This beautiful and decidedly enigmatic mood piece from Malgorzata Szumowska (Mug (2018), Body (2015)) and Michal Englert confounds as much as it satisfies.
Continue readingNever Gonna Snow Again (Sniegu juz nigdy nie bedzie) (2020)
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Corpus Christi (Boze Cialo)(2019)
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This solid and compelling drama from Jan Komasa wraps a story about morality and choice around the limitations of class and culture in rural Poland.
Continue readingDay 24: My favourite film with a colour in the title
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Three Colours: Blue (1993)
I found this the hardest prompt of the lot but, in the end, I couldn’t not choose Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Trois Couleurs (Three Colours) trilogy. After Hal Hartley, Kieślowski was my next favourite director and this trilogy was the first time I saw films that interconnected.
Continue readingTower. A Bright Day (2018)
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I have no idea what this film is about. If there were signs of a meaning, I missed them and felt confounded as the credits rolled. Continue reading
Mug (Twarz) (2018)
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Not as blackly comedic as I was expecting, more bleakly tragic, Malgorzata Szumowska’s Mug doesn’t hide its overt criticism of the hypocrisy of religious complacency, as shown by the narrowmindedness of the people of a rural Polish town. Continue reading
Cold War (Zimna Wojna) (2018)
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Pawel Pawlikowski has crafted a bleak and beautiful tribute to the joys and violence of love and ideology. Continue reading
Fugue (Fuga) (2018)
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Agnieszka Smoczynska’s credentials as the director of 80s musical about killer mermaids The Lure, got me along to Fugue, her next feature. They couldn’t be more different in tone and style but both have stories that recast women out of familiar stereotypes. Continue reading
Afterimage (2017)
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I think we are supposed to feel sympathy for Polish artist Wladyslaw Strzeminski (Boguslaw Linda) whose avant-garde art saw him fall out of favour under socialism in the 40s. Continue reading
Spoor (Pokot) (2017)
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This oddball Polish genre non-conformist feature by Agnieszka Holland had lots to like about it but ultimately felt like less than the sum of its parts. Continue reading
The Lure (2015)
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Some films are built for entertainment rather than deep thought and The Lure is one of them. Described as a “loony genre mash-up of musical, romance and 80s-style horror”, this messy, delightful Polish film about two mermaids who emerge from the deeps to discover adventure in a strip club is a fun and occasionally gory ride. Continue reading
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