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Days after watching this series, I still think about the story, and when I remember it, I am overwhelmed with a heavy feeling of helplessness and sadness. How just one single act or two words could have changed something, reversed something. If only people would treat each other better and show their feelings – I guess I'm naive :) I also think it didn't have to end the way it did, but anyone who says that nothing that bad actually happened and that there was no reason to, either never was a victim of bullying themselves, never was mocked, or just isn't empathetic enough. After all, teenagers are so vulnerable. The emotions and the sheer gravity of the stories we hear from the tapes intensify with each episode. I enjoyed this series and it moved me a lot. The credit for this goes to the story itself, of course, but mainly to the acting and the first-class soundtrack. I was pleasantly surprised by Dylan Minnette, he always reminded me of his fellow actor Logan Lerman, who I always thought was better, but I have to say that Dylan as Clay won me over. It may seem illogical to some that he didn't listen to the tapes in one night, I agree with that too, but I can imagine myself not getting into it for fear of what I would hear about myself. Katherine Langford as Hannah is another revelation for me, I believed her every tear and cheered for her so much, which makes it all the more heartbreaking. A truly fabulous series that, if it weren't so sad, I'd watch again.

One big carousel of all kinds of emotions, with the darker ones definitely predominating. And yet, paradoxically, I haven't laughed at a film like this in a long time, the black humour is flawless. For a better experience, I recommend not looking up anything about the Beksinski family, this is one of those films that you think how amazing and terrible it is at the same time, and you won't be able to get it out of your head for a few days. The soundtrack is brilliant, likewise with the casting, the actors perfectly resemble the real people. And then the whole handling of the passing years – I haven't seen such elaborate details in a long time.

Despite this, or maybe because I am an atheist, films with religious themes are among my favourites; they are full of questions and contradictions, and this film played exactly to my tune. And the best part of the whole experience was that I perceived the main characters as villains. There's no point in going on at length, this is simply worth watching. Everything works as it should and surprisingly for its running time and the amount of dialogue, the film has no dead moments and never bores for a second. Garfield is doing surprisingly well this year, and Driver, even though he doesn’t have as much space, I can't help but praise him again, he entertains and moves me in every role he plays (except Star Wars, that is :D).

Many will probably label this film as a shallow and formulaic drama, whatever. I happen to be thrilled that I needed a tissue for a stream of tears after a very long time. The music and cinematography certainly deserve praise, as does the director himself, given that this is his first feature film. Making a film based on a true story is always a challenge, a director should respect the story but at the same time he or she is making a film for the audience, it's not an easy task and I think Davis did it well. But I don't really understand the Oscar nominations this year, I'm not saying Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman were bad, but little Sunny Pawar crushed them both. Sunny is a small wonder and discovery for me, and I rank him right up there with Onata Aprile (What Maisie Knew) and Jacob Tremblay (Room) in terms of child actor talent; these three moved me more than their adult colleagues. The first half of the film tore my heart out, you realise what a different world you live in, and most importantly I was thinking the whole time: bloody hell, couldn’t you just stay on that bench?

The first time I saw this film was on a mini travel player (about 16cm diagonal), where it’s impossible to enjoy the amazing visuals, and yet I'll never forget how engrossed I was by the incredibly mysterious, dark and chilling atmosphere. The music itself is a masterpiece that deserves appreciation and deep compliments. Years later I went back and saw the film on a big screen, I would raise the rating if I could. Just the opening shift from black and white to colour, the chandelier and theatre coming to life, accompanied by the famous phantom theme song, will make your body hair stand on end. The sets and costumes are impressive, breathtaking even. The ubiquitous colour palette of the film is telling, and even the sometimes kitschy colours work here – the depiction of good and evil – the fight scene between Raoul (white horse, white shirt) and the Phantom (black horse, black cloak). I can't fault the cast at all: Emmy Rossum is a beautiful, gifted, tender, innocent Christine Daée torn between Patrick Wilson, Raoul (a similarly innocent young man who offers tender, pure love) and Gerard Butler (a dark, sexy, obsessed phantom who offers passionate love and a life of darkness with the purpose of making beautiful music). For me, Joel Schumacher has made a perfect film in every way, one that I will always love to come back to.

“They don’t make films like this anymore” – for once, I have to agree with the trailer, I really wasn’t expecting an experience like this. The opening scene put a smile on my face and it didn't let go until the closing credits, it even stuck with me until I got home. On top of that, I kept humming that beautiful piano melody, and I wanted to dance. For the first time in a long time, I encountered a joke that was neither forced nor cheap. This is what a musical should look like: impressive sets, masterful cinematography, music, and songs that are melodic, haunting, catchy, not like Les Misérables, where 95 percent of the songs lack melody and are forgettable. Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling just belong together on screen, just like Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas once did, so I hope we'll see them together again. The whole time I waited for the disappointment to come, for me to think “this could have been a great film, but they really messed it up”. But to my surprise, nothing like that happened. An experience as it should be, a perfect treat for the soul.

I’m not a fan of horror films, I watch most of them through my fingers, with the volume very low and all the lights on. I’m such a wuss :) This film doesn’t have guts or similar disgusting stuff, nor does it have an excessive amount of scares, but the horror touch is created by a mysterious, dark atmosphere. And that ending... WOW! It blew my mind and I think it’s one of the best movie ending ever. One of the few horror films I would recommend.

This film was presented at the festival by Quentin Tarantino himself, who described it as one of the films that influenced him the most, and to which he even devotes an entire chapter in his book “Cinema Speculation”. Before the screening, he urged us not to look at the film like the French, but to let our emotions go; to shout, clap and whistle if we feel like it, and the screening looked like that, which may have added to my experience, and I enjoyed the film immensely. I guess that's why I dare say it's one of the best vendetta movies I've ever seen. We are very slowly introduced to the main character Charles, a survivor of imprisonment and torture in Vietnam. On his return he receives a large reward as compensation and he immediately becomes victim of robbers, but he is so hardened by all the torture that getting a sound of pain out of him is an impossible task for these Mexican thugs. After the killing of his wife and son, he begins to prepare for revenge, which may seem lengthy, but slowly leads to that great carnage of a finale. William Devane plays emotionlessness brilliantly, inspiring both respect and compassion, and one quickly grows to like him. Tommy Lee Jones is a great second to him, and Linda Haynes also shines. From what I understand, this film is quite a cult classic in America and not very well known here, which is quite a shame, so let's fix that 😊 [Festival de Cannes 2023]

I am a huge fan of Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight, and I would describe One Night as a kind of French version of the first part of that trilogy, but it’s certainly not a copy. It all starts with a stormy argument between two strangers in the metro, which grows into mutual sympathy and a night spent together full of interesting dialogues and adventures in Paris. Accompanied by Vincent Blanchard's beautiful music, some scenes will make you laugh, others will move you. Both characters are authentic, endearing, and I believe the ending will make you want to see it all again. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

This film is proof that there is beauty in simplicity. When compared to the other films in the festival, The Old Oak probably delivers the most human story. No exaggerated plots, no WTF twists, no emotional wringing, no mindfucks, a popular tool nowadays where there is a lack of quality content. This is a story about ordinary people, about the clash of cultures, about the difficulties of fitting in, about embracing the unknown... The Old Oak is simple, minimalist and at the same time magnificent in the emotions it evokes. It's moving but perfectly balanced, it doesn't push the envelope... [Festival de Cannes 2023]