This moving adaptation of the Algerian novel of the same title is too poetic, with unnatural dialogue, for a film. The literary conversations between the characters remind you over and over again it's fiction.

Next time subtitles on black background, please. Both films had them barely legible on light backgrounds.

YES, GOD, YES

Watchable. Expected a raunchy flick? God forbid! It's a Catholic high school and their  community retreat. The satire on how controlling the Catholic community is is a peculiar mixture: tame but with filthy jokes, even toilet humour is unavoidable. Gentle but sexual connotations are served straight in your face. Pleasant on the whole, mostly owing to wonderfully stereotypical character performances. 

The movie will be available on several Polish vod platforms from Friday and is on one alredy.

FESTIWAL FILMOW FRANKOFONSKICH (FRANCOPHONE FILM FESTIVAL) - ONLINE

ADORATION (2019)

Watchable. The first act of the Belgian-French offering plods along, on the silly side, and three elements are disturbing: the bird, the kept girl and the mother but the movie livens up at the escape and, unpredictable from act two, keeps you intrigued. What did Gloria do? Is she truly sane? Can she be really dangerous? The story brings associations with "La Pazza Gioia" ("Like Crazy") - through the troubled but joyful escape and "The Snow Queen" fairy-tale - the places they visit represent various lands and, at least in a runaway's mind, turn dangerous or hide menace. Several frame-like pictures in underlit setting of varying hues are so badly in-your-face they fail to impress.

The sound and Polish subtitles are of the same quality as in "Orizont".

DE GAULLE IN EIRINN (DE GAULLE IN IRELAND) (2020)

Watchable. The Irish documentary, partly in Irish language, about a little known episode in Charles de Gaulle's life is a chance to learn about the history of France, the history of Ireland and 20th century politics in Europe. Lovely pictures of Ireland, mostly shot on the rare days of sunny weather fill the gaps between the historical trivia. As for the form, it consists of 4 parts with blackouts in between. 

The sound and Polish subtitles are of the same quality as in previously mentioned films, with tht difference of a lack of black space below the picture.

TAMBOUR BATTANT (2019)

Watchable. Amusing rivalry in a small Swiss town of the 70s. Aloys is played by Pierre Mifsud whose acting chops and manner match those of late Louis de Funes. Pierre Mifsud is the star of the show. I'm not sure why his competitor looks like a porn star. The comedy is built on oppositions: old and new music, traditional and progressive social values, political right and left. But the moment I laughed out loud was when Aloys was giving a speech so fervently he hit his aide. The best scene though comes right after the shooting at the train station and leads straight to the finale. It's mostly the quality of actual music that detracts from the comedy. 

No black space below the picture again. The subtitles are smaller this time, legible only from up close and placed often on light background. 

FESTIWAL FILMOW FRANKOFONSKICH (FRANCOPHONE FILM FESTIVAL) - ONLINE

I've seen wonderful "Dalida" and so-so "La femme de mon frère" ("A Brother's Love") before. So I've got 6 left to see this year - the festival runs to 26 March and is free of charge.

ORIZONT (2015)

Watchable. An enigmatic but engaging crime drama. I mean, I couldn't make out who the few dodgy groups of people were but the protagonist knew how to react. May be down to my lack of knowledge of Romanian society and the movie seems to explore the socio-psychological roots of the rural underworld. The way the film cast interact with one another appears natural and the dialogue and the thugs authentic. For the most part, I thought the movie should be titled "Crime and No Punishment" but that comes in the end too.

It's loud and the subtitles are legible from a distance, apart from those on light background, shame the black space below wasn't used for that but I guess the movie was initially destined for cinemas.

NAJLEPSZE KROTKIE METRAZE 2021/VOL. 1

A set of 4 short films shown in this order:

ALICJA I ZABKA (ALICE AND THE FROG)

Watchable. Kiss a prince and he'll turn into a frog - one in your tummy, that is. Or a tadpole rather since that resembles a spermatozoon more. This artistic representation of minors' and adults' reactions to underage pregnancy draws on a number of cultural references: from Alice following a rabbit to the urban legend of a "Sun" game. The horror of being refused a legal termination gets muddled through those artistic insertions though, however visually thought-out they are.

WE HAVE ONE HEART

Switched off. Only for people nosy enough to be interested in some strangers' family relations. And you'd better like children - a kid narrates the story.

NOAMIA

Watchable. The promising set-up of a gay police officer recognising a male victim is spoilt when the crime doesn't get resolved. Instead you follow a convoluted psychological drama with some filthy remarks thrown in. Despite that, the secret love undertone makes the whole thing intriguing. It's also rare to see recognisable actors in a short film so keep an eye out for some familiar faces including Bartłomiej Topa.

WIELKI STRACH

Recommended. In Poland, you've been hearing horrifying war stories since childhood. But these events haven't been known to me before at all. At first it looks like some boring talking heads, very old and worn so hardly enticing. But as you listen to the stories, they become more and more blood-curdling. The documentary deals with post-war crimes in Podkarpacie, where Polish people murdered other Poles on a mass scale. The slaughters, often for some miserable possessions, extended till the 50s. One of the tales is about a man who deprived a girl returning after the war of her suitcase and threw her into a well - she didn't get killed instantly but kept moaning - only to discover, upon opening the case and finding photographs, that she was his daughter. Unbelievable what became of people in the result of war when destitute. Interestingly, even nowadays witnesses and fact seekers are threatened, most likely by descendants of the criminals. Leaves you in sheer horror.

Seen online, cinematic reception might differ.

KAZDY MA SWOJE LATO (EVERYONE HAS A SUMMER)

Watchable. A typical Polish tragicomedy, this one with a satirical look both at neurodegeneration occurring in elderly people and at the clash between vegetarians and carnivores. It is funny at times, e.g. when you see who gets interested in the girl the most but later, on a few occasions, turns sour. Why can't Poles create pure fun?! Nicolas Przygoda as butcher Mirek and Maciej Grzybowski as his grandfather stand out acting-wise. Each character develops within the story, there's some female nudity and it's women who provoke the men - everything's made by the traditional, sexist, Polish movie-shooting book. Engaging enough but simplistic, stereotypical and disturbing.

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THE VIBRANT VILLAGE

Recommended. A brilliant satirical short film: when men drink in a bar, women manufacture vibrators.

I'LL CALL YOU WHEN I GET THERE

Watchable. The conversations of a young artist with her overly apprehensive mother and a police officer at some point get hilarious. But there's no point in this short film other than showing the two points of view.

NIE MASZ DYSTANSU (YOU ARE OVERREACTING)

Recommended. A wonderful short film on rape culture, using common people's and real life politicians' statements on women.

ER SIE ICH (HE SHE I)

Switched off. Strangers dissect their convoluted relationship. An avoidant man and a loving woman - bog-standard. Altogether a boring autopsy of a dead relationship.

KATE NASH: UNDERESTIMATE THE GIRL

Recommended. I hadn't even heard of this artist before and I'm still not a fan of her type of music but her life story where "the universe" would sometimes say "no" or "swing" her in a specific direction proved to be fascinating and now I'm wholeheartedly rooting for her. Kate's colourful attires, wonderful hairstyles and imaginative make-up change over and over again as you follow her highs and lows round the world. At some point the story gets criminal and you feel angry about the "badass reputation" being style in the LA music industry. Amazing how she drew on feminine powers to fight the evil ex-manager in court. It's also a comprehensive behind-the-scenes look at money-making in music. Film-wise, her most adorable dog Stella is the icing on the cake.

The Polish short films enjoyed top-notch sound, I had an impression I found myself in the cinema. The general screening quality was fine, a bit annoying you have to set up an account for the Pięć Smaków platform even for the free screenings.

DRUK (ANOTHER ROUND)

Watchable. The movie tries hard to persuade you that culture is based on intoxication. I'm not buying this idea but the plot centred round a group of seemingly-reasonable adults experimenting with booze meant to improve inter-human relations and release your mind strengths is engaging. An insertion of videos of drunk politicians and mentioning anecdotes about them seems meant to justify alcoholism but also shows how easily you can manipulate public opinion selecting facts. A death would normally show danger but the film so strongly justifies moderate, even if daily, drinking, it's internally contradictory. The highlight is the magnificently choreographed finale. Can I have another round of Mads Mikkelsen dancing, please? In fact, I'd love to see him in a musical next. 

POSSESSOR UNCUT

Watchable. By Brandon Cronenberg, David Cronenberg's son, so it's not surprising the movie shares some key attributes of his predecessor's "eXistenZ" (1999) - humans connecting their bodies to machines and getting lost in what's reality and what isn't as well as Andrew Niccol's "The Host" (2013) - though this mind-intruder is quite earthly. Futuristic chairs and retro glasses represent state-of-art companies. Never mind the assassin one, also Zoothroo deals in shocking data-mining via webcams. They're both evil corporations crossing boundaries of morality and privacy. That's as much is lucid even though the film's based on understatements, forcing you to connect the dots yourself. But as a horror, it fails to scare, too much ketchup-resembling gore - each assassination is splattered with fresh arterial spray. The movie may appear original to youngsters but to those familiar with David Cronenberg's work it's the same fun updated and reloaded. Just how many times can you serve the same fare?

AMMONITE

Watchable. Another costume lesbian story, hard even not to compare to "Portrait de la jeune fille en feu" ("Portrait of a Lady on Fire"), also taking place by the seaside. This one is only occasionally subtle though and far from sophistication - there's even some hot woman on woman action. Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan shed their purely romantic image. Elaborate period dresses of one of the women contrast with austere ones of the other since the second bottom is a class clash. Erotic passion mixes with an admiration of a rare specimen they both seem to be to each other. Masterful sound effects render this simple tale vivid, as if you were there. 

All seen online, cinematic reception might differ.

SWEAT

Watchable. I expected a flick about narcissism, envy, rivalry. Luckily the movie has defied my expectations. The protagonist, apart from her amazing looks (perfectly cast Magdalena Koleśnik: beautiful, athletic and able to express any emotion) is likeable: every dog would love to have such an owner, she has a heartfelt conversation with an old school mate, is kind to her family, environmentally friendly and hard-working. The rest of the cast acts natural, the pace is decent, the actress changes costumes frequently which, combined with pop music and rhythmic exercise, makes it just nice to watch till the finale which is a sequence of her unpredictable decisions. While watching, I was struck by the grace of Sylwia's attitude to people's weaknesses. But after the movie I couldn't shake off the feeling something was intrinsically wrong: is a man's masturbation when looking at an attractive stranger just a weakness? Can't he overcome it? Does he really have to harass her? The message the film sends is sexist to the core.

PALM SPRINGS

Watchable. A light, sun-bathed comedy based on a fascinating sci-fi set-up. Starts with college age drunken antics type of humour, some pranks are pretty pathetic, but the tale is perfectly-paced and at some point takes a more serious turn leading to a quantum leap of faith. In spite of a prankster-level plot, you don't get bored for a minute and even start analyzing the pros and cons of living a day on a loop. Light in tone but hardly funny, I only grinned at "I'm your son" scene just before the finale. Still, entertaining it is. The mid-credit ties up one loose end.

SOUND OF METAL

Watchable. My primary impression: "Le chant du loup" ("The Wolf's Call") showed it better, even though it was just a brief moment in the film. This one is admittedly comprehensive, the whole film is devoted to the niche topic of losing your hearing and it's even more niche because the protagonist is a heavy metal band drummer. On the other hand, it makes the story relevant to an audience that's into gigs. So you traipse along the musician hearing, not hearing, mishearing sounds. Riz Ahmed is sloppy in the leading role, his speech is never fully clear, not even at the beginning when he still hears at times, he sounds like a chain smoker at all times, that dryness of his larynx calls for a doctor, not a director. The drama of Ruben and the help group leader getting their wires crossed is engaging as are the practicalities of such a tremendous life change. The sound effects give the story a real feel but in a documentary sense rather than dramatic. Some behaviours of Ruben, Lou or the help group leader, who I'm not sure whether he was a priest or not, are incomprehensible. I'm not sure if it's the script writer, the director or the actors but someone seriously failed in this respect. Hard to identify yourself with people you don't understand.

Both seen online, cinematic reception might differ.

BURROW

Watchable. The Pixar short screened together with "Soul" has no words and is clearly for little children. The pictures are quite simple, yet the tale, in its simple form, deals with looking for your place in life and your place to live at the same time. So both the wee ones and adults of all ages will find a point of reference.

SOUL

Recommended. For adults rather than children since the plot is complex and multi-layered. The basic idea resembles "Coco" but the realm of the dead is more otherworldly and the tale conveys a different message, a number of messages in fact. Disney raises a bar for the animation genre once again. The afterlife is mostly translucent and pastel or black, depending on the spatial geometric forms dominating the area. Shimmering surfaces and opalescent landscapes are mesmerising. Varied animation styles not only keep you glued to the screen, they also proudly aim for an Oscar. The plot is truly moving at times, humorous at others, thought-provoking, profound and smart on several levels: from people's little foibles to the meaning of life and the clash of one's destiny and dream. As for the award-winning music, the likes of Herbie Hancock, George Spencer and 4 others are credited as cultural and music consultants and it's Atmos-recorded. Personally, I'm not a jazz fan but the music style is the least important in the story. In Poland, the dialogues and even most of the songs are in Polish. Only the last song over the end credits is in the English original. A funny, brief post-credit completes the story and is worth waiting for.