Category: fantasy

Does it feel real? “All of Us Strangers” (2023)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Andrew Haigh
© 2023 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Who would have thought that one day Billy Elliot turns out to be Moriarty’s father. If you know, you know. If you don’t, you’ve skipped a great film and a great series. Anyway, let’s focus on today’s film because it’s truly magical. We get to know Adam (Andrew Scott), who’s a screenwriter living in London. The man’s life seems to be quite lonely until he meets his new neighbour Harry (Paul Mescal). At first, Adam isn’t willing to make any new friends, but slowly he opens up and gives Harry a chance. Except a neighbour-friendship, there’s some chemistry between those two, so it’s a more intimate relation we may observe. However, there’s an even more intriguing part of the film you need to learn about. Adam meets with a married couple that he apparently knows (Claire Foy & Jamie Bell). At some point we hear the couple referring to Adam as “their son”, which seems odd because all three are of similar age. This is the moment when you have to let you brain think in a more abstract way. Adam is indeed meeting with his parents, or rather their imagined versions. They both died in a car accident before Adam’s 12th birthday, so they look just like they did back then. We see that Adam is incredibly lonely and misses his parents, so those visions and meetings with them are his personal therapy. When he tells Harry about that tragedy, the neighbour is visibly sorry for him, but Adam assures him that it’s in the past, it’s fine. But we all know it’s not. That little boy wasn’t ready to lose two most important people in his life. As an adult, he still cannot handle that loss and he struggles with the worst kind of loneliness. Will Harry be the one who helps? He also struggles with his own problems, but maybe the only way to help each other is to open up about each other’s struggles and fight them together? This film is unique in its form. I have to admit that it was slightly too slow at certain moments, but generally I was amazed. Andrew Scott always gives 100% of himself and you can see incredible emotions coming from his character. I believe it’s a production that may be of huge help to adults who have lost someone in their life – either their family member, their partner, or even a great friend. There are many interesting interpretations, but to me, this film is about taking as much time as we need to process, but finally learn to let go. Horrible situations happen and we should keep moving no matter what. People come and go, sometimes we can’t do anything about it, but what we are able to do is take care of ourselves. And even if 1000 people have left us, we always have ourselves. And maybe that 1001st will stay a bit longer?

My rating: 7/10
S.

Mother Nature takes no prisoners. “Lamb” (“Dýrið”, 2021)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Valdimar Jóhannsson
© 2021 Sena. All Rights Reserved.

It took me some time to see this film as I hadn’t been in the right mood, if you know what I mean. Icelandic drama about a couple living in the middle of nowhere – that’s the kind of film you watch only when in a certain mood. But the day came and as you can see, I’m recommending the film to you. But let me just say that I wouldn’t be surprised if you disliked it, because for a long time I wasn’t buying the story either. However, the ending made it clear to me that behind the surreal and strange form, there’s a horribly important message is waving at us. At first we meet María and Ingvar (Noomi Rapace & Hilmir Snær Guðnason), a couple living a rather simple life on their farm. Their routine is destroyed at some point when one of their sheep gives birth to a strange creature. It looks like a hybrid of a human and a sheep. Fascinated by the lamb-baby, the couple decide to take it home and raise it as their own child. I know, you may already be frowning wondering what the hell is happening here. I get it, trust me. We also find out that María and Ingvar have lost a daughter, Ada, so this sheep/human creature is like a missing puzzle they’ve been looking for. The family is enjoying their life together, not bothered by their visible differences, until one day they are visited by Ingvar’s brother Pétur (Björn Hlynur Haraldsson), who finds it difficult to accept this situation. To be honest, for the first half of the film I was hoping for it to finish sooner as such surrealism is not my thing at all. I was pretty sure the drama is turning into some intense fantasy, and again, that’s not my thing. But when I finished the film, I realised that even if the form may be discouraging to some people, I see the point of the story. And what I say next is my personal interpretation, which you can consider as a *SPOILER*, so just so you know. To me this is a reminder how spoilt we are as humans in this world. We only care about our own pain and put our own comfort as a priority, even if it means hurting other creatures. However, no matter how superior we may feel to everything around us, Mother Nature is there to give us a lesson. Here I could expand this thought to destroying our planet, polluting literally everything from air to water, deforestation, eating animal products, using animals’ for testing etc., but it would take me days to mention all the fields where we’ve been overusing power. And we can all see that now, all those actions are playing against us. Back to “Lamb”, I’m still not sure about such surreal forms in drama films, but I appreciate trying something unique to spread the message. I’m also a big fan of Noomi Rapace’s acting, which can never let me down. Plus, as strange as it is, I do find the lamb-kiddo adorable, so yeah… Sorry not sorry.

My rating: 6/10
S.

You cannot see the future without seeing the past. “Dune: Part Two” (2024)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Denis Villeneuve
© 2024 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

We’ve waited for this part almost as long as Fremen waited for their Lisan al Gaib. Inside joke for nerds have been shared, I can peacefully begin my post. In case you don’t remember my text about the first part, I shared there that I hadn’t read the book so I went to see the first film without any clue what I was about to experience. Right after leaving the cinema, I grabbed my phone and ordered the first book, because I honestly had fun and wanted to know whether the book’s equally engaging. Back then I promised myself I’d read the first book before seeing the second film. And now… do you think I’ve succeeded? I hope you believe in my at least a little because yes, I finished those 700 something pages and the following day I was sitting in a comfy red cinema chair excited to see this never-ending desert with worms on a big screen. But getting back to the plot – as you might be guessing, this is the continuation of what we could see in the first part. I definitely recommend you to see them both in the correct order, because you may not understand certain relations in the second part without knowing the book or the first film. Whatever I write next might be considered a SPOILER (the charm of sequels), so just feel informed. House of Atreides have been destroyed and Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is hiding in the desert with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), her son. They are living with Fremen, probably only people who know desert and its specifics, and who were expecting someone from “Outer World” to come and save them. Some Fremen believe that Paul is their long awaited prophet, but some others want to banish both strangers. Luckily, the leader of the group, Stilgar (Javier Bardem), is supporting Paul and offers him different kinds of trials, which may clarify whether Paul is their actual messiah or not. In the meantime, Baron Vladimir of House Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) is continuously destroying everything he wants and in this part we get to know his heir (also called “na-Baron” – don’t you just love those names?), Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), who’s equally creepy as his uncle. We generally get introduced to many more figures in this part, but it’s best if you see them yourselves in the film. Is it worth seeing this film in the cinema? Yes, absolutely, and if they make another part – I’ll also want to see it on a big screen. Such productions are meant to be seen in cinemas, because there are those elements which may not amaze you that much if you see them on a small screen, such as the desert. You may think “meh, just a lot of sand”, but if you see it on a big screen and be exposed to the soundtrack (by marvellous Hans Zimmer), you may then feel how overwhelming it is. I’m still amazed by the actors and my heart is stolen by Rebecca Ferguson – all chapeaux bas to this talented woman. Also, some people complain about Chani and how annoying she is in this part and that she’s acting like a spoilt child. Personally, I disagree with this opinion and I see Chani as a much more logical character than she is in the book (yes, I’m complaining about the book, sorry to all the fans). In the film, she’s concerned about her people, Fremen, and she wants to be extra cautious, even though she has feelings for Paul – that’s very mature if you ask me. Then, she’s pissed off when she sees Paul making strange decisions – here, I also have an explanation. At some point, when it was almost clear that Paul is the awaited prophet, the relation between those two got weaker and Chani felt like she’s losing him as a trustworthy partner. So she focused on herself and her tribe. And I believe Zendaya performed it just as it was supposed to be, so no hate, just love, my dear! Before I finish, you probably expect me to say what I liked more – the book or the film? Well, definitely the film. It was a nice experience to read the book, but I’m not going to read next parts. This story is very complex and it’s tiring for me to follow all the weird names and relations between characters. The film is much clearer and thanks to it I understood the book better, so I’m team Denis Villeneuve and big screen. And I can’t wait to see next parts, so let’s cross fingers nothing else disturbs the crew. And Javier Bardem screaming “Lisan al Gaib” is this year’s icon for sure.

My rating: 7/10
S.

It’s the things we love most that destroy us. “The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” (2023)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Francis Lawrence
© 2023 Lionsgate Films. All Rights Reserved.

Just to point out at the very beginning – I haven’t read the books, but I’m a fan of the idea and I watched the first part of “Hunger Games” at least 3-4 times. Unfortunately, I enjoyed only the first two parts – the two last ones were terrible, in my opinion. So when I heard about “The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes” I wasn’t that much excited, because I was worried it’d be similar to both parts of “Mockingjay”. Still, my curiosity won the battle and I pushed myself to watching the prequel, what today’s film actually is. The story is set 64 years before the first part of the series and the character we’re following is Coriolanus Snow (Tom Blyth). If you know “Hunger Games” series, you might be surprised by the choice of the protagonist. But to me it’s marvellous, because we get a chance to see his journey and understand why he ended up being the way he was. However, if his name doesn’t ring a bell to you, then even better – you may enjoy the film on a totally different level, so I’m not spoiling anything. In this prequel, Coriolanus is an Academy student in Capitol and he’s among 24 people chosen to mentor the participants of the upcoming Hunger Games. Each student is given one participant to lead and the one who does the task best will be awarded. Coriolanus wishes to obtain the award because it’s a scholarship that would change his family’s financial situation. The young man is assigned to mentor Lucy Gray (Rachel Zegler), a young lady from District 12. She’s quite extraordinary and immediately draws attention to herself by singing whatever she thinks and feels. But singing, even beautifully, will not save her during the Games. Or will it? That’s for you to see. I have to say that this part is not as good as the original first films, but I actually enjoyed getting back to this fictional reality and going through Hunger Games once again, just from a different perspective and in different circumstances. It is entertaining, so you shouldn’t complain about getting bored, but what I liked the most is the main character. I seriously loved following his journey and seeing all those little changes in him. I’m not a fan of only good and only bad characters – I need some shades of grey to enjoy this mental game the film is playing with me as a viewer. I want to be the one who decides whether someone in the story is doing the right or wrong thing, and I feel like this production is giving you this opportunity. Besides, you get to listen to some lovely singing by Rachel Zegler, which was a true glitter in this post-apocalyptic scenery. I actually wouldn’t mind if they made a series out of the story so we can see other Hunger Games and also observe the development of the idea for such “entertainment”. It’s even more interesting to me considering the sociological point of view. Special effects are one thing, but what comes to our minds watching such mentally rotten society is another. So yes, more Hunger Games, pretty please!

My rating: 6/10
S.

I am finding being alive fascinating. “Poor Things” (2023)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Yorgos Lanthimos
© 2023 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Another production by Yorgos Lanthimos and I’m still not sure what to think about this director. On the one hand, he’s very original, controversial, not caring about taboo topics, so I enjoy how unexpected his films are. I never know whether I’d cry, laugh, worry or vomit. Never know. On the other hand, he likes to prolong the duration of certain scenes that even if I liked them at the beginning, next several minutes are boring me. Besides, his films are his. I believe that he doesn’t make films for people, he makes them for himself. And just by the way shares them with us, the audience, to perhaps join his extraordinary world. To me, that’s a huge plus, but I don’t always want to accept the invitation. Still, I believe that “Poor Things” is his best production so far, so if you didn’t like the previous, perhaps you’d like to try this one out. Yorgos is taking us to Victorian London, where we meet Godwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe), a surgeon with a complex life story and quite original ideas. He asks one of his students, Max (Ramy Youssef), to assist him during his home experiment. When the young man arrives, he finds out that the said experiment is a young woman, Bella (Emma Stone). She’s acting unusually and is considered retarded, which seems fascinating to Godwin, because he can observe her reactions and very slow development. He asks Max to constantly follow Bella and take notes about her, especially when the surgeon is busy. As the woman is progressing, at some point she wishes to leave the house and explore. But Godwin is a bit worried because, in the end, Bella is an experiment and she’s not accustomed to society. I tried my best not to spoil too much writing this fragment, so I still hope you’ll get surprised when you see the film. Especially about how Bella was “made” (don’t watch trailers, let it be a surprise, trust me). As I said earlier, this film is definitely my favourite by Yorgos, but I cannot explain you why. Perhaps it’s because of the idea, which is ridiculous and disgusting, but at the same time fresh and unusual. Personally, I’m tired of copy-paste productions, so I definitely appreciate such creativity. Besides, Emma Stone is marvellous as Bella. Generally, she’s a great actress, but in this film she had a very difficult job and she needed to present various faces and skills of hers, which I watched absolutely amazed. She’s so raw and authentic in this fantasy world that I’m not surprised she’s appreciated for the role. Then, there’s the message coming out of the film and I believe that’s a mystery for viewers to solve. Yorgos likes to play with surrealism, so we cannot take everything we see in the film just as it is. To me, this is a story about female oppression and how they’ve developed in society to be seen as equal or sometimes even more competent than men. Bella is surrounded by very different men and at first, she considers them as mentors who surely want all the best for her. At some point, she realises, that she can make much better choices on her own. I recommend you to observe and analyse Bella’s relations with each man and each woman in this story. That may give you an interesting perspective. Perhaps you’ll find it mind-blowing, but I’ve read somewhere that this is a perfect film to present what it is to be an autistic woman. I cannot really confirm whether it’s true or not, we would need to ask such woman, but there’s a lot of points that support this theory. Bella sees and experiences the world differently, which is nothing wrong, but still it’s unusual to most people. I am very happy Yorgos made this film and I hope that he’ll keep on progressing as a director as well. Perhaps one day I’ll be more sure about my opinion on his filmmaking style. But for now, I’m very much positive.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Humans only have one ending. Ideas live forever. “Barbie” (2023)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Greta Gerwig
© 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Are you surprised to see this post? Well… so am I writing it right now. If you’ve been following me for some time, you probably already know I wasn’t much excited about seeing “Barbie”. It’s mostly because I’ve never really enjoyed any of Greta Gerwig’s films. Not saying you should avoid her productions, quite the opposite, give them a chance because perhaps it’s just my opinion. But I believe she was more aware of what she’d doing in front of the camera, as an actress. Still, how could I skip “Barbie” since many of you are hoping to hear my opinion. So here it is: “Barbie” is Greta’s best work. Yay! Clap, clap, clap! Celebration time. However (about to ruin the moment), the potential was wasted and I’m about to tell you why I think so. First things first, if you haven’t been infected by the Barbie virus and still haven’t seen it, I need to explain the main idea. We’re going to Barbieland where we can meet very different Barbies, such as Barbie the doctor, Barbie the mechanic, Barbie the astronaut, as well as stereotypical Barbie (Margot Robbie). There are also Kens, who, unlike in our real world, don’t do anything useful. They simply have fun and look handsome, while Barbies do all the important jobs. The stereotypical Barbie has a secret admirer – beach Ken (Ryan Gosling), who really wants to get closer to her, but she puts her female friends first no matter what. Everyone’s living a dream until one night when the stereotypical Barbie starts wondering about death and since then strange things begin to occur, such as lack of energy, anxiety, cellulite and… flat feet! Turns out she has to travel to the real world in order to stop the process of un-Barbing her, if that makes sense. I know that a lot of people were expecting a cheerful comedy mocking Barbie the doll, but I guess most of them didn’t know Greta. It was obvious she would make a feminist drama out of it – and she did. And to be honest, I really liked the general idea of showing this Barbie world where women are empowered, but at the same time I felt uncomfortable with presenting Kens as totally useless. Trust me, I get the point and I know it was necessary for the sake of what happens later in the film *SPOILERS COMING* when Barbies pretend to be absolute idiots to let Kens feel needed and admired. I’m aware of the fact that Greta was just presenting the ridiculousness of our world there, because, let’s face it, women do often pretend to be “less” in order to comfort their men, which should not occur, so I’m glad she’s pointing that out. However, instead of demonising men so much, even in a comedic way, I’d love to see some human empowerment and equality advertisement. Because even if Greta wanted to spread such message, it’s covered with a bit of, sorry for my honesty, toxic feminism. I know that women are often not treated seriously, I know that women struggle with being seen and appreciated for who they are and not what they look like – I know all that. But instead of mocking men, perhaps we could encourage women to be assertive and brave in their actions, while men to be more open-minded and not afraid of being on the same level as their female partners, friends, family members. “Barbie” is no silly comedy for sure, because as you can see, it’s about the never-ending dilemma how to facilitate female-male relations, which is still a big and unsolved deal. It has its wonderful moments, especially the beginning and the ending, but the middle is too messy, as if a totally different person/group of people were writing that part of the film. In the end, I say you should watch it, because it really pushes to thinking of those difficult topics, but please, try to reflect on what’s there and analyse it yourself. Not everything said in films is true, I hope you remember that. And I hope that one day we will be living in some Humanland where you are enough whoever you are, without games and pretending anything. One day, perhaps…

My rating: 6/10
S.

Hope is a monster and I am its plaything. “Three Thousand Years of Longing” (2022)

SashLeave a comment
directed by George Miller
© 2022 United Artists Releasing. All Rights Reserved.

Who feels like watching “Aladdin” for adults with Idris Elba playing a djinn with incredible women-pleasing skills? Welcome on board! And before your imagination drifts away, let me introduce you to a film that is probably one of my biggest this year’s discoveries. I was hoping for a relaxing fantasy/comedy with two talented actors, and I ended up overthinking every single scene… played by two talented actors. At the beginning, we get to meet Alithea (Tilda Swinton), who’s a narratology scholar, very much into literature and tales. The woman has got herself an old bottle in Istanbul and after rubbing it in the hotel room, she accidentally unleashed the Djinn (Idris Elba). As you might be guessing, he has the power to make her three wishes come true, but before she even considers wishing anything, they start a very long conversation. Both of them open up and tell each other background stories, and despite their obvious differences, they seem to have a lot in common. And before you think it’s some ridiculous fantasy film where a woman is talking to a fog-guy from the bottle, let me assure you there’s way more to read. I don’t want to spoil much, but to me this is a very original and fresh approach to the topic of loneliness. Alithea has dedicated her life to her passion and experienced rejection by her own husband, while the Djinn has been constantly misunderstood and, despite his good will, he kept on being abandoned and forgotten. Both of them feel unappreciated and kind of discouraged to keep trying to change their reality. And perhaps they needed to meet each other to finally gain a life supporter they deserve and need. Besides, the film is very much focused on the concept of three wishes, and I wouldn’t have done it better. In children’s films, when a character gets three wishes, they often wish for trivial stuff and sometimes there’s a lesson that certain consequences come after. However, what about teaching us that wishes can be done by ourselves only if we work hard, or that sometimes you need to sacrifice one thing to obtain another. You know what I mean? The pre-wishing stage, not what happens after. The Djinn tells the stories of people who asked him to make something happen and based on those stories we get to learn a very important lesson. Loved that part. But getting back to the topic of loneliness, I was reflecting a lot after the film and I’d like to share some random thoughts, but consider those a SPOILER, so stop reading if you haven’t seen the film. Or don’t, you little rebel. Anyway, to me this is not just a fictional story of a woman talking to a djinn. At the beginning, Alithea says: “My name is Alithea. My story is true. You’re more likely to believe me, however, if I tell it as a fairytale.” – those words made me question everything. And I have two ideas. First, it’s a story of two very real people who come from different backgrounds and find a common ground because of their hurt feelings and the need to be loved. Second, Alithea never met anyone and that’s a story of a woman who’s learnt to accept her solitude and see beyond her loneliness. And whichever version is true, I really liked this film. At first I was frowning and giggling because it was like a modernised “NeverEnding Story”/“Aladdin”/boring history lesson video material that your teacher played when they’d had too much wine the previous night. But the longer I was watching, the more fascinated I was with the form of this production. And I’m glad that there are still filmmakers who try new things instead of copy-pasting old schemes. This production was refreshing, I must say, and I know that some people might not fully enjoy it, but perhaps you like such surprises and you’ll overthink together with me. Besides, Tilda and Idris – this duo cannot let us down. Oh, and Idris nailed his ancient Greek accent in English, I swear.

My rating: 7/10
S.

I want sunshine. “Eloïse’s Journey” (“La Page blanche”, 2022)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Murielle Magellan
© 2022 Folimage. All Rights Reserved.

Imagine you experience a sudden episode of amnesia and in a second you cannot remember who you are. Creepy, yet fascinating, and that’s why I’m writing about this film today. It’s actually an adorable French rom-com with a pinch of fantasy, which indeed left me smiling, but also reflecting on my life quite a lot. Ready to forget who you are? Let’s go. The lady we’re following in this film is Eloïse (Sara Giraudeau), who finds herself sitting on a bench and realises she has absolutely no idea what’s going on. She can’t remember her name, her home address, her profession – nothing, null, nada. Additionally, she doesn’t have a cell phone, which would surely make things easier since we keep literally our whole personal data on them nowadays. Eloïse doesn’t panic and just peacefully starts making first steps in her new reality. Soon she gets to her flat, finds out where she works and decides to say nothing about her amnesia to others. However, certain people notice that Eloïse is not acting like her old self, which makes the woman question who she used to be. Especially since what she learns about the old Eloïse is not very comforting. The new Eloïse, however, seems to be very much empathic, romantic, supportive and simply polite. She keeps on living her old self life, but she makes a lot of changes in her behaviour, which opens and closes numerous doors for her. I have to say I didn’t have such high expectations before watching this one, but in the end I found it very amusing. If you like French humour, I bet you’ll have fun. It reminded me of “Amélie”, just done in a less abstract way perhaps. But as I mentioned at the beginning, this film also gave me some food for thought. What if I woke up one day not remembering who I was and then, when I’d finally learn from others who I used to be – would I be happy about myself? I know it sounds surreal, because we may believe that everything’s fine with us and we wouldn’t like to change much. But imagine you could become such human blank page – what would you do differently? Would you change your approach to life? Would you behave in the same way? Would you keep on dealing with the same people? Would you change the way you treat others? And, perhaps most important, would you change the way you treat yourself? I swear, this silly rom-com that was supposed to make my evening more pleasant left me with some kind of existential crisis and hundreds of questions stuck in my head. But do I love when films do that to me? Absolutely. So if you do too, profitez bien!

My rating: 6/10
S.

Sometimes you have to let go. “The Flash” (2023)

Sash2 Comments
directed by Andy Muschietti
© 2023 Warner Bros. Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

I’m not a big fan of superhero films and if you’ve been reading my posts for some time, you probably know it already. And I wasn’t even following the news about this production, but then I heard that Batman is back. The Batman. THE Batman. And by THE I mean Michael, bless you, Keaton as Batman. Say whatever you want, you may have your own preferences, but I’m team Michael and to me, he’s been the best Batman ever. So how surprised I was to hear that his Batman comes back… in a film about Flash. Wait, what? My curiosity made me go to the cinema and I’m so glad it did. Generally, the story really is about Flash (Ezra Miller), who’s a superhero that can move extremely fast. However, without the costume he’s just Barry – a young man that has lost both of his parents. And to be exact, his mother was murdered and his father has been in jail since he was the one accused for killing the woman. Barry knows that his dad is innocent, but there’s no way to prove it so the young man has to go through life on his own. One day, Barry discovers that thanks to his superpowers he can also travel in time. Despite being advised not to play with it, Barry decides to go back to the day when his mother was murdered and stop the tragedy from happening. And, as you might be guessing, that wasn’t the best idea because his actions have serious consequences. Honestly speaking – I had so much fun! Some people dislike Ezra as Flash, but to me, he did a great job. Perhaps I’m not an expert because I don’t follow those superhero productions that much, but Ezra is a talented actor and I enjoyed watching him in the role… or I should say roles… but no spoilers! Also, I haven’t explained why Michael Keaton returns as Batman – well, let’s say he doesn’t return… it’s Flash who visits him. I swear, the idea for this screenplay is genius, because it’s both somehow logical (as much as a film about people with superpowers can be) and entertaining. One thing that could have been better is CGI. However, now as I think of that, the cringy CGI made the point of this story perceptible, if that makes sense. If you watch the film, you’ll understand what’s going on and perhaps then you may say “okay, those old-fashioned special effects fit there well”. The same with Superwoman and her short black hair – I’ve read some complaints about that. And my question is “have you even seen the film?” Don’t let those negative comments stop you from watching, because apparently haters stay haters and we should judge everything ourselves. This production is super fun and it made me laugh hard (I even cried when Barry was panicking over Eric Stoltz playing McFly – brilliant). So if you want to relax and see THE Batman together with a very good Flash – then make sure to see this one.

My rating: 7/10
S.

Only by dispassionate analysis can we get to the bottom of our inaction. “The Exterminating Angel” (“El ángel exterminador”, 1962)

SashLeave a comment
directed by Luis Buñuel
© 1962 Altura. All Rights Reserved.

If you asked me “who would you like to meet in your life?”, I bet one of my choices would be Luis Buñuel. I know, he’s no longer with us, but I feel like a conversation with him would be one of the most fascinating experiences of my life. During each of his films there’s a point at which I say to myself “no, you didn’t…” – and yes, he did. Today, I’d like to recommend you a story that won’t only entertain you, but also make you reflect on things you perhaps have never reflected on. We’re moving to a fancy mansion where Mr. and Mrs. Nóbile are having a party. Oh, sorry, not a party… an elegant meeting with their acquaintances. Each guest is worth a fortune, so just imagine the level of glamour in that place. However, a strange thing happens right before all those rich people arrive – the mansion’s staff leaves without any explanation. Then, when all the invited gather together, they start mingling and listening to one of the ladies playing the piano. At some point, the guests start suggesting going home, but… they simply don’t. Despite their willingness to leave the room, they just can’t do it. There’s no barrier, no guard forbidding them to pass – they simply don’t go. And if you’re not familiar with Buñuel’s style, then, welcome to his head, my dear reader. Personally, I adore his productions, but I can never fully analyse them. I mean, each time I try to understand what the film is about, I come up with some ideas, yet I never feel satisfied with them. I hate the fact that I cannot just meet with Buñuel and discuss his views, because no critic in this world may see what that man saw in his own work. To me, this particular story is actually quite creepy and disturbing. Except the fact that those people are somehow trapped in that one room, the scariest part is that there’s no explanation why they can’t do anything about it. As an overthinker, I’ve found lots of metaphors hidden there, but I really don’t want to share because of two reasons: one – some of them are somehow private and based on my own life experiences, two – I’d like you to discover something for yourselves without any suggestions from my side. Buñuel didn’t like explaining his films and I respect that fully, because some stories get better if we interpret them ourselves. Even though some people say it’s a comic fantasy, I see a very subtle horror there. I guess it depends on the moment of your life when you decide to watch it, but it’s definitely not just a random film to see and forget. If you like surrealism and quality cinema, this is your new must-see for sure. And I hope you’ll find something to admire there.

My rating: 7/10
S.