THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE 2

Watchable. Fun, full of colour, with soft-shaped creatures. Very pleasant, though too crazy at times to be 100% engaging. A few 60s-90s songs, most being probably 80s. Some cross-cultural references, e.g. a bird reads "Crazy Rich Avians". And it's all just sweet.

ELCANO Y MAGALLANES. LA PRIMERA VUELTA AL MUNDO (ELCANO & MAGELLAN, THE FIRST VOYAGE AROUND THE WORLD)

Watchable. While the palette consisting of all shades of brown sticks to the rules of painting I remember from my watercolours classes, it's broken only a couple of times when a deluge is grey or a tropical island sunlit - though even there it's just much lighter brown and those just aren't my preferred hues in movies. The plot is very adventurous, with good lines and twists of action. No specific finale. The ending took me by surprise. All in all, it's enjoyable but lacks an edge.


FIVE FLAVOURS FILM FESTIVAL

This year's festival (Warsaw, 13th-20th Nov.) is set to be the largest in its history. Such a multitude of interesting movies have appeared that more films will be shown and screened more than once. Those will be all Polish, European or world premieres (i.e. outside the country they were made in). About 40 full-length films are to be expected online or in the cinemas. Below is a rundown of who, what and how:
Midi Z from Burma used to work on construction to pay for his film school, he's grown over the years and has made a high-budget movie this year.
Marcin Krasnowolski talked about the recent protests in Hongkong. The country with a population of just a few million stands no chance against China. No outside assistance will be provided since no one will meddle in China's domestic affairs. Hongkong is rich, with probably the most expensive flats in the world. "Made in Hongkong" by Fruit Chan tells about those who can't afford even a small one. His 6 movies will be screened: 5 early and 1 new - each in a different mood and style. Meetings with the director will take place after the screenings and additionally there'll be an extended masterclass on Sunday 17th November. Fruit Chan currently is making movies in China which means huge budgets and 1 bn potential viewers. Most have been shot on 35 mm tapes - 90% of the festival budget has been spent on transporting them. Nowadays only 2 cinemas in Warsaw: Iluzjon and one room at Muranow enable watching 35 mm. The director is flying into Warsaw in business class, together with his wife.
Some movies are banned in China. Vietnam has this problem too: the producers of "Rom" were told by Vietnamese authorities to destroy all copies because, just like in "Xich Lo" ("Cyclo"), Saigon is depicted as a city ruled by gangs. So "Lê Văn Kiệt" ("Fury") - an Oscar candidate will be presented instead. Lots of Vietnamese audience come to those screenings at the festival in Warsaw.
Since little literature on the Asian cinema of the last years has been available, a few books are to be published by the organizers. 
The Asian Cinerama section is meant for beginner audience.
Viewers always ask for Japanese films. Japan produces 400-500 films per year. Most are family manga adaptations. But the festival has selected those from the fringe of the cinema. Public funds virtually are non-existent in Japan, most financing is private.
"Smak pho" ("The Taste of Pho"), " ལག་དམར་" ("Jinpa") and "메기" ("Maggie") will be on general release in Poland next year. 
After last year's viewers' survey some changes have been implemented: more screenings, from earlier hours, a retrospective again, all discussions and debates in screening rooms between films.
Asian ads before movies, like before, and on top of that a separate set with a discussion.
The organizers strive towards makers' and speakers' gender balance.
"Lê Văn Kiệt" ("Fury"), "Mr. Long",  "柔道龍虎榜" ("Throw Down") will contain martial arts. As for the genre, martial arts films are typically big budget productions. That also means they earn millions so 2K$ from a festival is of no interest to them. Other ones have no cinematic releases at all since Netflix has got worldwide rights.


UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL

АТЛАНТИДА (ATLANTIS)

Watchable. Slow-paced, with an interesting post-war setting: empty buildings, forensics of cadavers. What is missing is a plot. It describes a world instead of using it as a background for some action, intrigue or whatever. The post-war archeologist in the film says her job now is like digging up their own history instead of that of 1000 years ago - that's about as interesting as it gets.

The lead is not a professional actor but he played the part because he wanted to become part of history. As he says, the picture is in part Ukrainian reality and in part an anti-utopia.

AT ETERNITY'S GATE

Watchable. The movie's been made by painter Julian Schnabel (the 80 paintings in the film are his) which explains the love of art permeating the picture. It's an enaction of part of van Gogh's life faithful to what we know from the paintings. The landscapes presented in the film let me understand why his early paintings were grey-brown and subdued - that was the light he dealt with in the Netherlands. Visually, it's very painting-like but it drags and I'm not convinced by Julian Schnabel's music choice. There's a mid-credit with a quote from Paul Gauguin.

Van Gogh died at 37 but was so damaged by his life he's played by William Dafoe, 63.

RIDE LIKE A GIRL

Recommended. I know little about horses or Australian pastimes but it's such an amazing movie about winning I immediately got drawn in. Michelle Payne has got an incredible spirit. In 3200 races she fell 7 times and broke 16 bones. Yet it never put her off riding and she just kept on winning, including the Melbourne Race which is every joker's dream. Based on facts. Heart-wrenching - she struggled to make her name in a men's discipline - and funny, e.g. the scene of women placing bets or a race horse named Who Shot the Barman.  A family movie. Real Michelle and her brother Stevie appear in the finale.

READY OR NOT

Recommended. One example where the title's better in Polish than in the original: "Zabawa w pochowanego" ("Die or Seek" - my translation). '(Bail's) Gambit' mentioned in the opening indicates sacrificing a pawn to prevent a wider destruction. But even if you're not familiar with this chess term, the first scene says it all. Top-notch slasher entertainment. Perfectly acted - you never feel it's fake. Packed with action, a mystery in the background. All genre tropes play well. Psychology's pared down but plausible. The ending makes a sequel likely. 


AMERICAN FILM FESTIVAL

This year the festival is taking place 2 weeks later (5-11 November) than last year which enables the organizers to get the best films from the Venice and Toronto festivals. All Nowe Horyzonty cinema in Wrocław will be occupied for 6 whole days when more than 250 films will be screened. The Festival Director, Roman Gutek, considers the AFF to be very Wrocław-rooted hence it must differ from Nowe Horyzonty. About 35 movies are released yearly in Poland, about 1000 in the US so the festival is meant to present some of what we normally miss. Many productions won't be on the big screen again. More pictures will be presented at the festival this year than previously. Facebook users chose their 10 favourite directors whose 14 movies are to be shown. "Blade Runner" hasn't been on the big screen since 1995. This year it will return. Rutger Hauer passed away in the meantime so it will kind-of commemorate him too. "Blade Runner 2049" will appear as well. Opening "Irishman" will be available on Netflix later on - all Netflix pictures at the festival will be streamed on the platform one week after. The US in Progress section will include 6 American movies in need of post-production and 4 Polish ones looking for co-operation. More than 30 directors, actors and producers are coming as guests, including Ari Aster with "Midsomar - Director's Cut". "Amazing Grace: Aretha Franklin" will have a special screening at Muranow cinema in Warsaw. Long-standing co-operation with Watch Docs means they pick a few social documentaries from theirs, meaning a handful will be at both festivals. Festival tickets are on sale already. The online program allows you to prepare your own schedule. 


GEMINI MAN 3D

Watchable. Top-notch 3D and full-colour, very clear pictures and sound make the movie... just bearable. The problem is it looks as artificial as language course videos. Columbian Cartagena or Budapest Spas look too fake to truly work as locations in the picture. The plot is overly simplistic, with lines like: "She's good. She just doesn't know what she doesn't know".Clive Owen acts the same in every movie. I liked the very ending though: the two clones' talk on the college campus, e.g. "I made those mistakes so you don't have to." 

ABOMINABLE

Watchable. A pretty standard animation for older children. The plot where a kid helps a yeti get back home is typical. But the tale is warm, people characters nice and the yeti cuddlingly fluffy. Long end credits end in a picture of the family admiring the Leshan Buddha and the periscope snake popping up.

HUSTLERS

Watchable. It truly is a female response to "The Wolf of Wall Street": hustling, strippers, loads of money, drugs, first person storytelling, getting caught. But the novelty factor is gone. It is all engaging of course but not shocking or amazing, in spite of outstanding acting. What's curious is how varied the soundtrack is: Chopin, 50 Cent, Lorde, Flo Rida, Rihanna, Janet Jackson and a number of others.

OBYWATEL JONES (MR. JONES)

Recommended. About truth sacrificed for international politics. Gripping from early minutes till the very end, even if you know part of the story. American in style and structure. The Polish title, meaning "Citizen Jones" evokes "Citizen Kane", yet wrongly. Mr. Jones is the honest one dealing with press magnates one of who, like Kane, manipulates the public opinion. "The Masque of the Red Death" by Edgar Allan Poe mentioned to  Mr. Jones by a British engineer tells about a party of the rich in a palace outside of which a disease is killing the poor. Ultimately the death reaches the palace. Another reference in the plot is "Animal Farm" by George Orwell, written in 1945 - so now you know why the book talks about Mr Jones's farm. Some quotes are so harsh they have made me want to read it, never thought the story might be based on Holodomor in Ukraine, especially Kharkov, visited by Gareth Jones.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY

Recommended. It's absolutely exquisite. Jokes abound, e.g. on seeing a red balloon: "normally a murderous clown is attached to it". And the whole family is as delightfully morbid as usual: skull-shaped coat buttons, the home kitten is an adult lion and Wednesday goes to school "to torment people her age". The action's fast and the Addams clan world filled with detail. I might go and see it again.

WATCHMEN EP. 1

Recommended. I love alternative histories so the premise of mostly-black run US extending to Vietnam provided the wow factor in its own right. The social role reversal is best exemplified in the car stopped by a black cop. Then the plot provides a good number of twists and character introductions within an hour. And an obligatory cliffhanger in the final scene. Outstanding music - I'd watch it for the score alone.

Available on HBO.

ZOMBIELAND: DOUBLE TAP

Recommended. It's hilarious. Starts at the very opening credits where the Statue of Liberty fends off zombies. Iconic for the US places feature heavily, including the White House and Graceland. So do pop culture references, including "Thor" and the "Terminator" series. And Bill Murray asserts: "I ain't afraid of no ghost". Columbus' two girlfriends provide serial laughs too. The action's even faster than in part one. While it's all consistent withing the film, the plot is so rich, the twists come as surprises anyway. The hook-hanger got my palms sweaty. Then you get an early long mid-credit. Kenny Loggins' "I'm Alright" runs and Woody Harrelson sings "Burning Love"- both over the end credits. And finally comes a short, less important post-credit. 

BOZE CIALO (CORPUS CHRISTI)

Watchable. Poor cinematography by Piotr Sobociński, annoyingly dark, common for Polish cinematography. At least the great number of close-ups results in intimacy bringing you closer to the morally controversial protagonist. The movie's in turns deeply moving and funny, e.g. the "dla ksiendza" ("for the preest" as I would translate it) card. It's predominantly about the small-mindedness of Polish village folk. The false priest is impressively down to earth and close to the people. Not clear why and how it ends. But mostly, the story's so typically Catholic, Polish and Polish-Catholic, I don't expect worldwide popularity. In my opinion much more versatile "Ikar. Legenda Mietka Kosza" ("Icarus. The Legend of Mietek Kosz") would stand a better Oscar chance. 

The film is based on several stories and many more still happen in real life. The idea of the mass accident came from the Smoleńsk case (the plane catastrophy which killed a huge number of Polish dignitaries) but the scriptwriter decided not to show the wreck in order not to provoke political associations. It's the director, Jan Komasa, who insisted on the last scene to be brutal. In the script, there was an epilogue in the town after the confrontation in the correctional facility.
27 years old Mateusz Pacewicz, who scripted it, is a non-believer. He didn't attend religion classes at school. He was thinking about the movie for 8 years, then spent 2 years writing it and 3 years later it's at the cinema. When he first sent the script to director Jan Komasa (38), he, imagining Mateusz Pacewicz was 50, responded the writer: "nie rozumie młodzieży" ("doesn't understand youngsters"). The writer travelled places of cult worldwide. Apparently there's an annual parade of San Judas Tadeo, the patron of murderers, in Mexico. Mateusz doesn't know why the PISF (Polish Film Institute) committee selected this film for the Oscar race, he hasn't checked the justification available online, yet he admits the producer was in the committee. Since he's been to several religious ceremonies round the world, he's aware the movie's very Polish.
His 10 years senior editor, Przemek Chruścielewski, is said to be responsible for the humour since it results mostly from cutting and its timing. He had initially had 70 hours of material. The challenge he found was making the suspense grow like a balloon but not burst. The editor is a cultural expert by education. 
All in all, it looks like the director and the director of photography ruined the writer and editor's brilliant ideas. 

ADWOKAT W ROLI GLOWNEJ (ADVOCATE IN THE LEADING ROLE)

ADVOCATE (2019)

Watchable. Less than 100% comprehensible. I guess some notions are salient among Israelis but not outsiders. The documentary's informative: each Palestinian family has had at least one person imprisoned by the Israelis and, at the pretext of protection, inmates are subjected to traceless torture, like sleep deprivation and blasting music. It's disheartening such human rights violations go unpunished. As a civil rights organization member says, he doesn't believe in justice. Hard to disagree.

MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947)

Watchable. An engaging old, black and white, film from the times when vulgar language or obscenity had no place on the screen. The story's clear-cut, with very little aggression, even verbal. It's fairy-tale-like naive even with no magic. The child and adult female protagonists are head-strong. Apart from the tear-jerking background of people disillusioned by life, the tale is humorous, e.g. the judge and the witnesses imagining the consequences of their statements or the scene of the droves of mail workers bringing in sacks of letters.

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER (1993)

Recommended. Shocking and devastating. Ruins your image of the Brits being gentle people. Evokes strong emotions and nails you down to your seat when you see how a group of accidental Irish folk serves 15 years for a terror bomb attack they did not commit. And the police never got sentenced for scapegoating them.

This year's event was impeccably organized, to the minute and with quality and varied pictures.


IKAR. LEGENDA MIETKA KOSZA (ICARUS. THE LEGEND OF MIETEK KOSZ)

Recommended. Music comes first, then his incomprehensible behaviour, last you find out he's blind. Phenomenal. Pulls all the right strings. The score is light jazz/classical with the jazz perfectly bearable even to me. The story has quite a lot of humour, e.g. "There's a brunette." "I want a blonde." "What does it matter brunette or blonde if you're blind?!" but also frightening or touching at times. As common in Polish films, the action goes to and fro in time but captions explain what takes place when. The story's so versatile, it should have become an Oscar candidate instead of "Boże ciało" ("Corpus Christi").


WARSAW FILM FESTIVAL

I only went to the meeting with Lidia Duda who talked a little about the differences between a reportage and a documentary but mostly about what is true and what is false in the documentary genre. The recap of the rules was interesting but didn't really bring in any novelty. As for the truth v. forgery, when people are provoked or substituted by actors without a commentary that this is happening, I personally consider it a forgery. The director does not. 

INDIAN WEEK IN URSYNOW

SEETHAMMA VAKITLO SIRIMALLE CHETTU (2013)

Watchable. Fashion and grainy texture indicate the 80s but some people have mobiles and a Google office plays a part. I did not understand the convoluted family story at all and just tried to enjoy the colours and music. It was too silly though. This Telugu production is no match for Bollywood.

ENTRE DOS AGUAS (BETWEEN TWO WATERS)

Walked out. I experienced the boredom of a family with many children and had enough.

CZARNY MERCEDES (BLACK MERCEDES)

Recommended. A superb historical thriller. Perfect script, intricately twisted but clear-cut. The initial murder is re-played later in the context of the plot the viewer has grasped. Clever and unpredictable. Wagner's "Die Walküre" and Beethoven are used as soundtrack, aptly so since the music pieces blend in seamlessly. The pre-war and war years are recreated in a way pleasing to the eye. You feel you could walk into the movie and live there. Producer Włodzimierz Niederhaus makes a cameo in the Jewish ghetto restaurant.


INDIAN WEEK IN URSYNOW

BAJIRAO MASTANI (2015)

Recommended. A full-blown blockbuster. The scale is just epic. Stunning cinematography with shots like paintings from old manuscripts. Enchanting music, costumes, jewellery, palace. The story, inspired by historic events, gripping but also moving at times. Priyanka Chopra, Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh all excel as those involved in the romantic triangle. The film's pure perfection.


PILSUDSKI

Watchable. The beginning captures your attention and doesn't let go till Piłsudski gets home. From then on it's so wooden only obligatory school trips might be interested. Emphasis was put on the historic realism and listing all events instead of on maintaining the viewers' engagement in the plot. Skippable on the whole. A terribly contemporary Organek's song over the end credits is "To nie miało prawa się stać" ("It had no right to happen") which sums up the film pretty well.

MOWA PTAKOW (BIRD TALK)

Watchable. 2 hours 15 minutes - it's long and you feel it. What is it about? It's a drug-fuelled vision/artsy videoclip/experiment. Sebastian Fabijański put it best: you need to feel the movie, not understand, "I'd go out but I'm not sure, I kind of like it." - I totally agree with the actor. The movie's certainly weird. Very well directed (by an obscure Polish director) though, based on a script the director didn't understand. He plays with colours a lot, e.g. in the fantastic view of central Warsaw. I loved the fact he depicted Catholics and nationalists as bullies. I also enjoyed the scriptwriter's playing with the language. The beginning's chaotic. But the film rewards you with superb cinematography by Andrzej Jaroszewicz - especially a camera with a mirror is impressive, also visual effects in post production by Studio Orka, good music and excellent actors: Sebastian Fabijański, Jaśmina Polak, Żaneta Palica, Marta Żmuda Trzebiatowska, Katarzyna Chojnacka. Sebastian Fabijański speaks English perfectly well in the film but his Russian has too strong Polish accent. The film's divided into chapters. When you finally see "Koniec" ("The End"), "Początek" ("The beginning") appears... afterwards.

Director Xawery Żuławski says that "you don't have to like it." It's an expression of freedom. It's based on his father Andrzej's script. The director finally understood it himself only after seeing it several times. Apparently, famous Polish critic Tomasz Raczek tried to summarise the film and failed. We don't understand birds' talk. 
According to the composer, Andrzej Korzyński, the film contains reminiscences of music themes from Andrzej Żuławski's movies. Basically, the music is contemporary but the director and the composer based it on themes from those films. 
Sebastian Fabijański's father used to run a video rental shop. From what I could hear he had the same movie interests as me at the time though his family background was totally different. He would watch Kurt Russell, e.g. "Escape from New York". His father only went to a vocational school and his mother went to university when she was past 40. He's single, childless, walks round his home in shoes since he's always on the road.
Another actor from the film, Sebastian Pawlak loves "hardcores and pathologies."
Only male creators and actors were at the Q&A. Żaneta Palica has a boyfriend in France so has gone there already. Do only men promote themselves?
Most scenes weren't in the script, only dialogues were so the director added contemporary scenes. In the scene at Wiatraczna Roundabout in Warsaw (those who live here, will know the place in a rundown district of Grochów), the woman is an authentic passer-by who walks into the frame, slaps the actor in the face and tells him not to fool around: "Weź ty nie pajacuj!"
I learnt more about cultural codes from the director - some bits refer to the Polish culture. Even I hadn't understood some. 
Sebastian Fabijański explained why leprosy had appeared in the film: "Każdy w tym filmie jest chory. Muzyk musi cierpieć." ("Everyone in the movie is sick. A musician has to suffer.") The director treated the characters archetypically: they are penniless, ill, wear coats. The leprosy which leads to the man's penis falling off symbolises "ball-less Polish art".
Olbrychski apparently said: "Andrzej, ty mi tego nie tłumacz, bo ja ci to jeszcze zrozumiem i to zagram." ("Andrzej, don't explain it to me, or I may understand and I'll play it".)
Someone from the audience asked if a director's cut was in plans. But Xawery Żuławski asserted: "Nie, to już wersja bardzo reżyserska." ("No, it's a very director's cut already.")
The director worked on Tyrmand's "Zły" for 5 years  till he got kicked out by Tyrmand's son. The movie still hasn't been made. He's made several serials and commercials and is working on two films now. 
He droned on and on like the film did. He just can't cut things short.

Z WNETRZA (FROM WITHIN)

Watchable. Beksiński, who's become a posthumous celebrity in Poland, left behind 1500 fantastical paintings. But the film is a usual Polish documentary without a commentary. It shows communist times well. It's implied that the five-year contract he was bound by limited him, it constrained the artist within him. But apart from such legal issues, you don't learn much about the person. Also, the reasons of the other 2 deaths in his family are explained but not the painter's murder. 

It was co-produced by FINA (National Audiovisual Institute). After the screening I asked the director about the murder. It turns out the household helper's son attempted to rob him, after he failed, his mates ridiculed him and then he went back upstairs and killed the artist.

WAR 

Recommended. Absolutely awesome, top-notch Bollywood. Spectacular, with two hotties in the lead roles: legendary Hrithik Roshan and taekwondo fifth-degree black belt Tiger Shroff. While I had to google the details about his sports prowess, you can recognize genuine taekwondo in all his combat scenes. Both are proficient dancers too. As for the action in "War", it starts in about the second minute - right before the opening credits. And the events in this spy story, gripping from minute one, take you round the world. Literally, since the movie was shot in a staggering number of locations, including Portugal, Italy (Matera and Positano), Norway, Finland, Georgia, Australia (Bondi Beach) and some other I can't remember. It's one great wow!

Why is it I get to see more taekwondo in Bollywood than in Korean movies?

A DOG'S JOURNEY

Watchable. So terribly sad: about personal and professional failures, diseases and death, that it leaves you depressed and reminds you of all your life's failings and ailments. But with a few funny bits, e.g. when the dog comments on people's actions. Trent is great - you'd love to have a friend like him. Marg Helbengerger (of "CSI" fame) as middle-aged and elderly Hannah. Good dubbing in Polish, especially by Marcin Dorociński as the dog. 

OSTATNIA GORA (THE LAST MOUNTAIN)

Watchable, Another Polish documentary without a commentary. You learn a lot about what's it like to climb the Himalayas. You see the crew watch Kamil Stoch ski jumping, listen to Indian music, compare food in different bases but also suffer traumas like cuts or fractures as well as equipment damage. Still, no clear plot. 


PRZEMIANY FESTIVAL 2019 - APPETITE AND APATHY

IN DEFENSE OF FOOD

Watchable. Nothing new. Processed foods are bad. The rest is fine. With examples from round the world and varied presentation methods so it's engaging enough.

UNFOLD

Recommended. A vlog-based Polish documentary which removes the fear of GMO instantly. It turns out all farmed plants have been modified. There are no wild strawberries for example. Bananas used to be hard and have seeds. Yet with traditional interbreeding you don't know what you're going to obtain. If you add just 1 gene to a plant, you know the effect, e.g. the plant can become glyphosate- or pest-resistant. Another example of modifications are dogs - interbred from wolves. Curiously, epigenetics, i.e. changing the expression of genes and mutagenesis, e.g. radiating seeds are legal. 

MORE THAN HONEY

Recommended. Bees turn out to be cruel. Not only does the first queen to hatch (all those fed with pollen milk become queens instead of workers) kill all other, in the US, African killer bees kill both people and ordinary, mild bee queens. But it's the deadly ones that don't fall ill hence don't need antibiotics. While bees produce toxin-free honey to give their babies the best, we rob it from them, giving them sugary water instead. In China, Mao Zedong once ordered killing all sparrows as they ate crops. That caused an insect plague so insecticides were used but those killed bees. Nowadays people pollinate plants manually themselves though they're no match for bees, of course. American driving beehives round the states over the year is more effective. But the world's best honey? Wild - in Australia - the continent where domesticated bees are interbred with wild ones to become a more resilient species in the future. These and plenty of technicalities of rearing bees in this all-round documentary. 

KINO DZIECI (KIDS KINO)

DAS DOPPELTE LOTTCHEN (2018)

Recommended. A much better adaptation than the American ones from 1961 and 1998 - both titled "The Parent Trap". The basic plot with dad's new love interest and the trope with pancakes that everyone seems to remember the best are there but the setting is quite contemporary Austria - with fantastic views of the country too. Very well acted, particularly by the two girls: Mia and Delphine Lohmann. It's engaging and funny. With some African music but also one obligatory, taken the Salzburg location, piece by Mozart. Only the Polish translation has some field for improvement.

I didn't have time to see more than five movies/sets of films and I wish I had. The choice was huge, varied, the staff very nice. And it was a great chance to see some productions in their original language versions. 

KHANEH-EI DAR KHIABAN (A HOUSE ON 41ST STREET)

Watchable. The beginning's uninspiring. You only hear about the murder that has taken place. But later on, it becomes an engaging psychologic drama mixed with Islamic law. And with some non-legal cultural curiosities, especially culinary ones, e.g. the boy is grating an egg.

The cultural meeting after the screening clarified some stuff from the movie. The food you see the protagonists munch on in the market are beetroots and broad beans. They are seen as a treat in Iran, so are baked potatoes. The mourning women prepare halva. It's Persian food for grieving occasions, e.g. it's given to visitors who pay condolences on your close one's death. The "blood money" is possible when someone gets killed by accident, the family's paid off and the culprit can go free. Iran has four seasons at the same time, just in different parts of the country, e.g. Kurdistan in the West can be cold, with snow, while the Arab Gulf can be 30 degrees hot. 

WATAHA SEASON 3 EP. 1 & 2 

I've seen two episodes already and have taken down notes. But, due to a publication ban, I can't post the review as yet. HBO is planning to release it on 6th December so I expect to be able to write about it before the date.

DOWNTON ABBEY

Recommended. Delightful. Posh accent, stunning interiors, glamorous cocktail dresses. British sarcasm and humour, e.g. when a servant has let the cat out of the bag. Some English-Irish politics. Social issues in 1927 when homosexuality was punishable. Making commitment to the one you love. Family property and heritage, responsibility to the community. Everything's there and while engaging, and emotional to a point, it's all in a light tone. OK, I haven't seen the serial so can't compare. I only know it takes place a few years after the TV serial events. But it's excellent as a stand-alone film and only makes me interested in starting to watch it on telly. The movie will be also perfect for teachers of English as a foreign language due to the prolific use of idioms. 

15TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

THE OTHER STORY

Watchable. The director announced it as a story based on facts with something unbelievable in the middle. To me there were no suprises, there were several little twists though so it was engaging but with no "wow" factor.

LADY TITI SINGS THE BLUES

Watchable. I didn't laugh out loud but still thoroughly enjoyed the humour of the dress-up comedy of errors with strong social and gender undertones. I loved the way the man in the lead role struts, especially when deciding in which direction to run - the funniest bits.

In the 1990 there was big immigration of Jews from Ethiopia and the former USSR to Israel. The community was underfunded which led to the creation of a ghetto, crime and drugs. In the most extreme cases Ethiopians are killed by the police and the officers don't even go to trial. So the community don't want to vote for Netanyahu any more after 30 years. The Q&A was with the Israeli producer and the Ethiopian (female) director. At first she wanted to make a drama about it but the producer suggested a comedy and it worked out. The main protagonist is dressed up as a woman to experience being one. He's played by a dancer from the famous Batsheva Dance Company, not an actor. In the audition he knew how to move like a woman. On set he used to forget he was a man. But it had taken him 3 months to create the female image of Worko. He learnt it by imitating his wife's movements. Homosexuality is "non-existent" in Ethiopia so that was another issue to tackle. It's been the first and the last so far screening outside Israel.

COVERED UP

Recommended. About how high standards Hasidic community members have to live up to, the price they pay for being looked after so well and about how the family works, which is visible especially in the scene where the father tells a girl to tuck in loose hair to look modest enough.

I asked the director/protagonist who's divorced, what went wrong, with so many precautions taken by the families before a couple is matched. She responded she had been seeing her prospective husband for 9 days.

YOU ONLY DIE TWICE

Watchable. Hard to comprehend, too much data. But when you hear a Nazi might have been pretending to be a Jew, it nails you to the seat. Nothing is what it seems. The investigation leads to surprising findings.

To sum up the festival, it comprised 33 movies form 15 countries, selected from 800 works. The films were of exceptionally high quality this year and delivered a comprehensive picture of a community of strict rules but supportive to its members. 9000 tickets were issued and 3000 votes cast. I don't know what the entry tickets were for though since you were let in if there were free spaces and extra seats were brought in. The interpreters usually mistranslated what the guests said. The volunteers often had no clue what to do and how. But the core staff were very pleasant and respectful of everyone, even though some people in the audience clearly were homeless or had mental issues. A problem of it being a free event.


GOOD BOYS

Recommended. The trailer implied a low-brow comedy like several class B American stuff. But it's a humorous and intelligent story of the pains of growing up as well as learning the adult world. The tweens, acted masterfully by Jacob Tremblay as Max, Brady Noon as Thor and Keith L. Williams as Lucas, are so cute and the comedy so sweet you remember what it was like to be 12. Several pop culture references appear: "Annabelle", "Game of Thrones", "Stranger Things".

LEGIONY (THE LEGIONS)

Watchable. Shot in pleasant, warm colours, unlike most Polish historical productions which tend to be so dark you can barely recognize the people - this one is clear and easy to watch. Good, humorous dialogues, e.g. "Pieniądze czekają w kasie pancernej." "Twoje?" "Jeszcze nie." ("The money's waiting in a strongbox." "Yours?" "Not yet."). The storyline's balanced and well-structured: military scenes and ordinary life/love ones come alternately. The plot is  quite typical for such patriotic enterprises

ANGEL HAS FALLEN

Watchable. The start is mundane but exactly 20 minutes in, the action takes off with a blast. In an ingenious way. And there are some other entertaining surprises later on. Excellent sound effects and visuals. A satisfactory continuation of the series.

AD ASTRA AT IMAX

Recommended. It tells very realistically about the space. And people too. Plot-wise, it's a space opera which questions itself. It does have gravity, no monkey business - at least not successful (a reference comprehensible only after you've seen the film). At Imax, it makes you feel like you're out there on a space mission. Flying onboard "Cepheus", who in Greek mythology had to sacrifice his daughter to stop a disaster, is a son who has to decide whether to sacrifice his estranged father. "Per aspera ad astra" ("through hardships to the stars").

LYING AND STEALING

Watchable. A standard plot for the genre with thieves having to work off their debts, with some inventive ways of stealing artworks, beautiful Emily Ratajkowski, good cinematography providing the glam effect. Decent music. 

ДЫЛДА (BEANPOLE)

Watchable. Protracted and sick. Only the conversation with Marsha's boyfriend's parents makes sense, clarifying both girls' background from which this disturbing, plain wrong and weird relationship between Masha and Iya stems.

RAMBO: LAST BLOOD

Recommended. What can John Rambo do with his life on return? Is he still fighting the war? Well, the war is on human trafficking across the Mexican border. And he's as fit as new. With a tribute to the whole series over the end credits.

KINO DZIECI (KIDS KINO)

MOOMINVALLEY (2019)

Recommended. Delightful, with cute animals and better animation than in "Muumien joulu" ("Moomins and the Winter Wonderland") of two years ago. Soothing, soft voices in the original dubbing, with Rosamund Pike as Moominmamma. Light, 80s-style songs but also a music piece like from Disney cartoons from a century ago. Viewer-friendly - you don't have to remember the story or who is who to understand the films. It''s a mild way of teaching children how to deal with life issues, suitable for the 6+ year-olds it's aimed at. Good translation into Polish. Children watched the tales infatuated and concentrated.

DIE DREI RAUBER (THE THREE ROBBERS) (2007)

Watchable. The title song with a brass band sounds like in the theatre rather than the cinema. The rapid-movement animation style is annoying. Later varied drawing styles are used. The story and the pictures are dark but it all ends well and you learn the surprising origins of the robbers. In the Polish dubbing the voices are not always clear. There's one mid-credit and later on you hear a song and a silly conversation along the end credits.


And one for adults, outside the festival:

LES CREVETTES PAILLETEES (THE SHINY SHRIMPS)

Watchable. A light-hearted comedy. Not exactly hilarious but moderately amusing anyway. E.g. children called Gaspar and Noé, like the famous film director or, already on opening credits: "dad + dad = a well-dressed child". The highlight is their cover of Sabrina's "Boys (Summertime Love)" - that simply must be heard and seen. Ryan Gosling is mentioned as a "gay icon". I wonder what his wife would say. 


KINO DZIECI (KIDS KINO)

PETTERSSON UND FINDUS - KLEINER QUALGEIST, GROSSE FREUNDSCHAFT (PETTSON & FINDUS: FUN STUFF) (2014)

Recommended. Immaculately acted. Technically superb: digital mushrooms and creatures are superimposed on authentic backgrounds. The story's complex yet perfectly suitable for children. Some bits are funny, e.g. when Petterson realises his cat can talk, other, like action, make kids react tumultously. The story contains ingenious adventures and lots of child psychology. The movie's of perfect length. Pettersson plays antics over the end credits.

OPERASJON MORKEMANN (OPERATION SHADOWMAN) (2018)

Watchable. Quite a typical treasure-hunt story for older children. Typical also for Scandinavian cinema since it's the rich who are guilty here. At least the rich and the poor make peace in the end. There's a scene just after the credits start in which the children ask questions to check how attentively you've been watching. No answers are given at this point.

15TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

LEONA

Watchable. The romantic story is engaging but frustrating at times. The second submersion scene is tricky: when you think it might be a suicide, she purifies herself in expectation of a new relationship. But the film clarifies why Jews form such tight-knit communities. They supported each other when they came (to Mexico in this case) 100 years ago, e.g. one would bankroll an enterprise, would hire his relatives and others etc. 

The director is Jewish, the Mexican actress, Naian Gonzales Norvind, isn't. In turn, many Jewish characters are non-actors. The Mexican Jewish community is third after South Africa and New York and, according to the actress, there is a sense of complicity. Asked about sex scenes, she said they had been easy since she trusted the director and the crew. They were harder to watch at the festival than to act. She kind-of directed the director throughout the film. She's re-appropriating the purification ritual in the last scene = we take what predecessors give us and give it a new meaning. Ah, and she speaks excellent English - she's living in New York now.

15TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

OUTBACK RABBIS

Recommended. Touching and funny, e.g. the woman who's astonished when she finds out she's Jewish or when the rabbis explain what "Jewish atheism" is: "There is only one God and we don't believe in him." A cheerful documentary with great cinematography.

I've been so busy the last two weeks, watching movies among others, that I have accumulated quite a backlog of notes that I need to edit and post. So reviews of 19 more movies are coming shortly, on Monday most likely.

15TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

JONATHAN AGASSI SAVED MY LIFE

Watchable. Another documentary by Tomer Heymann, the director known for exquisite "Mr. Gaga". More niche than the dance movie. This one's about a gay porn star which, I think, is the only reason it did not blow me away. The protagonist, originally Yonatan, who changed his name for stage purposes, is adorably cute and warm. I used to think gay men and straight women had a lot in common but from the part of the picture covering his porn career I can see that gay fantasies are quite different than straight women's. The rest of the film dives deep into Jonathan's psyche. He lived with his mum who would ask him and his brother to act in videos to be sent to his runaway dad. His father used to be the red camera dot. You can see the connection to Agassi's movie career later in life. Then you witness their meeting. He hoovered the flat for his dad's visit which is only unsettling minutes later when you realise how the father had been treating him all his life. After disastrous meetings with his irresponsible father, he goes on a drug spree and loses his libido. He looks like a beaten dog.  

The Q&A with the director and the protagonist's mother gave me extra insight. The director also first thought the movie would be about a successful man. Jonathan Agassi first thought Tomer Heymann would have sex with him in the film. Jonathan/Yonatan is clear of drugs now and has a regular job. As his caring mother says, love at home helped him. Anna, Yonatan's mother, looks better in real life than in the film. His mother's a painter which sheds light on the son's artistic inclinations. These days he maintains kind-of-buddies contact with his father (who's seen the film). Jonathan did drugs for many years. He saw himself in the mirror of the documentary and then he understood his life was an illusion. School was traumatic for Yonatan, they wanted to get rid of the problematic child, the thinking was: "how we can change Yonatan".

LONGING 

Recommended. A deeply moving and tear-jerking manifold psychologic drama not only about mourning but also about how complex life is. You look at the same events with different people's eyes which lets you see how multilayered each person is. 

The scriptwriter's inspiration was a similar ceremony which had really taken place among taoists in Singapore. The director's closest friend died 6 years ago and the initial dedication in the movie is to him. The main actor is a comedian in Israel so the director had to delete the little smile in his eyes. Savi Gabizon said the protagonist didn't give money to the son's friend in the begging in order to show that he didn't solve problems with money. The worse the son was the more fatherhood the writer could get into the father's character.

HERE AND NOW

Walked out. Protracted and without a purpose. Just about daily problems of a rapper who's a young father facing eviction and doing manual work. Nothing I could identify with or look forward to. The gun trope is derivative. 

FRACTURES

Watchable. I was about 20 minutes late but the crystal-clear structure let me get into the story rightaway. The sexual harassment plot is engaging but fails to protect the victim. It demonstrates the viewpoint of each of the people involved without making it clear who's guilty. The kid plays on the defence in a match at the same time his father faces the accusation. The story's not concluded. 

It's based on the director's theatrical play which explains the lack of conclusion. The scriptwriter has had child and adult experience of sexual harassment. I found it shocking how the audience blamed the victim in the film. The bias was disturbing. 

IN YOUR EYES

Watchable. Pleasant, colourful, with top-notch Ethiopian music by Moti Taki. Drag queen Suzi Boum, shown in a few fabulous outfits, disarms haters reacting to their remarks: "Thank you. I love you." You learn about the adoption process for a gay couple. The two Israeli men have to get the embryo from India and use a US mother as a surrogate - the cost is 130 K dollars. Still, the concoction is kind-of insipid.

The subsequent Q&A with Suzi Boum was all about him. If the drag queen encounters reluctance at events where he works 24/7: bachelor parties, company functions, weddings, he explains he comes to bring joy which immediately disarms people. His glamorous skimp dresses are all hand-made in Bangkok. Shaving eye-brows and making up takes him 2 hours. He spent 3 years in the army as an Arabic-Hebrew translator. He doesn't want to be a woman - it's just fun. His boyfriend presented in the documentary from a year ago is his ex now. He wanted an open relationship, Suzi refused, he insisted so then Suzi said: "OK, you want it open so open the door", which wasn't easy after 10 years together. Ah, and he wants to have 3 children. 

15TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

ECHO

Watchable. From all the secrecy I would have expected more than just a love affair. Still, the psychologic thriller is so tense it keeps you on the edge of the seat. With limited cast, it places you very close to the main character. I liked the kind-of repetition of the shower scene with changed circumstances. The plot is rewardingly complex.

Avner's job is no coincidence. The character has been designed to have a mathematical mind. Also the tunnels he works in are a metaphor of digging into the subconscious and of a passage between two disconnected places. That was easy in the script but hard to find a tunnel to shoot in. The director explains that in the first shower scene Avner almost asks his wife about his suspicions. But then he concludes that she'd say something and he wouldn't know if it's true so he needs a hard proof. The excellent cinematography was provided by "young hipster supertalented director of photography Daniel Miller" who's about 30 years old and has shot 3-4 films so far. This movie was shot in Haifa hence the hills and greenery since the makers looked for a combination of a city and greenery as the movie wife likes greenery and the husband likes a city. 


INSIDE THE MOSSAD

Recommended. While the documentary focuses on the psychology of a spy, highlighting their sociopathic level of reasoning and lack of remorse with the difference of patriotism and being community-oriented, for me the best parts of the story of the organization world-famous for its efficiency, is the mention of their failures. These range from minor ones like botched murders up to the greatest failure imaginable: when the Shahin Shah of Iran approached them to assassinate Khomeini, they refused deciding they had too little data on the person to perceive him as a threat. The ex-agents clearly enjoyed the power they exerted. They also explain the advantage of intelligence over warfare: it's cheaper, fewer lives are lots. At the same time they admit it creates no real (i.e. lasting) change. As for asset recruitment, no spy is ever 100% sure but "it takes one to know one". They once even recruited a Nazi. After the capture of Eichmann all Nazis lived in fear of Mossad. So they just offered him a life free of that fear. That worked since he exposed a number of other Nazis to Mossad. What's shocking to me, they don't protect the assets who work for them - even if they tell them they will do - whether pawns like a shepherd or the Shahin Shah himself. Mossad also conducted tests of a toxin causing an inexplicable death months later... on passers-by. 

It took 1.5 years to persuade Mossad to let the crew talk to their ex-employees. Obtaining that consent was a matter of being at the right spot at the right time. No more access to the organization has been granted to the media after that. The producers had to run it through the army censorship, after which they received a list of what to exclude. However, they managed to negotiate it down to 5 items since the other listed had already appeared in papers. The ex-spies enjoyed the interviews as a way to explain themselves. The director says that most of them are very normal people. They are very conscious of who they are and of the personality issues they have and of "how they fucked up their lives" meaning the sacrifice of doing immoral things for the sake of others. The Israelis are proud of Mossad, the organization has mythical qualities to them. The agents are paid well, though it's not a fortune, as civil servants. In the case of the woman talking about her background and work it was Mossad that required that her face be blurred. As for showing her school picture - where her eyes were blacked out but not those of the other girls, the picture was old so the risk was deemed small. The director also explains that the cruel side of Israel has been there since the establishment of their state. There's also a Netflix series with the interviews.


And outside the festival, American:
THE CURRENT WAR

Watchable. The plot electrifies but it doesn't shine. It harks back to the times of Edison, Tesla, Insull, Westinghouse (who I had never heard of before) and... J.P. Morgan who bankrolled the inventions. The film certainly filled the gap in my school knowledge with the smear campaigns and even dirtier deeds behind the creation of electricity. The final note on the screen highlights the irony of history. But the whole story's too sketchy, focused on the race and scandals rather than the toil. A well-made movie but schematic like a grid with no flash of genius.

15TH JEWISH MOTIFS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

ROBBERY OF THE HEART

Recommended. The documentary tells the story of the Kristallnacht so vividly the fear and agony are palpable. Another,m contemporary, terrifying news comes after the credits.

ANTHRAX

Recommended. I'm not a great fan of mock found footage but this is based on a true story so unsettling it watches like a thriller. 

It took 4 years: 1 year of scriptwriting, 1 year of fund raising and 2 years making. In real life it happened to 800 elite soldiers. The facts presented in the film are true. Some soldiers died from the injection. The mother who advised her son against partaking in the experiment was acted by the real mother of the soldier. The soldiers underwent it out of patriotism. Such experiments are still conducted on Israeli soldiers. The producer himself was in the army in Lebanon and was offered to volunteer. Some army places forbid filming and the film got the "censored" stamp from the Ministry of Defence. The story's been dramatised and made more personal. The beating-up and the doctor's death are fiction. While the cover-up by the army and the American pharmaceutical company conspiracy did take place, the producer is strongly against anti-vaccination movements. In this case, the experiment was conducted after Saddam Hussein had threatened with biological bombs with anthrax, the army deemed the threat real so agreed to the tests of the vaccination. The cover-up lasted till 2 years ago. Then the facts of the case were presented on UDVA TV and the film takes it from there. Peleg has produced 25 documentaries and works of fiction so far. They're trying to sell the film to Netflix or Amazon now. 

(NIE)ZNAJOMI

Recommended. I think it's even better than the Italian "Perfetti sconosciuti" ("Perfect Strangers") it's based on. I had the impression it tapped into comedy tones more often. But it may be because the humour is typically Polish so e.g. a guy considers meat and potatoes as dinner staples and is dissatisfied he has to eat some Italian pasta. Cleverly, there are more references to the Italian original: Kasia Smutniak acts in both and in this one she's a rich expat. And all the elements that made the original so smart: humour, sadness, tension are there again. The Polish version has resigned from the subversive Italian ending which is perfectly natural for this adaptation.

CRAWL

Recommended. Ignore the moronic title, the movie's...wow! Shot in Serbia but you can easily get fooled it's Florida. The premise is quite realistic and a nice break from supernatural horrors. This one's about 'gators. It adopts horror gimmicks but in a creative way. The first jump scare is a tree breaking in through a window during a hurricane. Later a protagonist is dragged back on the floor, like in several scary movies where the force is a corpse, a zombie or a demon. Here it's an animal. The plot keeps you on the edge of the seat and some shots are so evocative and memorable you rarely get to see such quality in this genre, e.g. a girl keeps her eyes above the water like a reptile, the round pipe exit with remnants of bars is striking. Several scenes resemble those in which sharks "acted" in other movies. It's just incredible how it must have been shot with the dangerous animals. You get underwater takes, air-views and level shots at all angles. However it was made, the cinematography stands out. The whole thing provides strong emotions, you feel as if you were in the flooded village yourself, especially that it's shown as if in real time. Also, such hurricanes and flashfloods do happen for real and flood water can move even cars, as shown in the picture, which renders the film even more realistic. "See you later, alligator" by Billie Holiday and His Comets sounds along the final credits changing the mood. The lyrics mention a love for dad which gives the impression the movie was scripted around the song.