Change Your Image
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Reviews
Erikoisia tapauksia (2008)
collection of environmental images
This movie is a series of short environmental portraits around Helsinki accompanied with some ambientish music and some loose connection between the parts. Movie displays also some slightly eccentric human portraits here and there. None of the portraits strike as really unbelievable or fictitious, but on the other hand all of them are eccentric enough that you would not find them under normal circumstances. Overall this mixture of surround images and portraits makes somewhat dreamlike flow and personally I found it enjoyable. I would shortly summarize this movie as abstract ambient portrait of Helsinki. Recommended for people who like movies like Koyaanisqatsi or Kurosawa's Dreams.
Tokyo Noise (2002)
Intriguing
Collection of glimpses on Tokyo, its people and street life. Sounds of this documentary were very interesting and created a very cacophonic atmosphere at times. Night shots of Shinjuku skyline were impressive, they worked as a certain transition elements. Film had a very good rhythm, big city feeling combined with shots of Fuji mountain and nature. Those of you who like urban atmosphere, this is pretty much a must see.
Pramen zivota (2000)
Yet another melancholy story of WW2
Gretka, a beautiful girl from Checkslovakia, is selected to an elite school of Nazis to continue the pure arian race. I will not tell more so that I avoid spoiling the movie, although the idea of this film is not in the surprising events in the plot. Acting is nothing super, but works well with the plot. Cinematography is done in a way that is quite common to modern dramas in Europe, realistic colours. Not very easy to watch, so I cannot recommend this as a light sunday afternoon flick to cheer you up. Nevertheless, for serious drama fans who are not yet fed up with all the depressing films about WW2, this is worth watching.
City of Angels (1998)
uh, what can I say?
how low can you go in drama? This must be the bottom. Mediocre performances, mediocre directing topped with totally flattened story of the original master version. I had to fight to be able to watch this through, sadly, I made it.
Blizna (1976)
Slowly progressing
I only got the idea of this movie on the second time I saw it. It is actually like a documentary of a fictious character (or who knows he didn't exist) living in a socialist Poland who is being commissioned to conduct a new chemical factory. The movie shows quite realistic portrait of a man who tries to keep his values in order in the middle of all corruption and chaos of different social movements of the time. The movie doesn't go into any character's side actually, but tries to display the difficulties of the system and how an individual is powerless in many ways.
The storytelling is very slow and at times a bit jumpy. The music scenes of the movie, that are very rare, are quite bizarre, almost eerie.
I cannot recommend the movie to anyone who tend to fall asleep in slow dramas, but those who like other Kieslowsky films or documentaries of socialism, this is an interesting flick.
Návrat idiota (1999)
Subtle emotions
Pavel Liska showed us in this movie that to show emotions it is not necessary to throw them onto your face. Subtle acting accompanied with talented directing results in a funny and sensitive movie about a man, Frantisek, who has just got out of mental institution. In the end I felt like the director had succeeded in making some points quite well. Movie makes you wonder what really is normal and what is not. Frantisek may not be a social genius, but he is certainly a character whose adventures is interesting to follow.