Past year's:

THE HUNGER GAMES: THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES AT IMAX

Recommended. This part of the franchise was shot in Berlin and Wrocław, Poland. The Capital and the 12 districts are seen first at war, then at the 10th Hunger Games. Tom Blyth dyed blonde appears as Corio aka Coriolanus Snow. Book author Suzanne Collins wrote or checked all the songs. The music's James Newton Howard's. Smoking hot Tom Blyth as Corio and Rachel Zegler as Lucy Gray Baird (whose surname carries a meaning too) are so gentle, loving and, Snow at least, innocent and naive, they win you over in no time. Viola Davis is creepy as a callous psychopathic mastermind. The story, perfectly consistent with subsequent events from the earlier movies, explains everyone's motivations plausibly and is true in how life works. The costumes, while far from the splendour we're used to in the other movies, represent post-war poverty and the elite school uniforms make it obvious no gender is excluded. Even though the Games Arena is austere as yet, traps and plots keep you glued to the screen. Brutality outside the arena makes for a compelling viewing for the remaining part. That and the obvious curiosity of how the young gentle Snow crosses to the dark side. The legends of the realm find their grounding too. "The Hanging Tree" kept playing in my head after leaving the cinema. Once again a complete world you believe in. Definitely a worthy edition to the cracking franchise.

From 2023:

UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL ONLINE

КОНКУРС КОРОТКОМЕТРАЖНИХ ФІЛЬМІВ БЛОК 4 (SHORT FILM COMPETITION SET 4)

ЗРОСТАННЯ У ВИСОТУ (RAISING BY HEIGHT)

Recommended. A man abseils from a block of flats hindered by a football supporter, a cat and a kid boasting off with what he's learned from his dad. A hilarious action comedy with great music.

ЦЕ ПОБАЧЕННЯ (IT'S A DATE)

Seen and reviewed before at Her Docs Forum.

PTITSA 

Watchable. This pandemic documentary about lockdown puts into perspective our lives in general: how we neglect both our places and relationships with our close ones when we're out and about, and Ukraine from the perspective of the current war, seeing how the women are worried about their building crumbling when it was just wear and tear. It also deals with how we have to abandon our plans and dreams after a relative's death. On the other hand, it's full of waffling. 

 

МАРІУПОЛЬ. СТО НОЧЕЙ (MARIUPOL. A HUNDRED NIGHTS)

Watchable. This short is a Ukrainian Oscar candidate. But neither the basic animation, nor the foul language in the song appeal to me. Though the idea of never being able to go back home is thought-provoking. Only the final notes and shots are truly moving.

КОРДОН (FRONTIER)

Watchable. A black and white documentary about revisiting Luhansk, partly abandoned since 2015, after 8 years. Impressions from the place. Not much informative value.  

ВИ ЇЇ БАЧИЛИ (YOU'VE SEEN THIS ONE)

Switched off. Thought congestion rather than the girl's depression. Tiring and pointless.

КОНКУРС КОРОТКОМЕТРАЖНИХ ФІЛЬМІВ БЛОК 4 (SHORT FILM COMPETITION SET 4)

ЮРА (YURA)

Watchable. A drama about being split between a love for a girl and the love for your homeland. A look into what's it like to be unable to leave Ukraine (as a young man) and some crazy idea in the plot. The first part, before getting banned, is a little protracted. 

КРИМЦІ (IDENTITY ON THE LINE: CRIMEANS)

Watchable. An informative, even if overtalked, documentary on the difficult history of Crimean Tatars' forced migrations, their artisanship and culture.

КИЇВ - УЖГОРОД (KYIV - - UZHHOROD)

Watchable. Artistic, animated impressions from being a refugee. Lucid but nothing new on the subject.

ДЕНЬ ВЧИТЕЛЯ (TEACHER'S DAY)

Recommended. A gripping crime drama where two former victims face a pedophile. Smart, with astonishing, shocking even, twists of action within a 19-minute film.

ЗГАСАЮЧЕ СВІТЛО (DYING LIGHT)

Recommended. Dying is not easy. Or simple. Nor is grief obvious. Graphic at some point.  

And full-length:

ЛЮКСЕМБУРГ, ЛЮКСЕМБУРГ (LUXEMBOURG, LUXEMBOURG)

Watchable. Inspired by true events. It's hard to say what the subject of the film truly is or what genre it is. 

COUP DE CHANCE

Watchable. Different from other Woody Allen movies, there's no humour in dialogue, only the finale is tongue-in-cheek. Yet the story is lucid, stylish and engaging. Hunting in reality looks different than depicted. But it facilitates the praise of pure chance in the ending. Jazz accompanies the end credits - a possible reference to the book the novelist was writing.

AN CAILIN CIUIN (THE QUIET GIRL)

Recommended. The 2023 Oscar nominee from Ireland is superb  mostly owing to Catherine Clinch who acts remarkably well as the girl. The story is very gently and quietly told yet touching.

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

Past year's: 

THE MARVELS AT IMAX 3D

Recommended. The plot is a bit experimental but from the initial chaos gradually emerges sense. Refugee relocation is tackled: "I'll find you a new safe place. Is that OK?" "We don't have a choice." There's humour with certain Indian family: "They don't look related." "What do you know? Families are complicated." Women rule. Cat lovers will adore the Flerkens. But most importantly the Imax 3D looks like never before - the new glasses for the digital screen may be part of the success because, whether in social scenes, on the spaceship, in the outer space or on fantastical planets, you're always as close to the characters and locations as if you were there. 박서준 (Seo-jun Park) plays an episode as Prince Yan of Aladna - the association with "Aladdin" is understandable. The Atmos sound, surrounding when needed, is fine too. Music varies from Beastie Boys to the score from "X-Men: Days of Future Past". There's an X-Men mid-credit indicating this cross-over in the next Marvels movie. The post-credit is just the sound of the Flerkens spitting out their passengers.

I saw a few minutes of the film in an ordinary size screen to doublecheck the 3D effects. And while they don't compare to Imax, the 3D is still irresistable.

HOW TO HAVE SEX

Directed by Molly Manning Walker who was responsible for the cinematography of "Scrapper". She's recently turned 30 and celebrated her birthday right in Malia in Crete, Greece, where the action takes place

Recommended. British chavs on holidays in a Greek resort? Up to a point. We all have been there, done that when young. It's so relatable. Wonderful cinematography throughout, at times plays with light and colours. Lots of truly good techno. It makes you want to have sex. And dance. Best on holidays in a warm country.

WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

어디로 가고 싶으신가요 (WHERE WOULD YOU LIKE TO GO?)

Walked out. It drags so badly I couldn't make out its point, something to do with mourning. The director studied in Łódź and seems to be resident in Poland so I guess that's how she's picked up this Polish penchant for the topic.

HER DOCS FORUM

YOU KNOW IT'S GOING TO BE ABOUT WAR

Recommended. This 34'19"-long documentary doesn't shock you. It's just an in-depth look at wartime Ukraine from the position of young people: what they do or don't and why, how they feel. It explains the volunteer burnout, survivor syndrome or indifference to air raid alerts. A bit unsettling how easy it is to get used to living war. Demolished blocks of flats and music concerts, clubbing, dining and sirens or losing one's uninsured car. The young people are very self-conscious and down-to-earth in their expectations. 

JINA

Recommended. A short film on a war waged on women by the authorities of Iran. Funny Persian is one of few languages that don't have gender. Because tortures, rapes - both executed as punishments have gender. Women ask bold questions: what sort of creature is God if it's going to hang you by your hair sticking out of your hijab? Their courage and determination bring some hope and are admirable in the face of the persecution they're likely to fall victim of. Still, the most shocking is the authorities' willingness to "discipline" them. They're out of touch with the reality of the revolution. The last 43 years were constant.

Past year's:

ZATOKA SZPIEGOW (THE BAY OF SPIES) EP. 1 & 2

The colours and light were inspired by "Indiana Jones". The lead actor, Bartosz Gelner, said: "the serial is about a transformation, our country is also undergoing transformations about which I'm hopeful".

Watchable. The actresses don't look as beautiful as in real life. Stunning shots of the sea are wonderful on a big screen. But characters that may have looked good on paper, run-of-the-mill action, the protagonist's constant smoking and deceptive tricks to pick up women, slow passages in between action and the Polish look of the Germans didn't convince me to continue watching it later on telly. Also all characters speak Polish only which hinders understanding who is who and what's going on. 

Past year's:

WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

비밀의 언덕 (THE HILL OF SECRETS)

Recommended. South Korean 1996 is colourful. The movie sees the world from a child's perspective as she manoeuvres her position within a group, it presents her perspective of her family members. This warm family movie is truly engaging and touching. 

공조2: 인터내셔날 (CONFIDENTIAL ASSIGNMENT 2: INTERNATIONAL)

Watchable. The first 25 minutes in NYC and Seoul are incomprehensible, especially if you haven't seen part 1. A South Korean, a North Korean and an American fight and cooperate, always followed by secret agents, in this action comedy full of stunts, but also cinephile jokes like a girl in love who "always sees him in slow mo" or political gags, e.g. the North Korean's flat "is owned by the party" and the South Korean's by the bank - "same here". Fun, alluding to other films music: "We No Speak Americano" from "Peter Rabbit" or the melody of "What a Life" from "Another Round" make it quite enjoyable.

SLOTHERHOUSE

Watchable. It's a black comedy about a college sorority rivalry and it's not what you expect because the sloth doesn't rip people with her claws, or at least rarely does. Instead she electrocutes, strangles, smothers with a pillow, throws from heights etc. And she uses the Internet. Or holds and opens a beer bottle with the claws. The sloth looks fake. But the whole thing is happy-go-lucky fun. There's a mid-credit and lots of sloth gifs along the end credits.

Past year's:

WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

킬링 로맨스 (KILLING ROMANCE)

Watchable. I entered at the opening but chances are I didn't miss any line. It's a musical,  unfortunately, very colourful, like in Wes Anderson's movies, fairy-tale like, where violence is exemplified by  throwing tangerines at somebody. Funny enough e.g. certain reaction to a guy who's started talking to animals after his 4th university entry exam failure.There's an end-credit. 

 

악마를 보았다 (I SAW THE DEVIL) (2010) AND Q&A WITH DIRECTOR

Recommended. Gentle music and the opening and closing are deceitfully peaceful. The perve up close is expectedly revolting and some scenes disturbing, but this revenge flick offers great twists and plot solutions and is cathartically brutal. 

The director has heard a suggestion the movie was too brutal for a theatrical release. In Warsaw, Poland, he found Łazienki vexingly beautiful. "If Korea had such a beautiful park maybe I'd be calm for longer and wouldn't have made such a brutal film". The director changed the final scene, the brutal script was by 박훈정 (Park Hoonj-jung), the guillotine was his idea and in whose hands he should die. His is also the dawn walk scene. In the 90s there was serial killer 유영철 (You Young-chul) - his TV interview inspired the director. Normally revenge movies see a long search and than a painful revenge. He wanted to make it differently so that the murderer feels the victims' agony and to show the emotions during exacting the revenge. Is a revenge possible in our moral code? It was inspired by Nietsche. He's made 10 full-length movies and the music has been chosen by him: 60-100 songs picked for the movie mood each time, down to 2-3, sometimes extra music created. His debut was in the early 2000s, at K-cinema renaissance, then the commercial versus art division came into being, also popular abroad - because it focused on genre cinema, that was the "cinephile" generation of directors. There is ear the pandemic may have finished K-cinema. 

HEADSPACE

Walked out. Trite plot where aliens steer people's brains so they move like zombies and a bullied kid with a bunch of friends he turns out to have is to save the planet is ludicrous even in a cartoon. Contrived pseudo-scientific jargon of the aliens and cool-talk of the teenagers are over the top. And one of the 'good' aliens makes a misogynistic comment about his ex-wife.

Past year's: 

WARSAW KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL

거미집 (COBWEB) AND Q&A WITH DIRECTOR

Walked out. A movie about shooting one, with an added narrative of the protagonist's obsessive thoughts - neither works in film as a rule. In addition, this supposed comedy just isn't funny, gags are pathetically corny and characters often plain stupid. No fun. 

The director presented his own dilemmas in the film. Making movies you feel heaven and hell in turns. He doesn't watch his earlier movies fearing he'd like to improve them. He makes each new movie the other way round than the previous. Because creating is hard, he wants something different next. He thinks director Paul Thomas Anderson is like that too. Each genre has its won fears: melodramas - losing one, SF - future, horror - invisible things. Until his western "좋은 놈, 나쁜 놈, 이상한 놈" ("The Good, the Bad, the Weird") he focused on genre, since then on what needs to be shown. He doesn't have a favourite movie of his own. He keeps thinking about new ones. He likes many of others' movies, e.g. "Zimna wojna" ("Cold War"), "Kobieta publiczna" ("The Public Woman"), "Nóź w wodzie" ("Knife in the Water"), "Moje noce są piękniejsze niż wasze dni" ("My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days").

탑 (WALK UP)

Watchable. It could be called "Conversations over wine" just as well. This sparse black and white drama written, directed, shot and edited by 홍상수 (Hong Sang-soo), takes place in and around one building. You follow a man and his relationships with three women, as if taking  place one after another over years, but the finale points to another explanation: he's analysing what these three potential relationships with women could look like. And it appears to conclude he'd be best on his own. It's slow but steady. Nether shallow nor profound. Calmly shot. 

달콤한 인생 (A BITTERSWEET LIFE) (2005)

Watchable. 吳宇森 (John Woo)-style gangster flick with handsome 이병헌 (Lee Byung-hun) as the lead. The protagonist is relatively decent, taken he's a mafia hitman, so you root for him. At times comedy, at times melodrama, but mostly a mafia operative tale, it's engaging from the opening till the very end even if he-was-killed-and-ran-away situations are the standard fare of the genre. Bottom-look shots put you in the car or in the shoes of the protagonist. The finale uses slow-mo once and a camera hovers over some of the dead bodies, pulling away. But other than that, the cinematography has little style. It's a gangsta actioner rather. It ends with a bang. Literally - it's heard after the final credits. 

범죄도시3 (THE ROUNDUP: NO WAY OUT)

Watchable. This crime comedy is based on situational humour, e.g. when the fat policeman uses violence for the greater good. It's his character that drives the story but also a crime caper where you first see a crime, then realise who the perpetrators are and then follow this amiable fatso solving it. It features lots of mindless fights, only the ones with the heavyweight inspector are fun, though make no sense when the final one sees his strength wane for purely dramatic purposes, out of line with his usual punching ability. Truly funny at times, e.g. "And that's all? Let's clean up some more" (the police jargon for beating the interrogated scoundrels), it's fun on the whole. There's a mid-credit.

밀수 (SMUGGLERS)

Recommended. Women power, twists and turns in a story spanning a few years, character development, adventure: with sharks on land and in the sea, lots of style in vibrantly recreated 1970s, with music in the 1970s and in heroic western style. Riveting. There's a mid-credit.

다음 소희 (NEXT SOHEE)

Recommended. A heavy drama which, step by step, makes you realise stronger and stronger how systemic psychological violence is at play: with the call centre jobs and with externships and how the whole system of rewards drives mass abuse of young people who had dreams but then went to their first work. The victim-blaming is harrowing. But you realise there's no way out. Heavy, leaves you despondent.

콘크리트 유토피아 (CONCRETE UTOPIA)

Recommended. An engaging disaster flick and an interesting actioner, with wonderful visual effects of the ruined city. An unusual set-up, social injustice at the bottom of subsequent life or death struggle, complex yet fully comprehensible - skillfully directed and cut. Gripping. It's a great disaster movie but for an Oscar candidate it lacks depth.  

물안에서 (IN WATER)

Watchable. Seaside views, 3 extremely polite and nice people, an uncanny tale within the story kept me watching this sparse, unhurried 61-minute film where a young director seeking recognition is collating a short to shoot. Blurred pictures are a smart way to circumvent copyright requirements in a budget production. The story, though mundane, shows how picking out various elements of life results in a film plot. Sweet.

장화, 홍련 (A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) (2003) AND Q&A WITH DIRECTOR

Watchable. It drags, is filled with typical horror gimmicks like: killed birds, apparitions, a squeaky wardrobe, a surrounding sound of somebody running, a mental illness, seeing dead people - the viewer has a constant deja vu, protracted in that, but nothing is scary, it's never graphic, instead it's  accompanied by slow, nostalgic music so it doesn't frighten. It's more like a drama about inability to overcome grief after somebody's demise. May have been innovative 20 years ago. Only the final 40 minutes provide any twists, ambiguity and potential explanations. 

The director kept droning on and on also in answering questions. He wanted it to be beautiful, scary and sad. Lots of floral patterns appear in the film to express beauty and sorrow because beauty doesn't last so it's his way to emphasise sorrow. They added colours to lighting, even pastels to black to create eeriness and softness. He sees 'feminism' in Asian horror, by which he means focus on female characters. He tackles the question whether a mentally ill monster is still family. His own memories appear like ghosts. He wanted to reflect remorses. Also feminism: women scare men now like ghosts. More and more women work in the film industry in Korea.

HER DOCS FORUM

THREE WINDOWS ON SOUTH WEST

Watchable. This short is barely a film and is totally predictable. It consists of memoirs of a building in Kyiv which was destroyed in the current war. The memory of sex on the roof which turned out painful rather than romantic stands out. But you just see one picture and hear a conversation on its background, no moving pictures.

Reviewed from the organizers' screener, cinematic reception might differ.

INSPECTOR SUN Y LA MALDICION DE LA VIUDA NEGRA (INSPECTOR SUN AND THE CURSE OF THE BLACK WIDOW)

Watchable. This Spanish animation offers a full world of insects where they fly with Small World Airlines, have all 8 legs dressed in trousers and a VIP fly dines on 'merde a la francais'. The crime plot though is over the top. Plenty of insects, machines occasionally, intrigues, adventures - at some point I couldn't get the plot any longer but, with the adventure overload, I didn't care any more. Quality animation, with e.g. translucent sea water, surrounding sound of the VIP dining room. In Poland it's dubbed in Polish, newspaper headlines are kept in English. Insect dialogues are great fun.

A portion of past year's fare: 

THE PIPER

Watchable. The plot being set in an orchestra, with a folk tale inspiring the action is original in the genre. Mediocre music (Debussy and Bach). Not scary. The career plot is engaging.

NYAD

Recommended. Doctors thought it humanly impossible. She was a woman, over 60. And she proved them wrong. Battling herself, an ocean current, sea creatures, salt water, heat. She's cut out for achievement and for marathon swimming itself. It's a doozy story of a spunking woman and a gripping sports documentary. The actors are made look like the original crew. John Burtlett died in 2013.

KICIA KOCIA NA PIKNIKU (KITTY KOTTY ON A PICNIC)

The set comprises of:

KICIA KOCIA NA PIKNIKU (KITTY KOTTY ON A PICNIC), KICIA KOCIA GRA W PILKE (KITTY KOTTY PLAYS FOOTBALL), KICIA KOCIA: TO MOJE! (KITTY KOTTY. IT'S MINE!), KICIA KOCIA JEST CHORA (KITTY KOTTY IS ILL), KICIA KOCIA NA PLAZY (KITTY KOTTY AT THE BEACH), KICIA KOCIA NA TRAKTORZE (KITTY KOTTY ON A TRACTOR), KICIA KOCIA NA BASENIE (KITTY KOTTY AT THE POOL) 

Watchable. This set contains some bizarre ideas like setting up a tent which is meant to prevent flower petals from falling into food but I doubt this kind of tent would work for real, or to change into a dry swimsuit after swimming - what for?! On the other hand, it shows how a kid can play with a disabled one in a respectful and egalitarian way and it's very natural, or how a kid can enjoy a pool even without swimming. It's all warm-hearted and colourful with kitten-like Kicia Kocia cute as ever. 

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

KAJTEK CZARODZIEJ (KAYTEK THE WIZARD)

Switched off. I'm not sure if it's director Magdalena Łazarkiewicz's fault or if the tale by Janusz Korczak has aged so badly. In spite of the title it's not a fantasy flick for children. It's a sepia-toned gloomy drama about a bullied kid whose mother passed away and about racial segregation before the war. The movie looks and sounds like in the Polish 90s: screaming for more funding, with disastrously fake special effects, wooden acting and a totally implausible fantasy plot on top of all the heavy drama which I couldn't stand even as an adult. Outdated in all respects. 

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

KLANGOR EP. 1

Watchable. Maciej Musiał, Wojciech Mecwaldowski - miscast in a dramatic role, superb Konrad Eleryk, professional cinematography don't save this story. It's not completely comprehensible, partly due to poor recording of dialogue, and lacks suspense, even at the end of the episode. 

This episode is available free of charge on Canal+ online.

Past year's:

THE KILLER

Watchable. A tedious drama about a hitman, full of genre cliches. In fact, in the beginning, the protagonist says: "If you can't handle boredom, you're not good for the job" so it makes me a viewer not good for this movie. The killer muses on life, his profession and repeats the mantra of his rules, which he rarely follows anyway. But if you are to see the film, a big screen will compensate for the sketchy plot, where characters are just nominal: the hit people (Tilda Swinton stands out, surprisingly, as a cold-blooded killer), the client, the attorney (ordering the kills), with wonderful cinematography, where a plane is reflected in the glass of a skyscraper, colourful lights of a city or a wet road mesmerise, a lit landmark shines through the windows of a penthouse at night. The plot takes you from charming Paris, through verdant Santo Domingo or the Dominican Republic, to the heat of Florida or New Orleans or the cold of Chicago. 

Past year's:: 

PRZEGLAD NOWEGO KINA NIDERLANDZKIEGO (NEW DUTCH CINEMA SCREENING)

NR. 10

Watchable. I got to the screening probably 3 minutes late so for me it started with a theatre rehearsal - boring. But inexplicable behaviours of the protagonist's family and colleagues ensue. The situation in the theatre is part of that. Then it turns out some men interfere in the man's life. So the drama becomes a mystery, then turns into science-fiction and finally grotesque. Bizarre.

Some more past year films:

WARSAW JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL

WJFF SHORTS: "POLIN G9"

RODZINNE ZDJECIE (FAMILY PHOTO)

Walked out. The kids were disgusting. 

SERNIK (CHEESECAKE)

Watchable. Memorable for "I asked my mother what word "Großmutter" meant. Jewish children just didn't have grandparents." Apart from the story, it consists also of portraits (of adults) but in colour - contemporary, lots of kids - I averted my sight. At least the dog portrait at the very end is so cute.  

WARSAW CALLING

Watchable. Lots of emigration in the family history. Meeting the extended family online constitutes this very basic video.. 

JANKEL'S SHTETL

Watchable. The opening landscape and workshop look fine. The middle part is dull. He dances in the finale so it ends joyfully.

SARITA

Watchable. The Brazilian and Polish story of looking for a bride starts intriguing but is another boring family tale as it's being told. 

All the short films were merely family videos, not interesting for outsiders. The quality of screening in the Legacy Gallery of Polin Museum was also poor, mostly because the screen is built of visible squares. 

WSZYSTKO TO, CO MAMY (ALL THAT WE HAVE)

Watchable. A budget, black and white, documentary, with poor cinematography, sometimes shaky, mostly a bit blurry, and sound so substandard I had to read subtitles. The film's main vice is exactly that: many dialogues are unintelligible so, strangely, its reception will be easier for non-Polish viewers. But the content makes the viewing pleasant. The two guys forming the band touring penitentiaries are so positive, with a sense of humour, e.g. when the older one says some people come to their gigs year after year only to see if he's still alive. Both musicians, educated by the university of life, have a very healthy attitude to their criminal past and to social issues in general. With such protagonists a film can't fail. Even if it's marred by technical incompetence. 

FIN DEL MUNDO?

Watchable. The miraculous kind of music and suspense techniques kept me watching this ludicrousness till the end. While the story is clear, the enigmas of it never get explained and the presented world doesn't make much sense. You never learn who is who. The army and president characters are just nominal: Captain, General, Our President, The Other President. Worst of all, its pace, acting and filming style look like from the 20th century in Poland, Teatr Telewizji (Television Theatre) in particular. And it's disgustingly sexist - also like in the 20th century. Ah, it's no comedy at all. The theatre of the absurd rather. 

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.