J*A*S*M

(49th KVIFF) There’s nothing a person can do against Leviathan. “You don’t have any rights, never had and never will.” In the beautiful seaside setting of north-western Russia, Andrej Zvjagincev tells the tragedy of a family while revealing the not very pretty state of today’s (nor only Russian) society and church. Leviathan may not move your heart or make you sit in silent amazement, but the script and the director’s grip are so perfectionist and purposeful that it’s impossible not to praise them. Some of my festival five-star ratings come from the heart, this one comes from the head, but that doesn’t put into question their strength. Just to be clear, some of Leviathan’s scenes can really squeeze some emotions. The view of the majestic sea with the waves crashing on the jagged rocks, plus the majestic music that makes you realise the smallness of man and the hopelessness of the struggle against authority, those are moments that bring goosebumps and resonate long after the screening.

(49th KVIFF) The atmosphere in the big theatre was unique, but the sequel of The Raid was a big disappointment for me, mainly because it’s a totally different genre than the first one, which was basically a horror survival. Here Evans tries to tell some kind of intricate Mafia drama with a complex story, but he is not quite successful at it: the motivations are lost, the plan as a whole is unclear and, mostly, it’s terribly boring overall. The moment they start kicking the living shit out of each other, though, it’s nice to watch. The choreography of the fights is amazing, but they don’t make much sense from a narrative standpoint. The last hour, when the characters finally have said everything they wanted to say, it’s fun, but the bad aftertaste of the gruelling ninety minutes that preceded it is impossible to forget. Evans should come back down to earth.

(49th KVIFF) The festival’s action peak. A tense war movie full of adrenaline that takes place over one night in Belfast during the Troubles. A likeable rookie soldier is thrown in the middle of a raging fight and will have to work hard to survive because, due to some unhappy circumstances, everyone is after him. When an annoying, smart-ass lad shows up, I feared that things would go to hell, but those fears didn’t last long. I have only one problem with this film, and that is with the rather unfortunate casting choice of having two characters on opposite sides of the barricade played by two very similar actors. Which, given that the story involves various double-crosses, conspiracies, negotiations with the enemy, and so on, makes it quite difficult to follow.

(49th KVIFF) As a look into the lives of young hooligans, Barbarians is quite convincing, but it’s not enough for a bigger film experience. It could have been presented in a more interesting way, the world of aimless teens has space for a strong dramatic story with a catharsis, but you don’t get any of that in Barbarians. On top of that, I had a lot of trouble distinguishing the hooligans, they all look very similar.

(49th KVIFF) Solidly executed multi-cultural drama, but it’s missing some bigger ammunition. The protagonist is utterly uninteresting, Adèle Exarchopoulos plays the same character as in Blue Is the Warmest Colour (even with lesbian inclinations). It doesn't offend, but it's far from delighting.

(49th KVIFF) A serious competitor to Wolf of Wall Street for the most profanities per minute. A perfectly acted, sped-up emotional rollercoaster with amazing video-clip sequences wonderfully supported by brilliantly chosen songs (which makes quite some sense: choose a strong and well-known song, and half the work is done) that brought goosebumps. I was excited throughout and said that if the ending blows me away, this would be the festival’s most intense experience. But it didn’t. The character of the neighbour is surrounded by secrets all the time, but in the end it was nothing. For now, only four stars, but I feel it will grow. I’d love to watch it again. /// Edit: Now I can say that Mommy is hands down the film I think about the most, by far. It’s a bit what Dolan wants… so what. If it works, I don’t see anything wrong with attempting to make an exceptional film. And this one is so impressive, that I know want to watch his entire filmography. The idea of changing the format of the image is great.

(49th KVIFF) Don’t be afraid that this will be the ungratifying, non-genre experimental type of art that only art-educated viewers can appreciate. This one is a smart, out of the ordinary, emotional and slightly perverted brutal black comedy that I wasn’t expecting to disarm me so completely. When the first twist comes, after a relatively normal dramatic beginning, I started to have fun and laugh, and didn’t stop until the end. Du Welz at his best.

(49th KVIFF) If I’d stayed for the debate and had the cojones, I would have told the actor’s delegate that people didn’t leave the theatre because it was a “demanding, but lyrically beautiful film that rewards an attentive and focused viewer”, but because it’s an insufferable, boring piece of shit about nothing. The first, and I hope the last, film that has pissed me off in the festival. One start for the joke about shagging with clay. Amen.

(49th KVIFF) That feeling when you’re sitting in the cinema watching a movie and suddenly realise that film history is being written.

(49th KVIFF) The relatively bizarre portray of Czech rednecks, with almost Twin Peaks dimensions even, and a funny joke here and there are a plus. However, like many other Czech films, Nowhere in Moravia is missing a clear theme or plot, something that is manifest, for instance, by the fact that almost any of the scenes of the last twenty minutes could have easily been the last, and nothing would be left unsaid (because, they actually never had anything to say). Most of the humour, as it’s the unpleasant habit in Czech movies, follows the template of famous actor speaking foully or behaving like an idiot = funny. Though, to be fair, the template here is enriched with the Moravian dialect. What an innovation.