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]

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]

Icelandic teenagers and a tragic event that they did not anticipate. The modifier “intimate” takes on even greater significance here than is usual. The detailed depiction of the rising fear of losing a loved one and subsequently dealing with the resulting pain. The main character goes through that mostly in secret, without the understanding of those around her and thus all the more intensely. Though thin in terms of story, this small drama is sufficiently packed with emotions and psychology, and offers a nice, poetic ending. [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.

The subject of acid rain caused by air pollution has already become a bit much for a serious-looking disaster drama. The screenplay doesn’t offer anything interesting, as it works only with adapted clichés and, furthermore, becomes increasingly, mind-numbingly stupid the closer it gets to the climax, which in turn almost becomes an unintentional parody. Only one scene, involving the unexpected death of an important character somewhere in the middle of the film, has any emotional value and hits the mark. Acid is a below-average, unnecessary French genre movie. [Cannes FF]

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!”

Powerful motifs involving the troubled lives of two social outcasts in a bland bit of filmmaking. Scars on the soul deepen mutual tolerance and love, but the past and a higher power always catch up with you. And redemption lies in coming to terms with that. Along Came Love is a dramaturgically functional, well-acted drama with the nice coastal architecture of Normandy, but it’s enough to watch it on television. [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]

A tribute to selfless paramedics for their dedicated work in a job that takes an extraordinary psychological toll, especially in New York, where they are more hated than appreciated by the junkies and criminals they rescue. More stress and terror than in Scorsese’s Bringing out the Dead, made as intense as possible in every scene. Black Flies offers a constant melancholic mood of hopelessness, assiduous acting and an unrelenting dramatic drive, but there is also a slight superficiality and some borrowing from elsewhere. I most enjoyed the intimate scenes of naked bodies touching, healing all of the bad things around them. [Cannes FF]