POMO

In technical and acting terms, Empty Nets is fine and always topical, with a clear concept. However, the plot is weak and neither dramatic nor exciting, and without any artistic interludes that could have made it more interesting. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]

Firebrand is engaging and not boring, as it makes the viewer curious as to how it will turn out. Alicia Vikander is delightfully fragile and bold at the same time, while Jude Law is amply loathsome. However, the central conflict between the two characters alone is not powerful enough to make this narratively simple two-hour feature a distinctive and memorable historical drama. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]

With its subject matter, You Sing Loud, I Sing Louder is hackneyed low-key, low-budget banality that can’t be faulted much in its details and it’s interesting because it brings Ewan McGregor and his real-life daughter Clara McGregor together in front of the camera as the characters of a man and his daughter. [Karlovy Vary International Film Festival]

I didn't really expect to like this, so it was an even more pleasant surprise. The plot formula is clichéd, but it’s dressed up with a lot of imaginative and likably playful details, including dialogue devices showing that the movie’s creators are more clever than is usually the case with such farces. This will turn out to be a successful franchise if it keeps the quality at this level.

A film that knows what it's doing with every scene, character, humorous moment, choreographed fight and unexpected twist. And despite the mix of a serious subject with comedic abstraction, it never slides into cheapness or bombast for even a second. In terms of screenwriting, it’s three times more sophisticated than Sisu and, in terms of directing, there are few other films that are as tasteful and fresh without bigger-name actors.

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.

Though The Old Oak is a less dramatic and more predictable social-commentary film than Loach’s previous effort, Sorry We Missed You, it is still personally and emotionally engaging. While focusing on a clash between British village culture and Syrian refugees, Loach also understands the conservatism of the older residents who have paid their dues as members of the working class. And he empathetically captures the culture and inner pain of the immigrants, who are by no means inferior or of less value than the British natives. However, the most powerful life story is that of the local pub landlord, a uniter of the two cultures who does not lack the local hot-headedness, understanding or willingness to help. Visually, Loach’s 100% character-focused directing is typically simple yet humanely sincere. [Cannes FF]

Last Summer is another variation on the theme of a young boy’s affair with his stepmother in an otherwise functional family. The film is okay, as it works on all levels in psychological terms, even when the situation gets complicated and the uncovering of the truth becomes imminent. Queen of Hearts, a more memorable Danish-Swedish variation on the same theme, is much more dramatic and sexually adventurous. [Cannes FF]

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]

Perfect Days is a pleasant film about the joy we get from life despite all of the obstacles that it places in our path. The main character is an eternally positive man for whom cleaning toilets in Tokyo is not a degrading job, because he understands its importance in society. And he views society and the people in it with love and respect. Wim Wenders knows how to interestingly tell us about such a protagonist’s everyday life and by gradually revealing the past through the characters that appear in the plot and the properly chosen familiar songs, he is able to define the protagonist’s inner state of mind. There is always a bit of sadness behind every cheerful façade. Japanese actor Kōji Yakusho turns in a great performance, as he succeeds in expressing more without words than he would with them. [Cannes FF]