Movie reviews

Further past year movies: 

PRZEGLAD NOWEGO KINA NIDERLANDZKIEGO (NEW DUTCH CINEMA SCREENING)

 

ALONG THE WAY

Recommended. This true story of two teenage Afghan girls trying to get to Europe starts in Iran, focuses on the period when they are working in Turkey to earn for their passage to the Netherlands to join their mother and sister, covers Lesbos and ends with a note about them waiting for papers in Athens. It's not easy because of their illegal status - they've been on the road for 5 years, but they're fine so, while this refugee movie doesn't show any horrors, the awareness of the dangers: running from the police, the uncertainty who to trust, awaiting the risky sea passage make for a gripping movie.  

The director used to be a political activist but quit because they wanted to expel her from university. She also volunteered on Lesbos which proved useful for the movie. Born in 1959, Mijke de Jong belongs to the middle generation, just like director of "Nr. 10" Alex van Warmerdam. 

DE PINPAS (THE DEBIT CARD)

Recommended. A short, intense drama about one day in the life of a Polish nanny in the Netherlands. Again, nothing bad happens to anyone but the tale is intense and keeps you in suspense as a debit card situation shows how under the layer of familiarity she remains an outsider. But there are no accusations or suspicion, nothing you might expect from such a plot, the lack of predictability is this short film's saving grace. In fact, it's all warm. 

Directed by Thijs Bouman, very young, has made only shorts.

SAW X

Watchable. This instalment of the "Saw" franchise takes you back to the time when John Kramer was alive but it builds on previous parts so you see Amanda working with him. The set-up with cons luring disbelievers in the big pharma is brilliant. Kramer's professional background in architecture and civil engineering is spot on. The traps and detainees part of the movie is gripping. The twist where one character turns out to be a 100% psychopath is brilliant. But how many remakes of the traps can you watch? And Cecilia lives so part XI is a serious threat. This instalment offers a mid-credit tying up lose ends.

CAT PERSON

Watchable. An analysis of looking for a partner nowadays, dating, having sex with a new person for the first time, becoming a stalker. Slow but compelling in its realism, as it dwells on awkwardness of certain situations and anxieties on both sides. It's often smart in observations but the whole thing drags.

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