Movie reviews

SCRIPT FIESTA

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EROTICA 2022 

Kaja Klimek's first question was to the point: about the cooperation between book writers and screenwriters. No one answered it, instead they talked about how they had got in touch. Luckily Kaja insisted. Olga Tokarczuk, before her Nobel prize then, wanted "the new surrealism", which is apparently a trend in literature now, to translate into the film. The writers worked on the set too, ensuring the actors say everything the way they intended. They also stayed in the wood, enjoying a holiday. Anna Kazejak wrote not about the future but about a reality where women are pressured on what they can or can't do and her protagonist slips out from this reality. Ilona Witkowska mentioned the perspective of our lives in the face of the climate disaster to be 30 years instead of 70 years. Naked scenes require a careful approach since once you get them wrong, you ruin them forever. The answers to the question about what writing is to them were interesting but of no practical value so I'm not quoting them.

Consecutive translation into English means it's better watched non-live so that you can skip one version to save time, the interpretation is sometimes incorrect. Though, on the other hand, it occasionally clarifies the Polish authors' meandering answers.

JAK POWSTALA EUFORIA

The meeting with Ron Leshem on how "Euphoria" came into being was more factual. His first advice was: re-writing the script several times takes 5-10 years so pick up what you're passionate about. Also, remind yourself over and over again of the one idea that the script originated from. He finds research more exciting than writing. He normally chooses the bodies he wants to be inside and feels compassion for. Once he's written, he doesn't want to be in that world anymore. He prefers to learn about new worlds. Only putting a mirror in front of the viewer's face and disturbing them can become an art. He remarks that nowadays lives of 17-year-olds and 40-year-olds don't differ much. "Euphoria" is a new quality because, while cinema has happened to present teenagers as adults, TV used to paternalise them, educate etc. Israeli series, with 100 scenes per episode, have 1/5 of the budgets usual in Europe. On the other hand, he once wrote a pilot on espionage which was adapted into Korean. American producers wanted "Euphoria" to be more like "Skins", more comic. But HBO got a new president, who was courageous enough. Sam Levinson fought his own addiction in his youth. Ron Leshem wasn't a 17 like this himself. For Sam, it was his personal story. Series producers require a tried and tested structure, that's why they use an algorithm. E.g. Tarantino follows an algorithm in his movies. TV is even more obsessive, they require the "Saving the cat" structure. That means drama writers need to know how it's going to develop and end. Exploring all possible journeys of a character requires a thought that lasts 6-7 hours, not our usual 20 seconds. In a drama, every disaster has a purpose and every evil has a reason so he finds comfort and solace in writing. And also because that gives him solitude as opposed to working as an executive with 300 other people. Netflix and HBO invest billions of dollars a year into the content. Every American home has an average of 4 different streaming services. There's a potential for watching TV in autonomous, self-driving cars. For the first time in history, there's a global platform for television. So cultural differences in shows stand out. He advises not to write before you've got the treatment and to go back to one-liners. If there's a problem, such strong roots will show what's not working. If a Hollywood executive calls your work brilliant, you won't hear from him once you leave the room. It's better when they have remarks what needs correcting - their ideas needn't be taken seriously but they point to where there's an issue. Otherwise, you'll be writing endless drafts. When you know your focus time - his is from 6 a.m. to noon - don't answer emails, don't waste that time. You have to work with someone you feel comfortable with. He also talked of the importance of "door opening" by renowned writers for the yet unknown ones. 

Kaja Klimek's comment about the interpreter sums up her English: "He's really the best. It's a great translator." Her pronunciation was comprehensible but sometimes off. Jan Kłoczko's overinterpretation was off too and sometimes even distorted the sense of what Ron Leshem said. At least Kaja Klimek's questions were to the point, smart and worth asking. Just as were Ron Leshem's answers.

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EX-NIHILO

Watchable. A poorly produced satire on film-making in the guise of creating a science fiction movie. Too theatrical in the form and too philosophical in the content. And while it's clear it's a satire, it's not amusing at all.