gudaulin

France conquered Algeria in the 1830s and it may have been a typical colony in the first decades after its annexation. Over time, however, it became so closely integrated with France that it was regarded as an integral part of France, similar to, for example, the Hawaiian Islands, which are a U.S. overseas territory. In Algeria, there was a large settlement of ethnic French people, and above all, a sizable loyalist Arab minority lived there, which became the basis of a sizable French Muslim community after the war for independence and subsequent exodus to Europe. Thanks to higher birth rates, its significance continued to grow, and today it is the subject of many French artistic works exploring the identity of the second generation of immigrants. The student Farid, who grew up in France and hardly speaks Arabic, is entrusted with resolving property issues in his ancestors' homeland due to his sick father. Upon arrival, he is confronted with the different mentality of the local community, searches for traces of his family's past, and eventually faces problems related to the theft of his documents. This is clearly a personal topic for director Mohamed Hamidi, and he demonstrates great emotional involvement, especially in scenes depicting Algerian society through the visitors of the only local café, where the social life of villagers is concentrated. Homeland is a likable film that avoids excessive sentimentality, but at the same time seeks to humanize Algerians and French Arabs and make their community accessible, as only the medium of film and television allows. At a time when Europe is often facing unnecessary Islamophobia, this is not a bad thing. Jamel Debbouze stands out from the cast alongside the main character as the black sheep of the family clan, similar, for example, to Amelie. Overall impression: 75%.

The filmography of director Nicloux does not exactly inspire great trust, and among his undeniable escapades and sins there is, among others, the unforgettable film Blanche, so I approached his new work with caution. Fortunately, that was unnecessary. The Nun is not a complete failure. It has good camera work, and I accept the cast without reservation. On the other hand, Nicloux is not very inventive in depicting the complex psychology of his characters, the main protagonist simply suffers, and life in the convent and its position in society is reduced to Suzanne's desperate attempt to escape the cage. The pace of the story corresponds to the slow and stereotypical life in the convent. The portrayal of the lesbian superior and her desire for the main protagonist is caricatured in Isabelle Huppert's performance, and I dare to say that was definitely not Nicloux's intention. Diderot's book had an important role in awakening the social elites during the Enlightenment and setting requirements for personal freedom of decision-making. Today, we have different struggles and live with different problems, so I feel that the depicted world bound by strict religious rules and based on a strictly religious view of the world will be distant, unpleasant, and incomprehensible to the current generation. And there is one more thing I should not forget. Suzanne never stopped being a member of the nobility, i.e., a narrowly defined privileged class. As mentioned in the film, poverty is terrible and a huge number of women at that time would gladly have exchanged their hunger and toiling in the fields for a fancy stay behind the walls. Freedom was still a very luxurious commodity in the 18th century, completely inaccessible to the overwhelming majority of the population. Religious supervision, arranged marriages, uncompromising social rules, serfdom, etc., together created a world that was no friendlier or freer than the one in the convent. Overall impression: 60%.

Human sexuality is complex and sometimes its manifestations take surprising forms. Why should a blind lady in her old age give up on erotic experiences? As a twenty-minute short, Clay can convince you that touches and imagination are more than enough for erotic stimulation. Overall impression: 60%.

Take the student sense of humor, immigrant slang, rap, the punk sneer of the Sex Pistols (and for good measure, add half of Johnny Rotten's ass), the stonedness of The Big Lebowski, pop culture jokes from The Simpsons, the hopelessness of panel housing estates, black Driss from The Intouchables, deliberately unpleasant drawings reminiscent of a combination of Andersson's book "Container," shake it up, mix it all together, and you'll get something remotely similar to Round Da Way from this Molotov cocktail. This animated comedy about two slackers from the suburbs who dream of fame in the music business, sex, and a nice warm vacation is not serious, politically correct, and certainly not for everyone. But if you embrace its rules (sorry, anarchy), there’s a good chance you'll be royally entertained. The passionate dance of the police station staff with batons in hand, singing about how handcuffs boost their self-confidence or the rap song of repentant sinners at the very end will easily convince you that the five-star rating scale is sometimes unnecessarily limiting. And there's something else I appreciate. Round Da Way isn't a "hardcore" film, it doesn't go to extremes despite its exasperation. It's like a lively Bart Simpson going through puberty, who you know has a good heart, and in the end, it will (probably) pleasantly surprise you. Overall impression: 95%.

A thought-provoking and emotionally powerful animated short film that uses a rarely used puppet technique. We are taken to the front line of trench warfare, where a medic treats and heals his comrades with the help of letters from loved ones at home. It's not just any ordinary animated film, but rather a small yet impressive piece of art. Overall impression: 80%.

It is professionally made, with a sense and ability to capture the inner drama of the protagonists, but on the other hand, it seems more like a cutout part of a larger film and one subconsciously expects it to have a more significant plot culminating in a powerful point. As a final graduate film school project, it would be awarded 5 stars, but I'm giving it a sober three. Overall impression: 55%.

A charming film anecdote about how in a foreign environment and protected by apparent anonymity, we can let loose somewhat more than in a familiar environment, and we don't even need a dose of alcohol or drugs for it. A dialogue with an apparent stranger conducted in a foreign language leads to the consideration that I will never meet this person again in the future, and so in an incredibly short time, a passionate debate about favorite sexual practices gets going. Overall impression: 80%.

For someone interested in the Paris bohemian scene, simply noting the prominent figures of early 20th-century painters and artists can be rewarding, but for most potential viewers, Kiki of Montparnasse is a pointless short film lacking any dramatic arc or conflict. In other words, it lacks a screenplay. The only positive aspect (which can understandably play a significant role for some) is the visual design and animation, which somewhat resembles the total animation seen in Pavel Koutský's work. Overall impression: 25%.

I call this category of festival films "Rohypnol" for their fascinating ability to reliably put you to sleep after just a few seconds. Imagine the sea waves, pebbles on the beach, and calming sounds, and the disaster is complete. I would like to mention many other things I saw in the movie, but unfortunately, I don't remember anything else. Overall impression: 5% - and don't ask me what it's for.

The well-known Czech traveler and cactus collector, Alberto Frič, once had a conversation with students from a primary school in Prague. While describing his experiences living among Native Americans, he received several questions from the audience that he did not understand and found absurd. He tried to correct the distorted ideas that the schoolchildren had about the life of Native American tribes, but he encountered a wall of contempt. He was exposed as a bold fraud because each of these children already had a clear idea about Native Americans from the novels of Karl May. Although May had never been to America, or the Balkans and Asia where he placed his adventure novels (actually, that's not entirely true; in his old age, as a result of criticism that he wrote everything without knowledge of reality and without sticking his nose out of Germany, he traveled to the places where his literary heroes had been), he managed to fulfill the imagination not only of the schoolchildren but also of what a romantic adventurer and entertaining story should be. It's not so much that May's stories have practically nothing to do with the reality of Native American communities and the Wild West, but rather that, from my present perspective, they are so naive that they even cross the boundaries of self-parody. I read Vinnetou's stories, as well as the book series "The Shadow of the Padishah," between the ages of nine and twelve, and by the age of thirteen, I found them somewhat amusing and moved on to other works. Vinnetou was simply part of a certain age group, although it is appropriate to speak in the past tense here as well because, for my children's generation, these heroes are "totally out." I am surprised, however, by the exceptionally high rating the film has earned, which is the result of an exceptionally strong dose of nostalgia in this case. This phenomenon is typical not only for the May novels of the 1960s. Adults simply remember how amazingly these stories influenced them in their childhood, although I strongly doubt that they would be willing to re-read the Vinnetou stories today. I remember how, at around fifteen years old, I watched The Yellow One and swore it would be the last time I watched May's films. From the Vinnetou series, only the musical motif, the beauty of the Croatian limestone mountains, and childhood memories remain. Overall impression: 40%.