LUX FILM PRIZE DAYS
KURAK GUNLER (BURNING DAYS)
I've reviewed the movie before so here comes just what I learnt from the introduction by Karol Szafraniec. Director Emin Alper is involved in oppositional activity. His earlier "Tepenin Ardi" ("Beyond the Hill") was poetic but western-like, just like "Kurak Günler" ("Burning Days"). It's also rooted in فرهادی (Farhadi) who, through intrigues, depicts the situation in Iran, and in American noir, especially "Chinatown" to which you may find references. The difference between the protagonist's internal and external world triggers him to explore.
EVIL DEAD RISE
Recommended. Sam Raimi is just one of the executive producers this time but keeps scaring you relentlessly as usual. Even the opening credits sound ominous and the title drips with blood, the content is blood-curdling horror nearly all the time and that extends till the end of the final credits - first the book pictures are displayed on the full screen and then the frightening music continues till the very end. It's still trashy and I hate the series. Under Lee Cronin's direction (and following his script) though, the plot makes more sense than in both original Raimi's movies, the camerawork is astonishingly dynamic, the sound truly surrounding. It's gory towards the end. The real life part is 80s style, the dominant horror part refers you to cult films from the past, e.g. "The Shining", "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and several other, some scenes resemble "Resident Evil". Too scary for my taste but trope-spotting fun for genre buffs.
MINUTA CISZY (A MINUTE OF SILENCE) EP. 4
Recommended. Further intrigues, twists and turns and a finale with a great pun.
Seen courtesy of Canal +.
IL BUCO (THE HOLE)
Watchable. The first seconds give an impression of a continent opening up which soon reveals itself as a hole in the ground. Archive footage lets you peak into floors of a high rise building from an outside lift. Pictures and sounds of daily life in a village in the mountains of Calabria shot at varying times of the day and night a few times give way to the pictures and sounds of underground descents. Earth vertical. Conquered by man at all heights and depths. What we normally see as horizontal, space, is looked at in the other dimension. Humans get to know our planet in-depth and inside out. Few words, no music. Slow-paced but with compelling cinematography. Dedicated to the speleologists of the 1961 expedition. Tribute to human quest for knowledge.
Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.
ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED
Recommended. A searing look at the art world: from how art becomes conceived to how art galleries are funded. Shifts your perception. The Sacklers bankrolled major art galleries worldwide with staggering donations. What appears a bit rambling and beside the point at first, converges at the end. It's all meaningful, connected, one incident affects other ones and a series of accidental life events create her. A fun fact is that the Yes Men were involved in Nan Goldin's happenings within the P.A.I.N. activist group. The personal story of Nan Goldin, who comes across as a very candid person. is not so much from rags to riches but from "beyond shy" to powerful and mind-blowingly effective. Edifying.
Having worked in some of the galleries mentioned in the documentary I have to admit it took me the whole film for the moral message to sink in. I understand why the galleries didn't react right away.
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