Movie reviews

SUMMER OF SOUL (...OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)

Recommended. I'm not into R'n'B, gospel or jazz but this documentary, recorded in surrounding Atmos quality, made me want to dance. Yet it's moving with more than the rhythms, even though the music extends over the credits and culminates in a part-musical, part-banter post-credit with Stevie Wonder. Yes, Stevie Wonder, B. B. King, Gladys Knight, Hugh Masekela and plenty of others feature. But Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, the Black Panthers are part of the picture too. More than colourful clothes and more than the landing on the Moon, the Harlem festival was the ultimate black power and unity experience. 

DON'T LOOK UP

Recommended. Big colourful lettering of the names in the opening and closing credits. Star cast, awesome visual effects of the outer space. And lots of contemporary references. Trump's presidency is mocked - here the president is female but it's clear it's a Trump mockery. 23% people don't believe in the comet - clearly based on the experience of the pandemic. Conspiracy theories, politics, media, a billionaire - a smart and entertaining reflection of what you find in the news every day. With a post-credit. 

PSYCHO GOREMAN

Watchable. 90s-style class B horror and teenage flick mockery. The title tells you almost all you need to know. I'll only add that the plot, though full of gore and ripped bodies, is childish, as if meant for kids. The lead child actress (Nita-Josée Hanna) overacts annoyingly. The inept parents are infantile too. The film's moronic but unpredictable owing to twists of action. Stupid monsters. Good disco music. There's a mid-credit - with a little twist and taken with a pinch of salt.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

SAMIEC ALFA (ALPHA MALE)

Watchable. Starts with making fun both of complex buildings where you can never find your way and of personal development courses. Well cast, including hottie Konrad Eleryk as Andrzej. But each of the actors, whether famous or not, whether ugly or not, performs the distinct characters suitably for the comedy you expect. The problem is it's a drama. One with an incomprehensibly violent third act. Although there is an inside joke: Bojanowski is the producer's surname. While the contrived story is internally consistent, I wonder what and who it's for.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

ARTEKINO FESTIVAL 2021

I'm skipping Ukrainian "Моя війна" ("Inner Wars") which I have seen and reviewed here before. 

WOOD AND WATER

Watchable. The German offering is a slow movie which juxtaposes forested Schwarzwald with high rise ultra urban Hong Kong. The story is simple but pleasant, soothing, due to amicable protagonists. It feels like sightseeing.

NOCTURNAL

Watchable. They got the numbers wrong. He must have been 15, not 17. Other than that, it's a story engaging from the start. Set among working class people. British.

GLI ULTIMI A VEDERLI VIVERE (THE LAST TO SEE THEM)

Recommended. Ominous music by Ben Roessler and a road about which you're informed in the beginning that's going to end for the family abruptly. Hence you're watching like on a time bomb. The movie's German, just set in Italy and recorded all in Italian in Basilicata.

PETIT SAMEDI

 

Watchable. Belgian. Appears to be a documentary by the man's sister. About addiction, mostly from the point of view of a worried mother but also the addict's own, e.g. when he talks about an emotional overload when sober or the need to stay busy to reduce the amount of drugs he consumes.

SAMI, JOE UND ICH (SAMI, JOE AND I)

Recommended. The Swiss offering is a coming-of-age drama where three immigrant girls have to deal with male domination, manipulation and coercion manifesting itself in a few ways. Shockingly true to life experiences of many young women. 

LOMO: THE LANGUAGE OF MANY OTHERS

Recommended. German. Another coming-of-age drama - this one from a 17-year-old middle class boy's point of view. An original, entertaining story which is like being led blind, you never know where it's going to take you. It's saucy, crime and business world are extra attractions. Jonas Dassler excels in the leading role. 

LICORICE PIZZA

Watchable. Paul Thomas Anderson meticulously recreates the 70s: fashion, trends, laws, music, mentions of the Vietnam war or Barbra Streisand. Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper grace episodes. Only the story, though engaging and well shot, with just the right dosage of close-ups, goes nowhere. OK, I do admire Gary's flair for business and Alana's high self-esteem, but the story, eventful as it is, is just a sequence of not always connected or concluded developments. 

ARTEKINO FESTIVAL 2021

OAZA (OASIS)

Watchable. I think it was inspired by "Plemya" ("The Tribe"). The documentary opening of this Balkan production implies the drama is going to be about retarted people. It does not. They're smart. It's not clear what's wrong with them. Also, the story could take place among ordinary, healthy people too. Disturbing how the caretakers deprive the patients of all freedom, including that of love lives. The protagonists are touchingly inept at relationships. Arabic rhythms in the songs are pleasant. But the film is slow-paced and the unusual setting only makes the plot implausible.

JIYAN 

Recommended. German-made, Turkish-spoken multifaceted look at being a refugee in Germany, where the laws sometimes leave them in dire straits. The film is warm, also in colours.

All films had yellow subtitles but too small to watch from a distance. At least finally a selection of truly good films was offered.