J*A*S*M

(49th KVIFF) A slow and depressive lyrical drama. This “genre” is not my cup of tea, but I wouldn’t mind giving Nagima a higher rating because it does have a very good atmosphere and excellent cinematography, and makes good use of the dilapidated locations of the Kazakh backcountry. But for that it shouldn’t have that incredibly stupid ending, which doesn’t really follow from the events thus far. The ideological structure that attempts to defend with a brief monologue is so weak that a flick of a finger would be enough to make it fall like a house of cards. All that is left is the unpleasant aftertaste from how the creators try to pointlessly and cheaply shock the viewer.

(49th KVIFF) Cute vampires (and werewolves, zombies and other similar creatures) in an incredibly funny mockumentary comedy. The midnight screening was worth it and the excited audience added to the experience. The film ends before it manages to build any sort of solid story through that relentless series of jokes. Those who say that a sitcom format would be more suitable for these vampires are right, after all, this is film is already a sitcom episode stretched to 90 minutes.

(49th KVIFF) Bizarre, but not very tight entertainment in many ways. Two days later I’m already having trouble putting together what the “tales” were actually about. Taking seven ideas, wrapping them in “something” and “bunching” them together unfortunately is not enough for a feature film. But I didn’t get bored.

(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.