Movie reviews

WATCH DOCS 2022

ASK, MARK VE OLUM (LOVE, DEUTSCHMARKS AND DEATH)

Watchable. History of work migrants in Germany since the 1950s, with an emphasis on musicians. The tunes aren't very pleasant, most are mono and sound old-fashioned. The stories showcase social and economic changes and are more engaging: from money pinned onto musicians and champagne set on fire to children of the street and arsons. There's a post-credit taking the chronicle into the future and one final music piece.

WIJ PRATEN NIET (WE DON'T TALK)

Watchable. The film consists of conversations of sexually exploited teenagers with their therapists. It shows how unsuccessful or even traumatic therapy can be and how devastating the normalisation of rapes in their minds is. Director Marjolein Busstra provides no context so little do you find out how the children got themselves into this, usually, line of work. You realise that most one-off rapes won't ever be reported because an examination is needed and includes taking pictures of the victims naked. Film-wise though, with protagonists shot only from behind and their names given just once at the beginning, it's easy to confuse the stories. I was taken aback reading end credits which said there were only 4 of them. The worst problem, however, is the lack of a wider context. Talking about emotions renders the film shallow.

TIGRE GENTE

Recommended. A fascinating investigative documentary taking you from Bolivia to China and an African market as well. The beauty of living jaguars and the heartbreaking count of illegal trophies. "Wherever the Chinese come, they bring evil" sounds shockingly true. Wildlife death, endangered species hunted down to extinction so that the Chinese take their tradition-sanctified but never proven to work medicine from rhino horns, ivory, tiger fangs, jaguar skulls, seahorses, name it. Penalties are low, prisoners able to run, the poached goods openly available in shops in China, search for illegal products openly advertised by willing buyers on the radio in Bolivia. More tigers are bred for their fangs than live in the wild. But the director delves deeper - into the prevalence of these treatments in her home country, massive denial by the users, the whole culture in need of change. Comprehensive and unsettling.

TROND GISKE - MAKTA RAR (NAME OF THE GAME) AND Q&A WITH DIRECTOR HAVARD BUSTNES

Watchable. The sexual harassment cases are so trivial from a non-Norwegian point of view, it's only worth watching with admiration of how seriously the country and its people treat such revelations. And for the two-sided view at the issue. No bias in this documentary. Also for occasional glimpses of beautiful nature outside. 

The director says Trond Giske is so popular in the North because that region is more traditional and more backwards in term of their attitudes to sexual harassment. 

FREE MONEY

Watchable. The idea of universal basic income is put to the test in 11 countries where small communities are to receive it for 12 years and be compared with control groups. You learn this from the parts shot in the US and the office in Kenya. The film limits itself to a Kenyan village with interesting approaches of Kenyans skeptical to the idea and suspecting the handouts to be evil. Once the fear of black magic is put aside, they enjoy new opportunities. The experiment is to run till 2023 and no clear outcome is seen as yet. No comparison is presented other than envy. You do see it empowers girls not to be duped into sex by boys giving them rides and the villagers with money get better service because vendors know they are able to pay. On the other hand, a boy quits school to which he was able to go with the money and a girl who didn't qualify does go to one. So the true results are yet to be seen.

BRIGITTE BARDOT CUDOWNA (BRIGITTE BARDOT FOREVER)

Watchable. The first half is set in communist Poland of the 1960s and is largely realistic and quite engaging, especially with the mystery behind the boy's father's disappearance and inexplicable visits of Bezpieka, the oppressive state security agents. Next the teenager's fantasies transport him to another world, populated by megastars of the time. This creation is visually alluring. Produced, written and directed by Lech Majewski, who was also responsible for sound engineering, the movie's technically immaculate. Joanna Opozda is stunning as Brigitte Bardot. It's only the mix of these two worlds being odd and the unconcluded search for the father that don't quite work in the plot. The creator of "Dolina Bogów" ("Valley of the Gods") and "Młyn i krzyż" ("The Mill and the Cross") fails to mesmerise this time. 

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

POLY

Recommended. Very pleasant dubbing in Polish. Translated by Bartek Fukiet, it's all appropriate for children. The story, though set in France of the 1960s, promotes vegetarianism and animal welfare. Light colour costumes, especially of the mum, with plenty of yellow, sunny weather, adventure - really fun. Still, surprisingly, it's the Polish voices, mild and with that special warm quality, that matter the most.

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

WATCH DOCS 2022

ARMOTONTA MENOA (RUTHLESS TIMES - SONGS OF CARE)

Watchable. Finland clearly hasn't heard of elderly care houses scandals like in Poland. Here the nurses mean well, they are just thrown into the clogs of corporate machinery. The vocals sound wonderful. The instrumental music is awful and vexing. Much of the film is overtalked, with some details which only obscure the bigger picture and will matter only to the community in question. For the rest of the world it's sheer bureaucracy. 

MARCIA SU ROMA (THE MARCH ON ROME)

Recommended. From Mussolini to Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin but mostly 1922 and the immediate aftermath. All about the theatricality of fascism, fascination with it among dictators willing to get up from the knees and where it invariably leads. An in-depth film analysis of "A noi", plenty of shots of Benito Mussolini - those remind the character from "Loro" a lot, who, on turn, was modelled on Silvio Berlusconi which leads me to think Berlusconi may have modelled his image on Mussolini's. Terrifying how history likes to repeat itself. 

THE OIL MACHINE

Recommended. What starts off telling the viewer our everyday objects, the world economy and everyone's wealth is built on oil, changes the narrative. Whaling industry provided lamp oil 150 years ago. And just as it's gone, now fossil fuels must. Two sides of the equation are extensively quoted. But even economy tells us to go green. Oil company shares have lost in value considerably, at the same time the cost of solar panels has fallen by 80%. Forcing further fossil fuel use will not only increase the global temperatures by 3.5% instead of 1.5%, it will ruin the world's financial system by mid-century. And if only Greenlandic ice melts, it'll increase sea levels by 7.5 meters, enough to sink 80% of Bangladesh, 90% of Vietnam, 30-100 million climate refugees will flood the few inhabitable places, where the temperature will be below 45 degrees Celsius. 

THE FABELMANS

Recommended. Inspired by facts, directed by Steven Spielberg, with Janusz Kamiński's cinematography and John Williams' music. Director David Lynch makes a cameo as director John Ford. An evocative movie about what cinema is and about the vocation. The title is meaningful.

A PLEIN TEMPS (FULL TIME)

Recommended. A thriller everyone can easily relate to, seeing familiar everyday life scenes in a new light. A team leader of maids in a 5 star hotel is looking for a new job, matching her qualifications better. A general transport strike hinders getting to work, especially from outside Paris. She's running against the clock to manage everything in time. Gripping.