Movie reviews

WATCH DOCS 2022

HAPPY WORKER - OR HOW THE WORK WAS SABOTAGED AND Q&A WITH DIRECTOR JOHN WEBSTER

Recommended. Managers are rarely qualified for their jobs. CEOs earn more and more and the gap between their pay and regular employees' is staggering. The most vital jobs, which really make a difference to people's lives are paid the least. In fact, the more useful a position, the worse the pay. Burnout is commonplace. The film is creatively shot: with dancers in the opening, with animations here and there, with writing statistics on buildings. If I remember correctly, 20% are happy at work, 61% are unhappy and 19% are so disgruntled, they work against the employer. 

This most professionally looking documentary cost 530,000 euros. 40% of the funding for this Finnish film came from a fund, the rest from a pre-sale to ZDF, Arte, public television stations in Norway. The director has never worked in an office or had a salary.

THE HUNGARIAN PLAYBOOK

Recommended. Journalists were instructed: "Don't show children" in order not to raise pity for refugees. 80% of the press write the same on politics, following guidelines sent from a ministry directly. Business connections guarantee Germany will support the state in the EU. Orban was elected for the 4th time. That gives an idea of how the game is played

GHOSTS OF MORIA

Recommended. Collecting scrap metal and getting half the pay a European would is better than a refugee camp which is like a prison and where food is often rotten. Post-Moria.

THE KILLING OF A JOURNALIST

Watchable. Doesn't feel like a thriller, filled with details, whose importance becomes clear only at the shocking revelation who was behind the murder.

How was the crime solved? International help, satellite images, Interpol, phone tracking, an eager young, inexperienced policeman put in charge of the investigation by those who stepped aside in fear after a huge public outcry, who hoped he wouldn't be able to put the pieces together.

ALL OF OUR HEARTBEATS ARE CONNECTED THROUGH EXPLODING STARS

Watchable. Slow-paced, poetic. But with some rarely seen marine life, like plankton magnified or creatures of 3000 meters deep. And the eponymous connection is true: iron from generations of supernovas has built living organisms. The mourning, depression, fear in those who lost their loved ones in an earthquake are revelatory, e.g. have you known the hippocampus shrinks after a trauma so you're more susceptible to dementia afterwards? Those human grieving fragments are the least inspiring.

TEDDYBJORNENS JUL (TEDDY'S CHRISTMAS)

Recommended. A Norwegian Christmas offering. A quaint town with a fairy-tale feel, stuffed animals look for cuddles and so do children. The subplot of whether Santa Claus is real is played wonderfully. All adults are amiable, dressed and made-up appropriately to this tale set a few decades ago and meant for children awaiting Christmas. It shows family love means more than money. Very heart-warming.

WATCH DOCS 2022

FASHION REIMAGINED

Recommended. Each clothing item travels through 5 countries on average just to reach the final outlet. Harmful pesticides first, then washing and dying chemicals are used. Child labour is a given. Creating a sustainable line is shockingly difficult. If fashion were a country it would be the world's 3rd largest polluter after China and the US. 

NOSTALGIA DE LA LUZ (NOSTALGIA FOR THE LIGHT)

Watchable. Awfully slow-paced, philosophical. But you learn a  bit about Chile and about the universe. Calcium can be found both in stars and our bones. The stars look beautiful on the big screen. Women still search for remains of their deceased who were murdered during the Pinochet regime. There was a lot more but I couldn't catch details when the film and the interviewees' speech were slower than my perception.

TIK TOK, BOOM.

Recommended. A girl says: "It took me 20 years to figure out I'm bisexual. TikTok needed 37 seconds to figure that out." so Chinese AI does actually work. Another girl started a 40-second video explaining how to curl up lashes, then remarked something like: "when you do this, you can grab your phones to find information on Uyghurs in detention camps in China" - the only way to circumvent the Chinese Big Brother, temporarily. Donald Trump wanted to ban TikTok, instead TikTok banned him from using it. Protection from bullying means if you're ugly, have fangs, tattoos, wrinkles, are fat, lack front teeth or might be bullied for any other reasons, including being gay or black, you are shadowbanned - get 0 views, are hidden by the "algorithm whatever it means". 

WAR CRIMES, WITH INVESTIGATORS IN UKRAINE

Recommended. A woman raped by more and more men every day, even 30. When the Orcs entered houses in Bucha, dogs wouldn't bark, they knew they'd be shot dead. People searched, let go and then shot in the back. Close ones who literally exploded when hit by a missile because guns wouldn't reach them. Amnesty International in London and an expert volunteer group in France investigate, compare locations with Google Earth. The ending amazes you with how resilient Ukrainian people are.

DELIKADO

Watchable. El Dino is picture-perfect and the expected influx of tourists has blinded developers with the vision of revenue valued more than human life. The film's slow-paced but clear-cut, unmistakably pointing the finger of blame at Rodrigo Duterte and governor Alvarez.

LA CORDILLERA DE LOS SUENOS (THE CORDILLERA OF DREAMS)

Watchable. The mountains, comprising 80% of Chilean territory look magnificent on the big screen, sometimes shot from the bottom in a way visually extending the distance. As usual in Patricio Guzmán's films, the landscape opens a story of the 20 years of Pinochet's regime. The omnipresent mountain range bears witness to disappearances, tortures, concentration camps.