J*A*S*M

(50th KVIFF) Good escapist fun. Dormael is quite kitsch and sacrifices a lot of the overall goodwill (either with some of the humour, or pretending to be a deep well of truth, even though it’s closer to a kiddie pool), but fortunately, The Brand New Testament has so many bizarre ideas and jokes that flirt with political incorrectness that I actually enjoyed the project. If the film did away with all the spiritual nonsense about inner music and whatnot, it could have been memorable. But I’m still satisfied. It’s one of the most accessible and pleasing (but at the same time, not stupid) films of the festival. 75 %

(50th KVIFF) I’ve been quite lucky with the blind choices to fill in gaps between films that I unconditionally wanted to see in this year’s festival, and Petting Zoo is one of those. A small indie film with autobiographic elements about a secondary school girl who gets unwantedly pregnant in abortion unfriendly Texas, and has to deal with the situation. As a directorial and acting début, it is without doubt a satisfying film that won’t astonish, but won’t offend anyone, either. 65 %

(50th KVIFF) With its inconspicuous humour that doesn’t draw any attention to itself, and which in fact many people can overlook in a serious drama about serious things, Body reminded me a little of Hausner. The film felt particularly detached, but kind at the same time – which is a little contradictory, and I’ve no idea how Szumowská managed it. Above-average for the festival, no doubt. 70 %

(50th KVIFF) Beautiful cinematography, beautiful desert setting. It exudes the atmosphere of Arabia - Lawrence is impossible to forget. Theeb was a lot of fun during the first half. The wanderings in the desert of a British official and his guides while hiding from their enemies are a good premise for a tense desert adventure. Unfortunately, the film reaches its peak about half-way through, in the attack scene, and the fun decreases together with the number of characters. By the end I was bored. 65 %

(50th KVIFF) I didn’t find any major moral dilemma in this story. Dramas can hardly be effective if you can’t see into the thoughts of the leading characters, and the protagonist here couldn’t be more withdrawn. He goes through the events without changing his expression and you don’t know why he does what he does; his motivations are anybody’s guess. And since the film doesn’t provide any hint that would point towards a motivation other than his own simple comfort (not that that makes much sense, it should’ve been clear to him that by not telling anything to the police, he’ll bring much bigger trouble to himself and his family; the meeting with the possible murderer was… uhm… rather ambiguous), the viewer soon gets the feeling that the hero is actually a prick. I’m not questioning the intention of showing the mentality of older people rooted in the environment of communist countries, but I don’t think it was well (or convincingly) portrayed in this case. On top of that, the film has an almost incredible number of pointless scenes and the ending is like laughing at the people who’ve patiently waited for something to come out of it. A friend told me that he felt that One Floor Below had been put together with outtakes from another movie, and I have to agree with him. Something is missing. 40 %

(50th KVIFF) I put Sleeping Giant into my festival schedule basically because it was the first screening that I managed to get to on my arrival day. The blind bet was surprisingly better than expected. It’s a pleasant holiday movie, a boys’ summer adventure at a lake with nice atmosphere. The boys hang-out, do silly things, talk about first loves and problems with their parents. It has good cinematography and sound and a brisk editing. What makes it stand out from similar summer teenage coming-of-age stories are the dark tones that surface in the second half, where some lies and bad decisions have lethal consequences and the characters must live with them. The careless summer fun ends and the film stays with the viewer. 70 %

(50th KVIFF) My last film of the fiftieth edition of the Karlovy Vary Film Festival should have also been the best. But it wasn’t. It disappointed. A lot. For me, Youth was an artificial and disingenuous bag of kitsch full of visual and audio beauty, poisoned by wannabe deep phrases and soaring but fake truths about life. In short, it has some scenes worthy of praise here and there (especially the less poetic and more humorous conversations between Michael Caine and Harvey Keitel) and others worthy of a punch in the face. There was at least one moment (the scene where actor robot Q is talking with a wise little girl in a shop) when I couldn’t stop my head and hand to spontaneously perform a facepalm. After the pretentious The Great Beauty, which lived up to its name maybe actually in spite of itself and its director, Youth falls flat on its face. The breathtaking craftsmanship of Sorrentino doesn’t deserve less than three stars, but I was tempted. 60 %

(50th KVIFF) An incredibly stylish, metaphoric and existential thriller with one of the most beautifully shot shoot-outs in recent years. It’s a pity that it takes an hour for the thriller to start. And I also had a bit of a mess with the secondary characters – who, what, how, why. Three stars with potential to grow, let’s see how it goes. 65 %

(50th KVIFF) As in his début, Sean Baker dives into a socially problematic group of the population to examine the unhappiness of their everyday lives. However, he doesn’t do it through a slow, broody drama full of soulful phrases and painful looks, but in a bloody sexy comedy with fast editing and likeable melodies, where everyone fucks and bitches at every corner. Satisfaction. The sweaty and dirty atmosphere of LA during the day and at night is beautifully captured. And the ending was also pretty cathartic for me, which is quite a success in a comedy about transsexual prostitutes. 75 %

(50th KVIFF) I don’t fully agree with the ideology of the film, but in terms of execution, it’s an original and vibrant story that was a lot of fun. Every 15 minutes, it was a different style and genre, from the less grotesque, passing through bizarre summer romance, all the way to post-apocalyptic. In short, a weird little surprise. I hope that I’m not wrong in believing that in the end the film stops being a one-sided environmental agitprop and also takes pot-shots at the other side. If it’s taking the side of the final atrocities, it would be rubbish. Above all, don’t show it to Václav Klaus, he wouldn’t like it. 70 %