gudaulin

Up to this point, I had no idea about the existence, let alone the acting and singing fame of Hildegard Knef, and I must admit that even my encounter with this autobiographical film did not convince me that it would be any sort of a loss or mistake. Not even the big eyes of the otherwise sympathetic Heike Makatsch worked on me, no matter how hard she tried. I remained indifferent to her character until the end, and I consider the film to be a mere filler of broadcasting time. Overall impression: 40%.

The most important post-war Japanese director was undoubtedly Akira Kurosawa, but if I had to name the second in order among Japanese film masters, I would probably choose Shohei Imamura after a brief hesitation, one of the key creators of the Japanese New Wave, who once intrigued me with his film Ballad of Narayama. The New Wave has long been passé, but Imamura returned to its style and goals in the late 90s when he directed the film Dr. Akagi. In this title, all the main traits of his work are evident: an interest in the periphery - the main character is a rural doctor from a remote province, a focus on the underworld of human society - the main character is a scholar who is led by exemplary noble motives, but he is surrounded by a strange group of drug-addicted colleagues without ideals and goals, a gluttonous alcoholic priest, and a prostitute whom Dr. Akagi has decided to reform. Imamura often operated in the genre of satire, and even here, his film functions much more as tragicomedy or dark comedy than as a drama. The story takes place in the last months of World War II between the suicide of the Imperial Chancellor and the dropping of the atomic bomb on the Japanese archipelago. Imamura mockingly portrays the agony of the military regime, and its incompetence, selfishness, and corruption. He does not spare his protagonist either, although he views his actions with kindly understanding when he ironically criticizes his patriotism and belief in traditional institutions and values. Imamura's view of Japan in the last weeks before surrender is original, spiteful, and entertaining. Overall impression: 80%.

The Poll Diaries raises a lot of conflicting feelings in me and I am torn about what rating to ultimately give it. A certain part of me rebels against giving it 3 stars and says that a film with such potential does not even deserve an average rating, even though the details can be praised and even talked about in superlatives. The film has excellent camera work, it is set in beautiful exteriors, the technical aspects run like clockwork, and I can only praise the music, so someone please explain to me why the result resembles such a mess... While watching The Poll Diaries, I was reminded of Vláčil's Adelheid and I think that the confrontation between these two films clearly shows the difference between an excellent and an average film. Adelheid is a minimalist work, with much fewer dialogues and actually any events than in The Poll Diaries, and yet it doesn't bore for even a second, quite the opposite. The Poll Diaries is as drawn out as a parliamentary debate and offers plenty of drama and emotions, but presented so detachedly that I somehow cannot share them with the film characters as their story deserves. Despite all the effort and immense potential, it is sometimes simply a case of noble boredom. Overall impression: 50%. I am really giving that third star by sheer willpower...

Horror Story is a bit crazy when it comes to Czech cinema, an absolute oddity even. I am writing this with the knowledge that in the 1990s many things were created in the Czech Republic, including obscure matters, that you really have to wonder at as time passes - but those were mostly associated with attempts at commercial blockbusters. In this film, we follow a series of characters from cheap slasher films, from fallen girls to pirates, and a corrupted priest, whose stories intertwine. While watching it, I realized that this style strongly reminds me of Tardi's popular comic book "The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec" in France. It is evident here from whom Tardi may have copied. :-) It is original and amusing, but as a whole, it is unfortunately brought down by excessive respect for the author Váchal, which manifests itself in lower comprehensibility and especially in an unsavory unsatisfying ending. In any case, it is an opportunity to see a number of Czech actors enjoying very unconventional casting, crazy situations, and overacting in the style of 1920s filmmaking. Overall impression: 70%.

A classically cast and narrated adventure story set in the scorching environment of the western Sahara, where long before the famous Paris-Dakar Rally was created, merciless races against time, miles, and above all, rival truck drivers portrayed by Lino Ventura and Jean-Paul Belmondo took place. The pros and cons are actually the same - the viewer gets exactly what they are used to and what they expect. They will not be disappointed because the men are true tough guys who know how to fight against the adversity of fate, nature, and the schemes of enemies. On the other hand, they will not be pleasantly surprised either because this film consistently relies on certainties. Only a slightly more experienced viewer will soon guess how the cargo and the friendship of both men on opposite sides of the barricade will end up. The unused potential of Ventura's co-driver - a man with a mysterious and probably quite dirty past - is doubly disappointing. The screenwriter could have been much more inventive and daring in this section (and elsewhere). Overall impression: 65%.

It's strange, but while the crime genre exhausts countless variations of certain topics - such as the drug scene or terrorism - screenwriters consistently avoid others. Among them is the potentially attractive world of white meat trade. Besides the British series The Vice and the British film Sex Traffic, my memory cannot offer anything else. Belgian television has decided to fill this gap with an extensive project called Matrioshki, which follows the destinies of Eastern European girls lured under the pretext of working as dancers in Western Europe. The hall turns into a bar, the stage into space around the pole, and the dance into a provocative strip show, where work commitment is expected along with a wide range of sexual pleasures and the constant risk that, in case of weaker performance, the girls will end up in a substandard brothel with aggressive clients and with the prospect of the worst kind of sexual exploitation. The destinies of the girls and members of the criminal gang twist and turn; some manage to escape in time, while others do not survive until the end of the ride. But everyone ultimately pays a price. Matrioshki presents a well-executed suspenseful series with a realistic tone and without cheap screenwriting tricks or gimmicks, featuring appropriately repulsive yet believable villains and not entirely unblemished heroes on the other side. It is a shame that some characters disappear as the episodes progress. It would be interesting to follow the side storylines and develop the stories of supporting characters. Overall impression: 75%.

The Round Up is an artistic reconstruction of one of the most shameful events in modern French history: the involvement in the imprisonment and extermination of over 13,000 Jews, whom the French Vichy government willingly sacrificed in the name of good relations with the German occupying power and racial prejudices that certainly were not foreign to significant parts of the French public, including the social elite. The monstrous racial purge, which also affected several thousand children, was carried out by the French police and authorities. The subject matter is so strong that it tempts me to give it an extra star purely for the theme. While I admit that the film is capable of moving and selling the tragedy of children condemned to death, as well as forcibly separated families, as a whole, The Round Up is merely average. Scenes of raids, arrests, and violent internment in the sports stadium certainly contain a number of powerful scenes, but after the deportation to the concentration camp, the film painfully loses its pace and tension, relying only on the suffering faces of children and Mélanie Laurent. She is a reliable actress, but the script doesn't offer her many opportunities for expression, and her character is uninteresting and dispensable from the beginning for the development of the drama. In the second half, the film helplessly treads water and resignedly waits for the final credits. Overall impression: 55%.

Restrepo is an advanced combat outpost of the US army in the militarily most exposed area of the Afghan battlefield, which bore the brunt of the clashes with the Taliban at a time when the US administration wanted to showcase itself as the victor where several other armies, including the Soviets and the British, had previously failed. It cannot be compared to the similarly themed Danish documentary Armadillo, which I find considerably smarter, more mature in terms of filmmaking, and much better at analyzing the typical low-intensity warfare that the Afghan battlefield represents. Restrepo is more action-packed partly because there was indeed more combat activity there, and partly because American filmmakers feel that the audience deserves some excitement, with camera shaking and emotional outbursts like "They're around the corner!" Overall impression: 55%.

This is nothing more than stylishly directed nonsense. Maybe it's just a message for those who claim that the king has luxurious golden embroidered clothes adorned with jewels. Unfortunately, the king is naked and the only remarkable thing about him is how proudly he displays his nudity and pretends to have depth of thought when he is as flat as a sheet of paper. Overall impression: you can't go into the negative, so three underlined zeroes.

Mr. and Mrs. Bovary are in love. The trouble is that Mrs. Bovary loves someone else in a different way. Mr. Bovary is a settled man, somewhat older, who loves with marital love. Mrs. Bovary is a romantic maiden, passionate by nature, who constantly seeks new pleasures. It soon becomes clear that this cannot end well. It is not so much about Mrs. Bovary's lover, but rather the fact that she never learned how to calculate, and therefore cannot estimate the consequences of her actions. Eventually, her lifestyle becomes overwhelming and consumes her. Chabrol made his film based on a renowned classic, and judging by the comments, he strictly adheres to the original. If that's true, then I will gladly avoid the book. The film is somewhat uninteresting, and only the casting of the femme fatale of French cinema and one of the most talented actresses of her generation, Isabelle Huppert, barely saves the film and earns it 3 stars. She is probably the only reason why I will ever remember the careless and somewhat selfish Mrs. Bovary. Chabrol's film suffers from excessive academicism and the inability to truly captivate the audience with cinematic means. This is a typical film that benefits from its reputation. Overall impression: 50%.