Movie reviews

THE HUMAN VOICE + PEDRO ALMODOVAR AND TILDA SWINTON Q&A

Watchable. Pedro Almodóvar's drama about unrequited love starts off like a thriller. Music plays a major role in this feeling of quickly mounting tension. But in English, with a Scottish actress, it's still the original Almodóvar. The storyline is straight out of Jean Cocteau's play of the same title (French: "La voix humaine") and doesn't transcribe into a movie well. The result is obnoxious theatricality from scene one - visible in costumes and Tilda Swinton's stilted performance. She doesn't convey the despair, she's just too distanced and aloof to move. The monodrama also literally takes place on- and off-stage. Books and DVDs appearing in the frame matter: Bergman, "Kill Bill", "The Phantom Thread" et al. bring cultural associations and form a mind-game for those willing to dig deeper in the interpretation. Like in other Almodóvar creations, the director paints a vivid picture, dominated by red and enhanced by vintage - here 60s - decor mixed with modern large geometrical elements in the flat. While in "Dolor y gloria" ("Pain And Glory") he recreated his own flat, this one, purposefully designed for "The Human Voice", is equally rich in detail and colour but, by being motley, less attractive than the previous. The music, reproduced from "La piel que habito" ("The Skin I Live In"), "Habla con ella" ("Talk To Her")and "Los abrazos rotos" ("Broken Embraces"), is scarce but wonderful and creates emotions lacking in the actress' performance. It was only Tilda's remark in the Q&A that made me wonder whether the phone calls took place for real (withing the reality of the tale). In the film they seemed like she was talking to her ex-lover. The movie will appeal to anyone who's had their heart ripped out and stomped on.

Agustín Almodóvar, Pedro's brother, produced the movie and appeared in it together with a few other family members. Tilda Swinton is slated to appear in Pedro's next, now half-written enterprise, because of her physique. 

Warsaw-dwelling viewers may feel privileged due to Yestersen's unique initiative: the company showroom in 5 Lekarska Street, Warsaw is going to recreate the room from "The Human Voice" around 6-8 June.

미나리 (MINARI)

Watchable. This critically acclaimed (6 Oscar nominations, 1 win) family drama about Koreans' American dream, set in the 1980s, focuses on acculturation from all angles - each character goes through it differently. Also each country has its own customary beliefs. Fine performances all around and a touching story with several tender scenes make the movie engaging. Yet disturbing, bed-wetting details and pranks make the viewing uneasy. It's not neat cinema but down-to-earth to the point of some dirt-digging. The way the film's cast interact with one another gives an illusion of a genuine family. Shifting positions in the clan over time and space are another major subject. Jacob (superb Steven Yeun) tries to prove himself worthy as a man who can't chicken out. The movie's executed by the numbers, e.g. with the history of the Korean war in mind, a local befriends the family hence becoming the immigrant's subordinate. A predictable ending detracts slightly from this beautiful, cosy drama. 

Muranów Cinema in Warsaw, Poland had their large screening rooms repainted. The blue one is now brighter, bolder blue and both the blue one and the red one, combined with improved lighting, expose the shapes, e.g. of mask reliefs, better.