Movie reviews

SCRIPT FIESTA

KLINIKA SCENARIUSZOWA

The discussed scripts in the making were:

"Jak kamień w wodę", self-taught scriptwriter Łukasz Wasilewski's psychological family drama which turns into fantasy halfway into the film. The writer's main problem was that characters' motivations were unjustified psychologically and it was doctored by "Tato" ("Daddy") writer Maciej Ślesicki - I don't think I've ever seen his movie till the end, I remember it as rubbish but his advice for Łukasz Wasilewski made sense. I often find the same problem in the films I watch. Another issue was: "If I know (something), what am I going to watch it for?" As for the expected movie, I'd love to see the second half, but only with quality visuals. Neither a family drama nor a tragedy about a mourning are enticing. 

"Eksperyment", a drama by Anna Maksymenko with characters, in Maciej Ślesicki's view, so negative that he instructed her that at least some characters have to be amiable so they viewers feel for them and discussed how to show people's motivations and feelings. The story of a psychologicy student experimenting with influence on people doesn't tickle my fancy so I personally hope the movie won't be shot.

"Zenit" by Alicja Wąsowska - the first piece of advice you hear is: "the fewer protagonists the better, a simple relationship is more complex" - I guess it may work for budget dramas. Ślesicki had a similar observation to mine: the treatment she presented was half a movie. I liked his idea to make it into a full-blown crime story. Although, just like she initially intended, it still looks like crime/drama and the drama part makes me apprehensive, especially that one of the protagonists is a disabled kid. On the other part, Alicja Wąsowska knows how to structure a crime plot so I'm counting on her.

Olga Rutkowiak-Krawczyk's "Grawitacja" is a drama about infertility. Ślesicki mentioned he had also made "13. posterunek" - a serial I found too much of bargain-basement humour to follow. Still, his remarks were to the point. Sadly, the author is hellbent on her unoriginal idea and again, I wish she completely gave up on the topic.

Paulina Masiak's "Ostatni śpiew" is a drama about a relationship of an odd septuagenarian man and a 30-something female recluse. The ailment of the script was that both the aim and the evil must be tangible. With an aim set, you write everything that will hinder the hero. It's good if the protagonist is treated unfairly so that the viewer supports them. Makes sense but who would be attracted by the subject matter in the first place?

I'm disappointed Polish authors tend to write dramas and all those treatments give a déjà vu.

All the script-doctoring conversations are subtitled in English, though with grammatical mistakes.