J*A*S*M

(49th KVIFF) The biggest downer of the festival. Fourteen static scenes without editing that, on the bare bones of the stations of the cross, tell the story of a young girl who wants to be a good Christian, but that isn’t enough for her uptight, über-Catholic mother, who forces her to be an even better Christian. And because “I want my own father and my own mother”, she tries to be an even better Christian… but that excessive motivation harms her. A movie that actually isn’t very movie-like, but it’s still incredibly strong. The way the characters ruin their own and each other’s lives made me physically sick. It’d be interesting to watch this film together with the British drama Calvary, which looks at religion in today’s world from the other side (and not with a significantly more positive tone). The feeling it leaves is that what’s important it’s not faith, but whether a person is “normal”, or an idiot or an authoritarian asshole.

(49th KVIFF) This sci-fi movie is so non-conflicting that it’s almost unsuited for the festival. It’s the story of a molecular biologists whose research proofs the ungodly origin of the human eye, so that further research can then challenge this finding. The film doesn’t demand much from the viewer, never falls into a scientific rant or into deep philosophical speeches, even though it does have room for that. It’s well made, the story is interesting overall, even though it feels a bit too implausible and naive at times (for instance, the Indian woman who identifies a girl by a photo of an eye, even though she says she hasn’t seen her for several months). That said, in the middle of the bustle of the festival, I Origins felt like a pleasant rest and I was excited immediately after the screening, though the feeling fizzled out after some time. And yet, a nice four-star rating, the ending is very strong emotionally.

(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.