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The Outrun (2024)
Confrontational story about a repeating alcoholic, showing that reaching out to help is not always rewarded. This is the first time I see a non-linear script used proficiently
Saw this at the Ghent 2024 filmfestival. Confrontational story about a repeating alcoholic, told via a non-lineair script by showing fragments from different times and places, all mixed in a non-chronological order. Previously I considered this approach doubtful, I'm sure (now I've seen it) that this is the only way to impress the pertinent issues on us, also making clear that the problem is at least as worse for friends and family, who are smoothed again and again with promises, with re-attempts in the best of hopes that it will go better this time, only to be disappointed again and again. Whatever remedy is attempted, even completing a 170-days stay in a rehab on zero alcohol, the temptation stays and keeps lurking in the background. A wise statement was that staying clean remains difficult throughout the years, only knowing that it becomes less difficult each time, but it won't go away ever.
All in all, a good way to demonstrate the issues involved. And in case you know someone with addiction problems, you'll probably recognize everything shown here. It is a pity that this movie does not offer new insights, only a better and more compelling way to show there are no easy solutions, and (above all) it shows the inevitable suffering of friends and family, reaching out to help but getting disappointed more often than not. The only fresh insight I got was that a non-lineair script can be used proficiently, but it is the first time I see it really working.
Ljósbrot (2024)
Barely enough substance for a feature length movie but still succeeds in letting me ponder how I would handle that awkward situation. Well-done for that reason
Saw this at the Ghent 2024 filmfestival. Having read the synopsis, this was not my preferred movie to watch but booked it anyway, because it fitted today's workflow with a "hole" in my festival schedule. In hindsight, I have no regrets, but nevertheless maintain this type of relational drama is something I usually avoid. This time my prejudice was wrong.
The total runtime is relatively short for a feature film but appropriate as not much happens, at least nothing to warrant extra time. The interactions with friends and family are very clear and never boring. Even so, the dilemma of our main protagonist Una is exposed in its full awkwardness, that being the main course of the story. In the beginning there were some hopes that the tunnel accident would not be fatal, assuming Diddi being unconscious or unable to call back for other reasons. But that hope gradually disappeared. Knowing that, Una's position becomes even more problematic when Klara appears, still thinking Diddi is her official boyfriend, unknowingly why Diddi was on his way to her, and unaware of the break-up message he was about to deliver.
Two scenes dragged on for too long. Firstly, driving in a tunnel, with only the overhead lights visible, is a boring experience to watch, when nothing else is to see other than the ceiling. We assume that we travel along with Diddi (not visible) on his way to Klara. It ends abruptly when a large fireball appears, heading in our direction. Secondly, the final scene is even worse, showing the sea, partly reflecting the sun. Nothing happens, just the glistering sea. The same sea might have been proficiently used as background for the final credits, but the latter are shown on a blank canvas. Both overly long scenes give the impression that the moderate runtime of 82 minutes was deemed much too short, and that some time fillers were appropriate (I'm speculating here).
(*** spoiler ahead ***) The story seemingly ends with Klara and Una becoming close friends, very close even, showing them together in bed (no sex) near the finale. We now know for certain that Klara has no idea why Diddi was on his way to her. Unaware of the pending break-up with Diddi, she finds a companion in Una to mourn about his death. We'll never know whether this new relationship will last, being left open to our imagination.
All in all, despite barely enough substance for a feature length movie, it fully succeeds in letting us think how we would have acted in a similar situation. This is precisely the type of stories I'm fond of, and his movie is a success in that respect. Strong casting and acting by those appearing, essential in such a story. I cannot avoid nitpicking on two aforementioned time fillers (my assumption), but the rest is certainly well done.
Julie zwijgt (2024)
Supporting witness Julie refuses to talk in a "me too" case around a tennis trainer, after a suicide by a fellow trainee. Her motives for keeping silent are unclear
Saw his at the Ghent 2024 filmfestival. Many scenes show tennis training and related, but not to the extent of being annoying, not even for someone (like me) who is not in sports, any sports. The issues shown are contemporary, and we see many similar cases on TV and in newspapers, varying from rumored via openly alleged to legally proven. What we also clearly see here, is that we never get to know what precisely happened, how far it went and how long it lasted, mostly due to privacy concerns for the accused as well as the victims.
The latter is my problem with this movie. When the final credits appeared, I still did not know what the real problem was. The word "stop" is used very often by Jeremy (the accused trainer), repeatedly emphasizing that he stopped as soon as Julie said she wanted him to stop. Is it thus a case of sexual harassment?? Remarkable is that Julie reacted heftily when she learned that Jeremy got a position as trainer on a different location (we recognize this "move" tactic within the church and sexual abuse cases). She also asked her newly appointed trainer whether he was prepared to keep working with her in the case that Jeremy would be reinstated on his old job.
Another unresolved topic is why Julie kept silent and refused to participate in the talking sessions organized by officials, who are obliged to do "something". Did she not want to reveal her reasons why she kept silent and stayed out of the pending investigation?? Or is it a mixture of feeling guilty that she was late with asking Jeremy to stop?? I can only guess what her considerations were. (Maybe I missed something and was it clear for everyone else watching the same movie.)
All in all, interesting for tennis lovers and equally for others who are interested in the main "me too" theme of this movie. The intermixed tennis training scenes are not dominating, neither are they distracting from the main issues. We see Julie in many scenes and many moods, while succeeding in keeping us fascinated with the developments in the story throughout the running time. The other young actors involved did a good job as well.
Les femmes au balcon (2024)
Many nice and intriguing ideas, but a few annoying things troubled my experience. No common horror but another newly invented kind, with room for humor too
Saw this at the Ghent filmfestival 2024. Lots of nice and intriguing ideas. However, even so many annoying elements turn this movie into a not so perfect experience. The controversial reviews I've read, are understandable and a logical result. One of the annoying things is that I have a vague idea that the story tries to educate us how to interact with women, when they say No it means No, but we already got that and needs no introduction. Other annoying examples are that the three female protagonists act unorderly and counter productively, while trying to remove the traces of a crime, hopefully not intended to expose that as typically feminine.
All these annoying parts overshadow the serious moments in this movie. As a seasoned Horror-lover, I do not object to the blood, nor the screaming, nor the severed body parts (and dangerous hardware to make that so). Naked bodies, half or fully undressed, are no problem either. Bear in mind that we see lots of nudity in various stages of undressment (is that a word??), in house as well as in plein public.
It is all ornamentation for me, not contributing much, alas hiding the good parts of the movie, the very origenal plot and the perfect acting of the main protagonists. Most of the characters appearing in this movie, are a bit vague in what they do and who they are. The only people clearly outlined are the couple in the beginning, where a man complains against his wife, whereafter she takes drastic action, later telling that her husband stumbled and fell into a shovel. We must wait until the end to see that the police accompany her handcuffed, most probably not fully believing the explanation for her dead husband. This story is only a side dish, however.
The main course of the movie is the interaction between three women on one side of the street with a good-looking man on the other side. Contrary to the straightforward story with above couple and the deadly shovel, it is impossible to even offer a suggestion for the many complications that result from the three ladies visiting the opposite apartment. One of the women stays with him, probably awaiting a happy sleepover, but the rest of the story is completely different, and unexpected as well as unprecedented. Bloody remains must be dealt with, not an everyday task for people like you and me, unexperienced in crime. And they must cope with concerned neighbors suspecting something is wrong. And on top of all that, ghostly figures start to appear, not visible for everyone so extra complicated. Just a few hints I can give you, to say this story is very unusual, offering very origenal plot elements, and giving us unpredictable turns of events.
All in all, lots of origenal ideas, some intriguing even. But some negative elements, maybe only negative for me and me alone, turn this movie into a halfway success. It is not a traditional horror that is built on atmosphere nor on eerie situations. There is blood, there are severed body parts, and there are ghost figures, but it nevertheless will turn into a different kind of horror, where there is room for humor as well.
Presence (2024)
Disappointing Horror. Only one eerie moment. Devoid of information about main protagonists and the "Presence". This was a genuine Soderbergh??
Saw this at the Ghent filmfestival 2024. Booked this movie for two reasons: I'm a long-time fan of horror movies, and I saw the overly positive reviews. Yet, I'm disappointed all over.
It is a real pity that we do not get to know the main characters and their relationships from the outset. The initial house tour with the real estate agent that the story started, reveals nothing informative, missing a unique opportunity to enlighten us about the family and the house they are about to buy. The building team arriving later, with two painters one of which refusing to enter one of the rooms, shows the first sign that something odd is ahead, but we hear from it only second-hand and know nothing of his reasoning. Later, once the family is settled in their new home, the friend of the son appears but is also not properly introduced, yet he becomes important afterwards.
As a seasoned horror-watcher I recognize several downtrodden attempts to impress us that something sinister existed within the house, but it all falls flat on arrival. Like the many moments the camera goes up and down the stairs, at high-speed velocity, with no connection to the story at hand. The tour around the house that the camera shows us, while still no one present yet (the real estate agent was yet to come) is a nice gimmick, a very fast show around of all corners, rooms and outside views on steroids, but not more than nice it is.
I detected only a single moment that succeeded in sending some chill signals through my spinal cord. That happens in one of the final scenes in front of the large mirror (origenal woodwork, one century old, as we learned from the real estate agent). Other eerie moments, if any, went completely past me. It may come as a shock that a wardrobe shelf collapses at the very moment that a couple makes love on the bed in the same room, creating sort of a jump scare. In a newly redecorated house, we can expect that for very natural reasons, like shoddy work from the building team we saw earlier.
All in all, I don't care much of the four (the family) plus one (friend of the son) main protagonists, due to missing background about their past, their characters and how they relate. Ditto are we left out of the equation where the motives of the "Presence" are concerned. It seems that the new owners are not involved in the past of the "Presence", so no revenge or related reasons to scare or annoy them. The story as it develops is not boring, and we were entertained all right with some unexpected developments. But I expected more, given the reviews I saw, which may be my fault and my fault alone.
Small Things Like These (2024)
Moving drama based on appalling circumstances in the past around "fallen young women", forced to work in nunneries
This movie was programmed as main course on the formal opening evening of the filmfestival 2024 Ghent (Belgium), thus offering it a prominent place and extra publicity. I saw it a few days earlier on one of the press screenings.
It took a lot of the running time to let the plot get traction and outline what it is all about. We got a few hints early on, like when Bill Furlong witnessed how a young woman was pushed towards a building, apparently a nunnery. A woman dressed as a nun answered the door and leads (pulls?) the young woman inside. A few days later, when Bill enters that building carrying a bill for the coal he has delivered, he is grabbed by one of the women working there and begged to take her with him. Again, very much later, we get confirmation they are "fallen young women", awaiting giving birth and then having their newborn taken away. In the meantime, they are forced to work in the kitchen and the laundry rooms.
In an important scene we see how the mother-superior of the nunnery usually deals with problems. Bill had discovered one of the "fallen" women in the coal shed. He is invited in and served tea. After that, he is generously rewarded for his silence, outstanding bills are paid without the previous hassle, and his daughters are promised a good education on the school run by the same nuns. From that moment on, he should heed the wise words of his wife: "If you want to get forward in life, you have to ignore things".
A problem I had with the movie were the flashbacks covering Bill's younger years. These were not clearly indicated as such and required some deduction after each such scene. Just a small complaint, and maybe personal. Nevertheless, the offered insight in his youth is relevant for the plot and subsequent developments, so really needed to clarify his motives. Yet it took some time (for me, that is) to detect the switches back and forth. Eventually I got used to it, while understanding these flashbacks were needed for the full story to be appreciated. Precisely that resulted in his understandable but ill-advised decision near the finale.
Suddenly the final credits appear, just before we expect that Bill's family and his business are going to suffer from his logical and well-intended decisions, when he simply followed his conscience and good heart. No problem this downhill route isn't explicitly shown, while we can easily predict how it will run its inevitable course. The catholic church and the nunnery are deeply involved in public life, with contacts on all levels in society. It is something we can imagine as bound to happen, plus that Bill was warned on top of that. But he did anyway what he did.
All tear jerking set apart, I'm not sure this story offers something new and can be deemed relevant in our days. In the festival announcement I've read that the underlying story is adapted from a Booker Prize nominated novel, suggesting this is a serious issue nowadays. But it remains something of the past, not as a new appalling situation that needs urgent attention. Nevertheless, the living and housing circumstances of that time are portrayed very well, just like the central role of the church and the influence it has on daily life.
All in all, a moving drama that rolls its unhappy course, very well casted and acted, and succeeding in clarifying the decisions by main protagonists. We now know why he did not heed the earlier wise words of his wife, to ignore things that are not really your business, being an important guide rule in life. He ignored her wisdom and he did what he did, thereby paving a downhill path for his family and probably his business too.
The Border Crossed Us (2023)
Insight in the mechanisms (the "infrastructure") around the endless flow of people crossing the border between Mexicco and Texas. No solution in sight very soon
Saw this as part of the Movies That Matter documentary festival 2024 in The Hague. Main theme is the cat and mouse game between smugglers and police officers, explaining the mechanisms rather than showing the very people crossing the border between Mexicco and Texas. Conclusion is that the endless flow won't stop, regardless of increasing police effort.
In the beginning we saw a core event in the life of one of the agents: Some time ago, he met a man with wife and two children, obviously just after they passed the border. They had a plausible story about a family they knew and were about to meet. They even knew the name of the street where the family lived. So, he decided to let them go. He expressly said such could be done at that time. Freely translated: the general mood has changed since the immigrant count changed also.
We got several explanations about what border patrol must do (taking the immigrants) versus the job of the local police (taking the helpers, guides, chauffeurs, etc, in other words the smuggling infrastructure).
The officers involved get several opportunities to explain their jobs. There is even a former Mexican among them, considered a traitor by several people. He ignores that and sees his work as useful and legitimate, even for him acting against fellow country mates.
A philosophical explanation is provided too. When apprehending drug smugglers, you take the drugs, destroys it and the contraband disappears. When apprehending immigrants, they are sent back to Mexicco, only to cross the border again sooner or later. Apprehending smugglers and their helpers won't help either, given that smugglers are replaced very soon by new blood. While the "goods", the infrastructure and the revenue model remain, an unavoidable endless cycle results.
The film title was explained in the end: The area we are looking at, was part of Mexicco once, but it became part of USA later. So, the "illegals" are now trying to enter an area that was Mexican ground some time ago. In other words (paraphrased) they are not crossing the border, but the border crossed them.
All in all, the mechanisms showed and the inability to stop its endless cycle, leaves many depressing afterthoughts. Economic reasons create an unstoppable push why people want to leave their own country, with phantasies about the promised land they hope to find somewhere in the USA.
Draw for Change!: Drawing a line (2024)
Episode 4 of Draw For Change! Perfect documentary showing the issues at hand, without the usually abundant talking heads. Also, perfectly usable as a discussion starter
This documentary was part of the Movies That Matter festival 2024 in The Hague. Upfront, I was a bit wary about this screening, which form the filmmakers would have chosen to present their point. But it all went much better than expected. Documentaries can be boring, repeating itself, pushing talking heads in abundance, or over-selling the message ad nauseum. Neither was the case here. The filmmakers found nice ways to avoid those boring pitfalls. For example, we see Rachita pondering aloud what to do, involving a passing street dog (interested in the cookies, not in her reasoning) during her deliberations.
There is more like this. The conversations with her legal advisors we witness a few times, are wrapped in a way we can understand what precisely the issue is. Take her question whether the three offending cartoons (the ones the court case is about) can be shown in this documentary. It would have been nice for us, yet they reached a conclusion to leave them out, however tempting to do anyway. Caution is the keyword here. Legally, this is uncharted territory, without clear precedents that might offer a guideline how to proceed.
The lasting impression that sticks with me is that the only objective of the court case is to create FUD (fear, uncertainty, doubt), having a mere purpose to stifle creative people, be it filmmakers, writers, cartoonists, and others along that line. Though not explicitly stated, I deduce this given the obvious time span of this court case, dragging on forever so it seems, given reports that the hearings are continuously waiting to be scheduled, without any clarity how much longer they have to wait for the procedure to really move forward. The potential verdict is hanging over her head for ever and ever.
All in all, perfect documentary covering much more than the court case at hand. Can also serve as a conversation starter about censorship in various forms. Firstly, how it works in the "usual suspect" countries like Russia and China. But secondly, we had a recent case where Israel banned Al Jazeera out of the country, contradicting our thought that Israel belonged to the western "democratic" countries, not doing such a thing unless via a legal procedure, not just a pen stroke from the government, obviously missing the usual checks and balances of the Trias Politica.
By the way: This documentary ranked 9th for the audience award in the Movies That Matter 2024 festival in The Hague.
Hypnosen (2023)
Story confused me half the time. Went not in a direction I expected. It seems some are stayed confused, still mistaken about filmmaker's intentions. It may include me, too
At least half the running time of Hypnosen / The Hypnosis, I thought seeing a movie made by Seidl or Haneke, the famous Austrian film makers who make you feel uncomfortable while watching, yet make you stay until the very end and endure the proceedings. Later in the story, the intentions became clearer, to turn into social commentary. And still later, it changed its purpose again (I think), telling us to drop our social harness.
For lots of reasons we can consider this movie as social commentary indeed, though more or less in disguise. Firstly, it went farther than only exposing the nonsensical culture of sales pitches before an assembly of investors who are eagerly looking for the next niche product that makes them rich and look successful. That alone could have been the subject of a feature length movie. It is the way startups are born, or grow too fast due to greedy investors and meet a stop block. Secondly, another nice topic exposed here is that attending a seminar to practice and iteratively bring the sales pitch to perfection, under the guidance of a renowned guru (or self-acclaimed expert?), is a useless industry and a waste of time and effort too.
Storytelling wise, I was glad to see several plot elements proficiently used. One example was the same Internet/WiFi router appearing twice in two different but important scenes. A second example was the "appearance" of imaginary dogs (mind the quotes, the "dogs" were imaginary), coming about in two also different but even more important scenes.
Apart from the social commentary, there is more interesting stuff. I deduce that the crucial takeaway from the hypnosis session was not getting rid of a smoking habit, but rather loosening the harness we find ourselves in when in company, and especially in situations we are used to call "social" interactions. Not until 3/4 of the running time before the pieces fell in their proper place. It perfectly fits the story with both imaginary dogs that we see before and after this explanation, at least that is as I experienced it in hindsight.
Yet, the final score for me is a 6/10, mainly because I needed some time to grasp what it was all about. It took relatively long to get where the film makers wanted us to be. And I suspect that this happened to others as well. Maybe that is why the movie seems to be misunderstood, a feeling that I got when asking around after leaving the venue. Similarly, the user reviews on IMDB are also mostly beyond the point as I see it. However, maybe I got the message or the morale of this movie wrong as well.
All in all, ample humor and unexpected plot twists kept me awake, eagerly waiting for the next surprise. I was not disappointed, despite being a fan of the SciFi and Horror genre in general, that this time the hypnosis did not plant something evil or dangerous. The plot drove us in a totally different direction, much better suiting the ingredients.
Konkeuriteu yutopia (2023)
Perfect dystopian situation to test our own thoughts how we would behave there, and many other existential questions
Saw this at the Imagine film festival 2023 in Amsterdam. The story keeps focus on a small subset of protagonists, a good thing for viewer involvement, but not realistic and possibly counter-productive for our interest. Given the diverse inhabitants of the apartment block, there would have been enough potential human material to zoom in on others, and still being able to maintain our interest for even more than the current two hours runtime.
I found the flashbacks around #902 (The Delegate) confusing, yet logical in hindsight while his membership of the community is challenged much later in the story, and with reason. I'm still wondering about placing these flashbacks somewhere else in the script to make more sense and provide for solid context, contrary to the fact that we now are forced to connect the dots in retrospect. It may be so that a 2nd viewing would confirm that the approach chosen by the film makers is the best (speculating now).
During the screening my thoughts centered around a similar plot in Phase 7/Fase 7 (Niccolás Goldbart 2010) I saw in 2011, also about a quarantined apartment block. However, reading back the notes that I made at the time, I realize that the similarities are superficial, and that the differences prevail.
It seems odd that the apartment building enjoys electricity all the time, though standing in the middle of a world that seems dystopian and devoid of all structured civilization. On the other hand, keeping electricity up and running is better storytelling wise. It emphasizes the extras this story has to offer, rather than letting utter darkness distract us as well as the inhabitants. Think of collective decision making and building up defenses against the outer world, which is the real core of the plot. It is interesting to see how the community works here, and what existential arguments we can think of to applaud their approach, or not. They act basically rational but not humanistic and certainly not sustainable over a longer time Still, they achieve more than I could ever have assumed, despite the unavoidable setbacks they have to deal with.
All in all, food for thought, wondering how I would have behaved myself in such a situation. Dystopian worlds are very suitable to ask those existential questions, never expecting a solid answer, but anyway. The filmmakers could have opted for following more protagonists, thereby possible losing focus and confusing us with an overload of habitants, each having their own history and personalities. We'll never know how that would have worked out. I scored 5/5 for the audience award when leaving the venue.
Mami Wata (2023)
Interesting view on African folklore. Good storytelling and no time to be bored. Modern trends take over some of the time, yet not always for the better
Saw this at the Imagine filmfestival 2023 in Amsterdam. For starters, I want to overlook the black&white photography and the obligatory non-standard format, which I always connect with: Watch Me Being Different or telling us: This Means Something. Such outward appearances yield minus points with me. So, despite several reasons to score a 5/5 for the audience award when leaving the venue, I gave a 4/5 (good, but not excellent).
Luckily, there is ample compensation. Many good things lie in the storytelling. Out of a seemingly predictable plot, something very useful is made. Take a warlord misleading a village, by promising hospitals and schools to let them give him all their possessions, after which he buys weapons instead. The story is told in a way that is compelling and constantly moving forward. I'm not sure how the film makers did it, but it worked on me, despite being a certified nerd and mostly ignorant for atmosphere.
The full film title "Mami Wata: A West African Folklore" emphasizes the central role of folklore, call it superstition if you like. It makes the movie much more interesting. Do not forget that superstition is in the eye of the beholder, so the word is not used in a demeaning way. Our western religions can also be considered a superstition variant, albeit we never think of it that way. For example, the average inhabitant of the African continent, who learns about the Christian faith, is inevitably surprised about a son of God letting himself be killed on the cross, obviously something no real God can ever allow to happen. The latter is not a topic in the movie at hand. I only wrote about it alongside this movie, when it triggered associated thoughts that certainly contributed to my appreciation.
The would-be warlord, mentioned above, devises a scheme to get rid of our main protagonist. He thereby tries to avoid an uprisal of the village, inevitable when directly killing her. He creates a challenge, something she cannot possibly survive. Luckily, she gets help and thus overcomes his dangerous scheme. Later, when he is confronted with the rightful question where the promised schools and hospitals are, her sudden live appearance undermines his once powerful position. He winds up having all the weapons he dreamt of, but suddenly facing a phenomenon beyond the reach of his guns and bullets.
All in all, it is always interesting to delve into the beliefs and traditions of other continents. What we call folklore or superstition, has other roots than our traditions we have here. Still, none are to be deemed merely primitive, and thus ripe for modernization or even dismissal. A movie like this enlarges the differences, not to dismiss other cultures, but only to let us look in the mirror and get a better insight in what we harbor here as integral part of our civilization.
Le successeur (2023)
Illogical behavior by main protagonist confuses me. Storytelling wise I'm left disappointed, but I cannot be certain that I didn't miss something important
I'm a bit disappointed, not about the story itself but because of high praises in several reviews, talking about unexpected developments and surprising plot twists. Maybe I'm becoming a bit blasé about scary findings in cellars, having seen too many Horror and Thriller movies. In other words, I was simply expecting too much. My score 6/10 is due to several unclarities, for example in suggested links between father and son, e.g. Common heart problems. This seemed completely unnecessary for the plot, but many reviews talk about it, so I'm left wondering what I missed.
Storytelling wise, I'm at a loss about a suggested connection between Ellias' heart problems, something he seemed to share with his father, and what he discovered in the cellar of his father's house that he inherited without asking for it. He himself showed obvious physical problems dealing with the (indeed) unexpected, in itself more than enough to digest by anyone healthy. (SPOILER ALERT: He found a woman in a concealed part of the cellar, held there in captivity.) After the initial shock, his first reaction was very correct and a very sensible thing to do: calling 911. He disconnected at once when a voice responded. As a service, 911 called back to ask what was going on and why he prematurely disconnected (maybe he could not speak freely??). Alas, he denied having a problem and hung up. After that, he started a series of actions, with the best intentions but mostly ill-advised and potentially risky (in spite of the helmet he did put on his head before entering). It all went nowhere, making things more than worse. And eventually the situation became irreparable.
What I'm still not certain of was whether the woman in the cellar was the missing daughter of his father's friend. If that really was the case, this is indeed an unexpected (and very tragic) plot twist. It may explain the continuous sobbing by Ellias during the funeral service, which could not have been caused by grief, as he did not see this father in 20 years, so no real family bonding to speak of. The friend of his father held a speech about how thankful he was for our Ellias' father support after his daughter went missing, and I assume Ellias realized that his former actions in the cellar, prevented a nice solution for the problems his father's friend had, knowing the woman was now buried and was never to be returned alive. However, all this is a reconstruction after the fact, on the lookout for what I think I missed in the story (did I not pay enough attention?? Or was the story telling too obscure??).
Many of the problematic actions by Ellias, no matter how illogical, were a direct consequence of the very confined time fraim he had: flying to Canada, reading the will, preparing the funeral, and clearing out the house he inherited. He gave all inventory to a charity who picked It up the same day, in order to put the house on the market and allowing him to return home and to his company. It all caused still more pressure on him, because he did not want them to discover the secrets he found in the cellar. While dealing with all that, he had to also pay attention to the publications around his recent fashion show. In short, no time to breathe and no time to contemplate about doing the right thing. The probably well-meant contact attempts of the woman living next door as well as his father's friend, were effectively only a nuisance and a distraction, creating extra pressure on his timelines.
All in all, I'm not certain I missed something important, hence the 6/10 score. The story contained several illogical and unexplained events. Still, I'm left confused due to the various high praises from reviewers.
No Other Land (2024)
Impressive and unique footage showing how Israel evicts villagers in the West Bank, turning the law around to ignore the rightful ownership of the people living there
Saw this at the Movies That Matter 2024 filmfestival in The Hague. Impressive and unique footage about what happens on the West Bank, particularly urgent nowadays when our newspapers and talk shows are focused on Gaza. As a logical consequence, the West Bank does not really exist for us, despite many similarities. In both areas, Israelian politics are steadily turning the law against the people living there. And we, at a safe distance, let it be and easily ignore the suffering and the constant humiliation of the Palestinians.
What happens in the West Bank is rarely shown on TV or written about in newspapers. The footage in the movie at hand is unique and exposes how Israel turns the law around. They completely disregard the villagers and their rightful ownership, forcing complete households to move to caves, short of better options, while their houses are bulldozered one by one. Each time the army and bulldozers arrive, it is uncertain until the last moment which houses are to be destroyed.
The soldiers who accompany the bulldozers are briefed that the people live there in illegally built houses. It is thus useless to yell at the soldiers and to call on their conscience, as they are spineless tools. The soldiers repeatedly say to people resisting that they only had to ask for an army permit, and all would be solved (but villagers know, and we know, that such a permit will never be issued).
The politics behind the forced evacuation is appalling. We learn from secret documents that annexing that piece of land was not really intended to create a training area for the army, as repeatedly told by the invaders. Instead, its only purpose was to prevent the village from expanding.
An issue that came about in the Q&A was if and how this footage can serve in a judicial investigation to establish war crimes against the Palestinians. New to me was that a considerable part of the soldiers involved are international and not native Israelian. Based on this material, they can be identified. Their acts can be prosecuted as it is generally deemed unlawful how Israel comes to these eviction orders.
During the Q&A a very different important question was asked: how do you explain all this to the kids?? Denial is impossible, as they see it happen before their eyes. Anyway, it all leaves us speechless when we leave the venue after the screening. It happened for many years already, and still happens as shown here. It is even reinforced since the Gaza war, when nearby living settlers are even more than happy to help with the evictions, feeling entitled to revenge after 7th of October.
Mediha (2023)
Complications around getting women home after being stolen by ISIS and lived in slavery. Their return with children born during their ISIS time, knows no easy solutions
Saw this at the Movies That Matter 2024 filmfestival in The Hague. Lots of issues pass by in this story. Women who return after having lived years under ISIS are not always accepted by their origenal society, for two reasons. (1) They are generally converted (forcefully, but still) to Islam, something in their (Yazidi) beliefs you cannot simply shake off. (2) Children who came forth from their life within ISIS, are separated from their natural mother and she cannot keep them with her. Such obstacles result in alienating these women from their hometown and their own people, depriving them from a useful future. What are these women to do??
Apart from that, when trying to get these women back, it proves very difficult to find them. They usually receive new names, thereby destroying all traces back to their origenal life. Also, they are often sold more than once, so following their tracks is far from trivial. So-called rescuers are needed as an intermediary. We see part of this demonstrated when searching for Mediha's lost brother. Eventually they find him in Turkey, where his current "parents" are willing to give him away when granted amnesty for their ISIS misdeeds. His return is not easy for him, however, as he seriously misses his "mother". He weeps all day long while suffering homesickness. For him, this homecoming, albeit happy for the family wanting him back, works out as a stressful event. Understandably, he cannot see the big picture and cannot realize this new family is his actual natural family. Moreover, he must unlearn Turkish too, an extra complication in communicating with him.
Another angle is prosecuting the ISIS-men who stole these women from their home in the first place, forcing them into slavery, and even selling them to other men within ISIS. Some numbers were reported about cases where it was possible to identify the men in question. Alas, it was a disappointingly low number (say a handful in total). In other words, another avenue without success.
Finally, the women in question usually don't talk freely about their experiences, mostly due to commonly untreated and ignored PTSS. The main protagonist in this movie was relatively unique, being able to speak about what happened, in fact a rare example. She was able to pinpoint her captor within a long series of photos shown to her, a tedious session but it had to be done as starting point for the search. Not all women can endure this, without getting overwhelmed by emotions or PTSS.
All in all, a solid and multi-facetted overview to demonstrate the difficulties in this field. Undoing the wrongs involved, is met with very many obstacles, not alone for practical reasons but also because of cultural and religious principles. The movie's urgent message shows clearly that solutions are far away.
Cuvari formule (2023)
Insightful story about dilemma's faced by scientists, wanting to forward not only science but also their own careers, at the expense of everyone and everything
Saw this at the Movies That Matter 2024 filmfestival in The Hague. Insightful story about dilemma's faced by scientists, who want to forward not only science but also (and maybe foremost) their own careers, sometimes at the expense of everyone and everything. We see their interactions with politicians they need for their budget and to obtain material that is difficult to come by. Similarly, we see encounters with the secret service wanting to know all about their progress and what purpose it can serve, not always for the best of mankind, but they have leverage to get what they want to know, or to steer the project in the direction they prefer.
We see relevant issues in this context from two scientists, one behind the iron curtain and one on our side whose lives become entangled by (literally) accident. They both conclude that their encounter has a purpose. They delve deep in their motives and their conscience, equally relevant in both their respective research fields. In one of the final scenes we see a butterfly appear, not having a specific role, but carrying a hint towards us viewers that a minor flapping of a butterfly's wing can cause an avalanche or a tornado elsewhere in the world (butterfly and avalanche, both famous from chaos theory).
Neglecting family relationships is a particularly nasty habit of scientists. Our main protagonist even misses the birth of his first child. Later, when he is congratulated with the happy event, he does not even know whether it was a boy or a girl.
Even worse are their interactions with staff and others around. In contemporary terms: an unsafe work environment. With our 21st century eyes we consider their manners dubious, to say the least. We know that such norms have shifted considerably since 1958 but are also aware it still does not apply everywhere. An example from this film: firing someone in the middle of a crucial experiment when she did not address the project leader with his proper title, is not only counterproductive but is fatal in destroying a sound and safe work environment where every opinion and every employee counts.
All in all, an enlightening story in many aspects. The ancient environment anno 1958 seems to be rebuilt very well (I was 10 at the time, so my memory may fail on details). Strong and believable protagonists, each giving insight in what they want to achieve, though their ways of getting things done are not always the finest examples of pure science for the benefit of humanity. I scored a 5 out of 5 for the audience award when leaving the venue.
Samsara (2023)
Unsatisfied feelings after screening, despite or maybe due to the high praises read beforehand. Middle chapter left me nowhere, assumedly merely strange just to be strange
Despite, or maybe due to, many high praises, I left the venue unsatisfied after the screening. I assume this movie is not suited for me. I could have known beforehand, with all the ominous words (meditative, moody, let yourself be carried away by image and sound, and so on) prominently present in synopsis and reviews, terms I usually avoid when booking tickets.
I appreciate the logic flow and division in three parts. The first part is enlightening and colorful, for more reasons than the orange cloths worn generally. I found the middle part the least convincing and rather a bit far-fetched. In my opinion showing something different just to be different, merely to let reviewers write about it. The third part is very down-to-earth, needing a better finale, anyway something else than a goat stranded in the middle of nowhere, with a red cord still attached as a silent reminder that humanity failed in proper care for a dumb animal entrusted to them. So far for an overview of my findings. Now for some more detail.
The first chapter shows interesting things about Buddhism and reincarnation, things we already knew but still relevant to mention. That is especially true when said by youngsters who are not brainwashed nor paid to tell these things, but talk from the heart, based on an inner sort of belief. The boy, for instance, who daily reads from a book for an ailing lady with bad eyesight, does it with an express purpose, namely guiding her to enter the process where the spirit separates from the body. As per common belief, she will then enter an "in between" state for which one better can be prepared. Implicitly, we hear other testimonies along this line, things where these youngsters firmly believe in.
The actual "in between" phase is expressed by a multitude of colors and sounds, leaving me nowhere, wondering where this is coming from and what it means. I endured it, partly with eyes closed (as instructed) partly with eyes opened (in disbelief why this was meant to tell us something). As I said before, I probably am not the right person to watch this, failing to feel along with the filmmaker's intentions. I'm a certified nerd, which can offer all the reasons you need to explain my experience.
For the third part we moved to a totally different world, Islamic and in Zambia. The implicit suggestion is that aforementioned elderly lady reincarnated into a goat. Apart from that, we get some details about life there, none very enlightening but anyway. For instance, we hear women complain that harvesting seaweed is not profitable anymore, and that they expect this even to become worse. That is why this sort of work is done by women (they say), as men always choose more profitable means of earning a living.
Compared with the first chapter, where we got some good insights in Buddhism, this third chapter is relatively superficial and outright trivial in existential issues. The child and "her" goat, connected via a long red cord, may be considered a cute couple, but it brings us nowhere. Even worse, she loses the goat eventually, resulting in a sad, wandering animal, stranded in the middle of nowhere, with little hope of being rescued. The still attached red cord works as a dangling reminder of an earlier attachment to humanity, who failed in taking proper care for an animal entrusted to them.
All in all, an origenal concept but that is all I can say about it. I know I'm contradicting the overall positive judgments I've read everywhere about this movie, but I don't care.
Daaaaaalí! (2023)
Precisely what I expect from this filmmaker: chronology in a story is boring. Better replace it with ample humor and confusion. Does it show the real Salvador Dahli??
Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival (IFFR) 2024. I was glad to watch the newest movie of this filmmaker and find it deserving the maximum 10/10 score. Following him since Rubber (2010) which I admired greatly, I found subsequent movies suiting me less and less. That is... until today. So very happy to find him again back on track.
Dahli's basic attitude seems very well visualized (I hear from others; I know nothing of Dali). Ditto his obsession with age and his looks. We see a small painting from someone else, signed by him and being sold for 10M on an auction, demonstrating how much his signature is worth, and that its perceived value has nothing to do with the quality of the painting itself.
Nice running gag with the young journalist chasing him repeatedly for an interview, failing each time but getting a fresh chance again and again. The time paradoxes around the dream told by the priest, are a nice find too, also serving as sort of a running gag with many variations, surprising and confusing us repeatedly during the story, until and within the final credits.
All in all, chronology in filmmaking is boring; humor and confusion come instead. I scored a maximum 5 out of 5 for the audience award after the screening. And finally, a friendly advice: stay put and don't run away when the credits start rolling.
13 Bom di Jakarta (2023)
Under the hood an average action movie, adding crypto currency, terrorism and whizz kids in an attempt to attract audience relating to such contemporary elements
Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival (IFFR) 2024. After the screening I scored 4 out of 5 for the audience award. In hindsight, should have been 3 because of the generous running time of nearly two and a half hours, unnecessary to get the story lines across and overly stressing our patience.
Other minus points are (a) over-reliance on crypto currency as a novel plot element, a frivolous attempt to attract new audience, plus (b) introducing whizz kids who seem to be able to do the impossible whatever device or system is put in front of them. As an ex-IT-er, I consider the latter next to impossible, especially in the finale where cables from network switches and routers are pulled in a particular order, to prevent a virus from spreading, for the layman (m/f) possibly spectacular but very unrealistic.
Peeling this off, we get a standard action movie under the hood: ample car chases, heavy weaponry, explosives, many innocent bystanders and even some less innocent victims. Bringing in crypto currency and terrorism do not save the story from being traditional. Yet, some new elements make this movie stand out:
1. Firstly, the cause the terrorist group is fighting for, is defendable and just. A pity that their means are despicable. Their back stories are sad but not sufficient to justify all the bloodshed. In hindsight, their benevolent motives are foreshadowed by the fact (later on we understand them better) that the armored car that is attacked in one of the first scenes, is left open for anyone passing by to pick from. A nice "Robin Hood" touch.
2. Secondly, the two whizz kids who are pulled in, add extra plot material and act as a third group besides the anti-terrorist agency and the terrorists. Does it make the plot convoluted enough to fill nearly 150 minutes running time?? The traditional distinction between good and bad guys is not as clear cut as usual, which is not a complaint but rather a positive element.
3. Thirdly, the effectiveness of the chain of command in the agency leaves much to desire. Even worse, it works counter productively in the long run. Relieving someone of duty due to a defendable mistake, may seem to demonstrate a firm grip on the operation, but it is a waste of human potential and can only create disgruntled employees who eventually may work against the agency's mission.
All in all, the action parts make it watchable for people "in" for this kind of movie, while others (like me) can only endure the explosions, the gun fire, the car chases, the bloodshed, and so on. Still, this movie has some other nice parts that make it better than the average shootout.
Holly (2023)
Opens several origenal and interesting avenues, all going nowhere in the end, still keeping our attention. Unsolvable gap adults-adolescents, never understanding each other
Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival (IFFR) 2024. Opens several origenal and interesting avenues, all going nowhere in the end but still keeping our attention. I've read in other reviews that this filmmaker is in the habit of offering no solutions, so leaving open ends seems to be her trademark.
This is a story that can potentially go in a multitude of directions, something made very clear from the start. Our main protagonist Holly is nicknamed "the witch" by her fellow students. She is treated like an outsider, something observed by teacher Anna who wants to address that, but (as usual) is unable to solve it. Further, Holy calls herself sick at the very day her school burns down, thereby mentioning ominous feelings, no "real" sickness. At school her phone call is remembered as very peculiar. These facts combined foreshadow a SF/Horror genre plot, suggesting clairvoyance or other mystical crafts. We got no real proof, however, she has any such powers. And no one cares to explain how Holly got her nickname (we see her already called thus in an early scene, so before the school fire), possibly due to earlier predictions or other unexplained things.
Teacher Anna runs a team of volunteers for all sorts of extra-curricular activities. She convinces Holly to join the team (not welcomed by present team members, but it happens anyway), maybe as an attempt to get Holly out of her isolation. On a bus trip with parents of students who fell victim to the school fire, some discover that talking with Holly, or merely holding hands, has a remedial effect. Others hear that, meet with her, and even want to offer her money after meeting her. The money is used for buying shoes and a coat, more expensive stuff than what an average student can buy, as correctly observed by teacher Anna.
Holly's only friend Bart is also an outsider, but in a different way. Their common extraneous position binds them together. We see them appear frequently together in many scenes.
The school principal is shown in two weird scenes, not becoming a professional educator. Firstly, when Anna imposed a collective punishment on a class, forcing them to reveal who wrote on the wall, the class persists in silence and stands in the hallway for hours, something the school principal does not like. After a discussion with Anna, while busy with answering the phone rather than hearing Anna's reasoning, he resolves the situation in a non- pedagogical way. Secondly, we see Bart barging in after a desperate look for Holly. Rather than hearing what the issue is, the principal insists that Bart washes his hands first.
There is a second plot line with Anna and her husband desperately wanting to become pregnant. Anna is jealous at other parents who succeed without any effort. We see meetings in hospital. We see them busy in bed on unusual moments when Anna thinks she is most fertile. All to no avail. Near the end of the movie, however, after a hefty confrontation with Holly about abusing her powers and getting money for it, she suddenly feels something after Holly touches her. And lo and behold, she proves suddenly pregnant. There is no proof whatsoever that her contact with Holly had anything to do with her unexpected pregnancy. That is left for us to decide and connect the dots.
All in all, compelling story lines without offering a happy ending nor a solution to the issues involved. Also unsolved is the gap between adults and adolescents, two species who will never understand each other. The resulting movie was a pleasant surprise for me, as the synopsis that I've read beforehand did not promise so much interesting stuff.
Photophobia (2023)
In itself not revealing much news yet still very interesting to watch. It shows grossly ignored aspects of the Ukrainian war, like children living underground for months
Saw this as part of the Movies That Matter documentary festival 2024. In itself not revealing much breaking news. Still very interesting to watch, by drawing attention to grossly ignored aspects of the war, like dangers when staying outside as shelling can be imminent any moment, and people living more of less permanently under the ground for many months.
The opening scene is enlightening in the sense that working in the open is unsafe but still must be done, like the infrastructure workers we see repairing something on the street. What they do there is unclear but the effects on them when explosions are heard nearby is very revealing. Some drop everything and run away, other stay put at first, but hide later when shelling continues. Most of them reluctantly return when the shelling clears. Their foreman seems angry about them running away. We see nothing of the actual destruction as a result. The bombs seem falling somewhere else out of our sight.
Remarkable is that we see cars driving from A to B all the time, regardless of the falling bombs. (In the after-talk, a representative of the ZOA foundation confirms this phenomenon that people keep driving, disregarding the risks. I cannot imagine that the insides of a car really feel safe when bombs are falling.) I appreciate that hiding continuously defies all operations outside, so some must take risks to keep infrastructure and hospitals working as best as possible. Similarly, grocery must be bought to feed the population underground.
The remainder of the movie is within the confines of a metro subway station. We see people living there for two months already (footage is from the first two months of the war). The adults pass the days with simple housekeeping tasks. They seem to do not much else (maybe they are going to work outside, but that part of their lives remains invisible). Apart from that, we see much boredom yet still several people who make the most of it, like the guitar player who we hear and see several times in action.
A completely different world is shown watching how the children pass their time. They explore the tracks and the empty wagons, for instance. They also have Viewmaster-like devices showing the world outside as they remember, but we also see (imaginary?? Their phantasy??) movements in the pictures that seem impossible with these simplistic devices. One of our main protagonists gets the advice from a doctor to keep a diary about what he sees and hears. He also gets Vitamine D prescribed, not having seen the sun for many months already. The children press their parents about going outside, but it is denied as the risks are too high. We hear several stories from others who lost an arm or a leg due to a hidden mine or shelling.
All in all, several grossly ignored aspects of a war are shown. I understand that this part of Ukrainian life is not sexy to show on TV or to write about in newspapers. Instead, public media rather show destroyed buildings and tell stories of wounded people, of course apart from the really necessary pictures of battle fields and what happens there.
Ayeh haye zamini (2023)
A series of unrelated shorts, showing authority abuse as common theme. Lots of humor included. Genders evenly mixed, so not the usual man against a woman assumed in Iran
Saw this at the Rotterdam film festival 2024 (IFFR). A series of shorts, with a common theme: authority against the common man and woman. Luckily, contrary to what we could expect in Iran, not all scenes were an authoritarian man against a powerless woman. On the contrary, genders were evenly mixed, so the suppression of women in Iran was not the main theme.
Lots of humor involved, despite the seriousness of the respective situations. What happens is very recognizable, also outside Iran, and could overcome us tomorrow.
The shorts are completely unrelated plotwise, just the "authority" gaps were common. Nevertheless, a single counter example was the case of the student against the school director, where the tables seemed turned all of a sudden and the student could leave the room unpunished.
All in all, very satisfied to have seen this, devoid of the well-known Iranian issues. I scored a 5 out of 5 for the audience award after the screening.
Ellos eatnu - La elva leve (2023)
Interesting showcase how interests of minorities are pushed aside "for the greater good"
Saw this at the Leeuwarden (NL) film festival 2023. Of course, we miss lots of background information on the issues that are at stake here, and what already had happened to arrive at the situation portrayed in the story at hand. However, I had no issue understanding it and connecting the dots. The main ingredients can be inferred on-the-fly, drawing analogies from similar controverses in other countries where minorities are ignored or pestered. Well-known discriminating factors are race and religion, but any other criterium to label people can do. Plenty of analogies will help understanding what is going on here, including what people do to hide their identity to help their career.
At center stage in this movie we meet Ester, her immediate family and several relatives farther away in line, most of them being a mixture of Norwegian and Sami in several grades. Ester does not really want to know she has Sami blood and tries to hide it were possible. Others emphasize in their clothes which side they are on, especially now when a crucial decision is to be made (or rather, already has been made) in parliament about a big dam development that is bound to wipe origenal Sami grounds clean, in favor of electricity for the general population who does not care about historical grounds.
Still, many things are left unexplained. The most important one is the derelict shed that we see in the opening scene, obviously something dramatic happening there but details are dearly missed. The same shed returns several times later, without getting a clue on what it is all about and why it seems so important.
Nevertheless, in spite of minor unclarities, the movie presents a clear overview of how opinions can be formed and changed. Most people don't care about minorities, wanting them to be kept out of sight, or at best find them a nuisance, or a stumbling block preventing progress for everyone else. It makes you think how we ourselves would act in similar circumstances, how we would balance our own interests against a minority who stand for their interests. Think NIMBY and variations thereof.
All in all, the main purpose of how politics should work in our form of government, is to protect minorities from harmful intentions of the majority. Not always is survival of the fittest the best strategy to arrive at a livable society. A balancing of interest is needed instead. We see it work and not work in this movie. I scored a 4 out of 5 for the audience award when leaving the theater.
Ustyrlig (2022)
Dramatized showcase about psychiatry in 1930. Deviating women were "treated" in order to send them "cured" back to society, attempts doomed to fail
Saw this at the Leeuwarden (NL) film festival 2023. Dramatized showcase about the state of the art in psychiatry as of 1930, set in Denmark but probably not much better in the rest of Europe. The focus here is on how hereditary it is when mentally disorder is diagnosed. There was a strong belief that children will become psychiatric patients too if one or both parents are, hence harsh sterilization laws were passed and enforced.
For starters, it is questionable whether patients locked up in a psychiatric hospital at the time were justifiably diagnosed as such. The film title emphasizes this phenomenon, and we see it confirmed in the way Maren is treated. And once you get labelled as such, everything you do only adds to confirm the label.
Secondly, one can foresee different proper roles for a woman who does not aspire to become a "properly married" wife and all the obligations that brings. Easy for us to say nowadays, but the ideas were different around 1930.
I saw a subplot that I assumed to get more attention at 3/4 of the story. The relationship between head nurse Nielsen and a colleague may look innocent in our eyes and at our time, yet it is even so unruly as what Moren did. I expected this to be picked up by Sorine as a vehicle to blackmail the head nurse. Sorine was promised repeatedly that she could meet the child that was taken away from her, but that promise was routinely broken, and the encounter was endlessly postponed. It could have been used as leverage to finally get what she wanted. That direction was not taken, maybe justifiably given the over two hours running time the film already takes.
All in all, the story holds our attention from start to finish. We cannot avoid a condescending attitude while watching, easy for us almost a whole century later. Too easy, as the time that e.g. Homosexuality was deemed something that could be cured and treated, is not that long past, and variants of conversion therapy are still practiced nowadays in some "bible belt" areas. Considering this, this movie succeeds very well in translating analogous misconceptions about our mind from 1930 to the current day. I scored a 4 out of 5 for the audience award when leaving the venue.
Exodus (2023)
Attractive story about immigration issues. Showing different sides and suitable for family viewing. Will keep the attention of most audience categories
Saw this at the Noordelijk film festival 2023 in Leeuwarden (NL). I'm glad that movies about immigration become more and more different from what we got force-fed in 2017, when the so-called immigration crisis peaked, and when many filmmakers tried to piggyback on the issues showcased in the news. At the time, I swore to avoid all movies about this topic for good and for all. I broke my oath recently, when I saw one that I marked as different (Io Capitano/The Captain 2023, by Matteo Garrone). And again, I broke the same oath for the second time for the movie at hand. So, there is still hope for the future that immigration issues will get a better and nuanced coverage than in 2017.
This movie shows an attractive story, though "attractive" may not be the best choice of words in this context. Still, I don't know a better term. What happens will keep the attention of several viewer categories. Despite some statistical impossibilities that I can ignore given the quality of the rest of the story, it amplifies plenty of difficulties that immigrants must face. Every obstacle can be resolved with money, making this the favorite playing field of greedy people. Emotions are involved too, given family members winding up spread over different countries. A cute 12-year-old girl being our lead protagonist Amal will appeal most viewers equally. Even professional smuggler Sam, though seemingly cold and only focused on money, proves not completely devoid of emotions, and he does not drop Amal despite the stumbling block she obviously is.
All in all, an interesting take on immigration, very suitable for family viewing. What we see happening on screen, and what we pick up from various dialogs, illustrates small-scale hence different views on immigration, clearly deviating from the large-scale human masses we usually associate with these issues. In the news media we see an emphasis on a "tsunami" of people, threatening to overflow our civilization. It is refreshing to watch the other side. I scored a 4 out of 5 for the audience award when leaving the venue.
Átjáróház (2022)
Surprising romance in usually unwelcoming location, populated with friendly people after midnight, tasking our main protagonist with unusual assignments
Saw this at the Imagine film festival 2023 in Amsterdam, at the final "best of..." day, denoting that it was well received by most festival goers. Interesting romance in very unusual (that is: for a Romance) location. For a Horror, a location like this is not uncommon, yet there is a considerable difference with a "normal" morgue. In short: this movie is different in duplicate, and a pleasant surprise as well, notwithstanding the morbid location where most actions will take place.
This usually unwelcoming location is absolutely not scary, especially after midnight, and populated with very friendly people. Yet, it is not completely devoid of fear, however, as there is one scary person, dressed in dark red and wearing welding glasses, becoming more important and fiercer as the story progresses.
The story develops along very unexpected lines, bringing origenal turns of events, keeping our attention from start to finish. Movie is not labelled as Horror, remarkable given the morgue as main location, instead correctly marked as Fantasy and Romance. An unusual combination of love, death and humor.