POMO

The best Oscars in a long time, capping off an extraordinarily strong year in film. Funny surprises like a nude John Cena, Guillermo with a mega-bottle of Tequilla and the twins Arnie and Danny DeVito. Again hosted perfectly with humour by Jimmy Kimmel, statuettes handed out to those who deserved them. I was pleased with all of the results, especially the awards for Best International Feature film and sound for Zone of Interest. And a powerful speech by the director of 20 Days in Mariupol! And the singing Ryan Gosling stole the show.

Can it really be so bad in India? The transformation of pure feminine innocence into the only possible form of existence that is not submissive to the laws of the patriarchal jungle. In some poor Indian social classes, family values are not the same as they are with us. And what initially seems tempting to take the wrong path can eventually turn out to be a life preserver. Though it is inhumanely sad. The Shameless is a brutal, powerful drama with a screenplay rich in the depiction of cultural nuances, excellent acting and uncompromising directing. [Cannes FF]

Stop! Or My Grandma Will Shoot! An endearing “action” comedy with a heart and an excellent June Squibb. The 94-year-old actress turns in an admirable performance as she combines a variety of humorous gestures with sensitive dramatic moments. The interplay between the characters comprising her family and the bad guys is formulaic yet effectively written, with a surprising choice cast in the role of the main villain. When it comes to comedies about the elderly, however, I personally prefer more sarcastic, culturally distinctive European films, such as A Man Called Ove. [Miami Film Festival]

A procedural analysis of the actions of Eastern European villagers – the family of the injured party, the police and the father of those who are responsible – during the investigation of a crime and the subsequent handling of the facts that are brought to light. Though incomprehensible to the point of absurdity in the context of Western civilisation, those actions are well intentioned at the core of the characters’ limited way of thinking – albeit with a veil of nagging remorse. And even though the screenplay does not revolve explicitly around tragedy, the film holds the viewer’s attention with the brilliant structure of the dialogue and uncomplicated examination of the characters, while stimulating curiosity as to how it will develop. The same story with the same characters and dialogue could work just as well in the conditions of Poland or Slovakia. [Cannes FF]

It’s a shame about the level of stupidity in many of the scenes, because the natural settings are atmospheric and the monsters are impressive. The idea of setting the story on Earth before our civilization, in the age of dinosaurs, is also fine. Sci-fi B-movies require at least a bit of common sense, which is all the more true with smaller budgets. Here, with solid production under the baton of Sam Raimi and an A-list actor in the lead role, the absence of intelligence is an even greater drawback.

Set in a time in America that now seems the most appealing of all, Air is a fresh entrepreneurial adventure with a maximally feel-good happy ending. It's not as funny or seductively amoral as The Wolf of Wall Street, nor does it reveal such an interesting curiosity as Moneyball did, but it’s still a skilfully directed and well acted true story of the American Dream. “Booorn in the USA!”

Sandra Hüller turns in another superb performance in Anatomy of a Fall, one of two films featuring the actress in the competition section at Cannes this year (the other being The Zone of Interest). Though she plays the main character, we remain unaware of whether she is guilty or not throughout the film. Her expression and speech are mostly cold and we sense the murderer in her, but she plays innocent absolutely naturally. Casting her in this role was an excellent move. This long, very dialogue-oriented film also includes a trial with an interesting, procedural investigation of a tragic event. Well directed with ambiguity in the difficult search for the truth. [Cannes FF]

The exploration of the real world by people coming from Barbie Land is stimulating and original and hints at the promise of a clever, fresh and original satire reflecting the pseudo-problems of contemporary (western) society. But the potential inherent in that is cut dead by the subsequent “gender conflict” and its childish resolution to which the film resorts. And that’s a shame. Even the balance of entertainment for children and adults doesn’t work here, since the movie is not for kids at all. But let’s be glad that audiences are returning in large numbers to cinemas now that the pandemic is over. Barbie deserves thanks for that. And special praise goes to the originator of the brilliant “Barbenheimer” marketing concept, though the hardworking crew around Tom Cruise didn’t deserve to have M:I-7 overshadowed.

Inside the Yellow Cocoon is an extremely slow and unexciting “spiritual journey” undertaken by a young man in order to understand the meaning of life, which was changed for him overnight by the tragic death of his sister. Long shots, talking with people, ordinary background scenery comprising the Vietnamese countryside. For three gruelling hours, there is none of the build-up or plot development that we are used to seeing in movies. I can’t imagine being in such a state of mind that this film would better suit me. [Cannes FF]

It’s a shame that The Equalizer 3 has less action and, in particular, a formalistically sloppy settling of accounts with the main bad guy. Denzel Washington’s charisma and the excellent stylisation of his character as the alpha purveyor of justice from the conflict with the Italian Camorra offered a bigger and longer slaughter with a higher body count. We have been spoiled by John Wick... That said, The Equalizer 3 is still entertaining even in the quiet passages with its fine characters, Italian atmosphere and, mainly, escalating tension leading up to the clash between the brutal local underworld and the ultimate American hero. The epilogue is needlessly theatrical (Italy) and naïve (San Francisco).