THE LOST DAUGHTER
Watchable. Based on Isabella Ferrante's novel, directed by Peter Sarsgaard's wife Maggie Gyllenhaal - he impersonates the old professor in the movie. Shot on Spetses Island and featuring mediocre Greek music and decent Italian and English songs. As for the plot, I was confused with the little girls: who was who and when. The rest of the content is thoroughly subject to interpretation and individual lines and behaviours have been analyzed widely since. Here's my understanding: I think she said: "I'm not a natural mother" - I saw it at the cinema so can't replay it to doublecheck. Anyway, I think she did want to have children, it's just that after a couple of years the motherhood overgrew her. We see her having fun with the daughters a couple of times, also the doll thing indicates she wanted to be a mother - I, for one, wouldn't have thought of keeping the doll at all. As for imagined stuff v. remembered - my impression was that everything constituted her memories, not fantasies. And the young woman asks something like: "You thought the doll was too good for us?!" - the thing Leda must have thought regretting having given hers to her daughter who "ruined it".
The movie's available on Netflix worldwide but Poland is going to have cinematic distribution only.
C'MON C'MON
Watchable. Another movie about the hardships of parenting. British child actor Woody Norman sounds 100% American as garrulous Jesse but both all the family conversations and the international children interviews deal with parents being ill or dying, in one case a father in jail, relationships falling apart and a bleak future, with animals extinct, air polluted and people nasty to each other. Overly expressive acting is a bit over the top. High contrast black and white pictures are all covered with a layer of grey which looks a bit fake but, mostly, adds to the gloom. The movie's tiring, slow and leaves you awfully despondent. What may be worth seeing though are cityscapes.
ROE V. WADE
Watchable. It charts the process of legalising abortion across the USA, which eventually took place in 1973, and is presented from the anti-abortionists' point of view. As usual, a number of pretty faces and bodies are meant to lure you towards the propaganda - you do feel it's that. Interestingly, the film shows that an abortion takes only 3 minutes and is safe. If you're not quite familiar with US institutions, it's hard to follow, especially that it's filled with court hearings and judges' conversations spanning several years - haywire. I was fed up and considered leaving half an hour before the end. The topic kept me in to see how the victory came. The cinematography ages the picture but it was shot in 2020. Artistically pathetic throughout.
The hypocrisy of 'pro-lifers' without masks, which were obligatory in the audience at the time, speaks volumes about their 'truth'.
