"Searching for Sugar Man" - true story or scam?

It sometimes happens that a character is larger than life. Quite rarely it so happens though that noone knows such a character. The story of "Sugar Man" Rodriguez seems pretty incredible. And so I have to check twice if that really happened. And Wikipedia says it's almost all true what's in this brilliant documentary. Of course, not all. In "Searching for Sugar Man" the Swedish director made it look like noone really remembered Rodriguez for some twenty odd years.

David Bowie is... in Victoria and Albert!

"David Bowie is" is the title of the new exhibition presented in Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It opened on March 23rd, and will take place till August 11th.
It so happens, that the new David Bowie album, "The Next Day" has just had its premiere on March 11th. It is his first album in a decade and  was promoted by a wonderful clip starring Tilda Swinton, which made everyone talk about it, that's how stylish they both are.
Victoria and Albert Museum is the best possible spot to show Bowie, he is a musician, but also an actor and style-icon, always being ahead of everyone else.
As the museum states in their exhibition statement, the exhibition is the first international retrospective of Bowie's career, and includes plenty of his handwritten lyrics, costumes, fashion, photography, videos and set designs. Even his instruments! Yes, David Bowie really is...

"Spring Breakers" - Britney Spears, pink unicorns and James Franco's silver teeth

So, here it is. The one and possibly only time when I see Vanessa Hudgens and Selena Gomez on screen, and in a good movie too. But you know, with "Spring Breakers" it's like that: you either love it to death or think it's just crap. Well, perhaps for me it's not a masterpiece, but it definitely is original, unique and catches your attention. If it tells the story of how degenerated today's youth is - I doubt that. But it made me think of it, so I suppose there is something to it.
James Franco steals the show when he screams that he's got "all that shit" and that everything is his, and he has plenty of shoes, guns, money and "all that shit". This guy really is a chameleon! I've recently seen his in what - 5 films maybe? Maybe even more, and that's just this year! (there was "Lovelace", "Interior. Leather Bar", "Maladies", "Oz", now "Spring Breakers" and he's currently working on a few more things, the guy is a dynamite!)

"Quartet" - a small story with huge heart

When a famous actor decides to direct his first movie, one just thinks - it's all been here before. You've seen such attempts before. Alas, there are a few actor-turned-director cases, like Clint Eastwood or Mel Gibson, where the mix really works. Or worked at least. One of the actors that recently decided to make a movie on his own is Dustin Hoffman and it's a rather late debut, one might say. Hoffman is 75, probably as old as his protagonists and it makes this even more truthful to the story.

Berlinale 2013: Best of the Best

Another great festival ended, another year will pass before the next round. This causes a certain sensation in your stomach when you know you have to wait 12 long moths for something great. There will be other festivals, of course, but Berlinale is my very special place with this very special ambience worth waiting for. There were great surprises, there were misunderstandings, there were great meetings, and lots of "firsts". Here is the last list of the things I like a lot.

Berlinale 2013: Day 10

The last day of Berlinale for me (because the festival took place also the next day, on February 17th) was a very sad one because it meant that I could only watch one movie, I had to depart already in the afternoon. So I chose a movie which I wouldn't probably see anywhere else. I picked "Hide Your Smiling Faces" that was shown in the Generation section, directed by Daniel Carbone. It is a very tender story of two boys who are faced with a great tragedy - one of his best friends commits suicide jumping off of a bridge and the boys are the ones who have found his body. They immediately find the father of the deceased responsible for the tragedy and start to make his life unbearable with childish pranks. But this is also the way for them to cope with this difficult situation. Wonderful settings, wild, mysterious places where the boys play and grieve their lost friend, it all makes perfect sense. Glad I chose it for the last bit of the Berlinale festival 2013. You should see it too. Incredible, how mature this movie is. Loved it!

34. "Hide Your Smiling Faces"

Rating: ****
More on the official website of the film.

Berlinale 2013: Day 9

The penultimate day of the Festival started with "Nobody's Daughter Haewon" directed by Hong Sang-Soo, a Korean star. His previous movies included "In Another Country" with Isabelle Huppert, which I found a little pretentious, but nevertheless somehow understand, why might he be popular. There is this certain "allen" vibe, but it is a gross misunderstanding to place the Korean in the same line with the genius New Yorker. I wasn't bored watching "Haewon", I found it pretty interesting, until the story was leading somewhere. But then it suddenly stopped and I felt like moving around with all the characters entangled in difficult mutual relationships. A nice touch to the competition, but I didn't think it could be the "it" film of the Berlinale.

Berlinale 2013: Day 8

Almost the end, but not quite. More surpsrises, like the one caused by an almost absolute beginner: Emir Baigazin from Kazakhstan presented his "Harmony Lessons" that quickly became one of the best and most appraised films of the competition. Baigazin was one of the filmmakers to take part in the Berlinale Talent Campus a few years ago, so I guess the procedure of approving people for the programme actually work really well, "Harmony Lessons" is about a school somewhere in the rural part of Kazakhstan. These places are completely unknown for us, but the director seems to know them very well. The camera moves back and forth, leaving viewers in the state of anxiety throughout the whole movie, but it's a good kind of anxiety. After all, a very nice feature debut. Watch out for the young actors - the parts they had to play were very demanding and they played beautifully.

Berlinale 2013: Day 7

Seventh day in a row filled with films and conferences, buy for the first time - also an interview. That was a huge deal. I had a chance of talking to two great guys that made a movie for children called "Eskil&Trinidad" that made it to Generation this year - Linus Oscarsson and Stephan Apelgren (who also directed few episodes of the Swedish version of "Wallander"). The filmed, which I also saw that day was really nice and peaceful, something right for my mood that day. Later, already after the thrills of a first interview, there was time for "Night Train to Lisbon" - a new film by Bille August. Jeremy Irons and Leanie Laurent are in there, but I think I was prejudiced even before I saw the film, because I also read a book by Pascal Mercier, which I didn't like too much. I generally think it was boring and sort of the same thing happened to the movie, or at least my perception of it. Anyway, Jeremy Irons gives a good performance, but the movie is rather mediocre.

Berlinale 2013: Day 6

Day 6. Everyone is quite tired already, but also full of expectation. The day started with Jafar Panahi's "Parde" which was a huge disappointment. Perhaps I didn't understand it, but then I definitely wasn't the only one. This was also the first and only time during the festival when someone booed, and suring a press screening! But sadly my opinion was largely the same. The story is about a writer who comes to a secluded villa close to the beach with his beloved dog. Apparently there is a bad on having pet dogs in Iran, and so as the writer wants to save his best friend from getting shot out, he decided to spend his days in hiding. This was a rather interesting and intriguing beginning to a rather dull story, so I'm really amazed at the incentives that drove Dieter Kosslick to put this film in the competition.

Berlinale 2013: Day 5

The best day of Berlinale so far - two of wonderful popular films that you will surely see in your local cinema, plus the absolutely brilliant competition film made it a good day in terms of cinematic surprises. The day began with a press screening of the Romanian "Child's Pose" directed by Calin Peter Netzer. This story of a wealthy woman from the upper class of the Romanian society that gets involved with her only son's lethal car accident in which an innocent child dies is practically a story about family relationships, and about who can you trust and on whom can you count in times of trouble. Luminita Gheorghiu as the main protagonist put some question marks as to whether we only have Paulina Garcia for "Gloria" in competition to win Silver Bear. She was extremely good in this.

Berlinale 2013: Day 4

The fourth day of Berlinale was filled with surprises, not always and not only positive ones. First press screening of "Gloria" by Sebastian Lelio was met with great reviews, the film was absolutely brilliant, mostly due to exceptional acting of Paulina Garcia - who later was awarded the SIlver Bear for the Best Actress of the festival. There was no doubts about it and the film was equally well made.
Later a weird new James Franco project, "Maladies" with Catherine Keener and David Strathairn. I was confused and irritated for the most part of it, although usually I am very for everything James Franco does. I just think that his innovative and creative projects are just necessary for modern, or post-modern cinema. But "Maladies" perhaps wasn't the best example of a successful experiment.

Berlinale 2013: Day 3

Today I saw "A Long and Happy Life", "Lovelace", "The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman" but the stage was won undoubtedly by the cast of "Les Miserables" on a press conference!
My full report in Polish to be found on FilmNews.

Berlinale 2013: Day 2

And Day 2 was opened by first in-competition viewings, with Polish "In the Name Of..." as the first one, "Don Jon's Addiction" and "Paradise: Hope" follow.
You can read my full report of the second day of Berlinale also here (but in Polish) FilmNews.

Berlinale 2013: Day 1

It's been a crazy February, that begun where all Februarys should - in Berlin, watching loads of films. It comes as no surprise that after two intensive weeks of a film festival, you need at least two more to get over it, and so I did. Here I'll just share short reviews of the 35 (!) films I saw, along with the rating that I decided to introduce, the scale is 1-6, 1 being poor and simply load of rubbish, 6 being just legendary, which you might not see often. Let's begin.

"Lincoln" - a conservative take on the Civil War

A great history lesson, indeed. Is there more to the latest film directed by Steven Spielberg than just history? The first hour or so makes me think of TV midday docu-dramas that are watched by housewives/ househusbands and retirees. But then it gets better, when Daniel Day - Lewis has his speeches as the 16th US President Abraham Lincoln. Unbelievable, what can Day - Lewis do with any of his roles. He changes so dramatically, that when I just recently watched "The Last of the Mohicans" he was not recognisable any more. The specific manner of speaking, the "h-why's" or "h-where's," the way he walked and the way his side-face looked like, quite remarkable.
This is what's best about the film - the actors. Tommy Lee - Jones does not really fit with his awkward wig, but nevertheless, his performance inevitably reminds me of his look at the Golden Globe ceremony - vide the grumpy cat. Sally Field has her moments, so does Joseph Gordon - Levitt, playing Lincoln's eldest son.
Obviously I loved the cinematography, not just because I'm a fan of Janusz Kaminski. His takes don't change too much over the years, but they just add so much to the story! This time the dream sequences were done really masterfully. Tony Kushner, the screenwriter undoubtedly knows his score, but perhaps he should work on the story a bit more. How is it possible that the most important events of the Civil War were shown in such a way that I looked on my watch once or twice? And in a Spielberg movie? But fortunately, when the first hour or so was over, the rest of the movie was really gripping and really in the style of Spielberg's finest achievements.
A great review is available in The New Yorker.

"Broken" - small film, great emotions

Not very often it so happens that a film moves you so much you don't know whether to laugh or cry. "Broken", a directorial feature debut of Rufus Norris, is one of those rare examples of such films.
Set in the outskirts of London, somewhere in the North, tells a story of a 11-year-old Skunk - a normal, maybe a little smarter than the rest, teenager. Her father is a busy lawyer, her older brother is already into girls. She has diabetes and deals with it best she can. On the same crescent, there live two other families, each one with specific problems. Skunk has a crush on her English teacher (who wouldn't - it's Cillian Murphy we're talking about!), who happens to be her Polish au pair's boyfriend.
"Broken" is very intimate, mature, gentle, but at the same time it presents life as it is: with all its ups and downs, all the embarassments, sadness and joy. Perhaps it also is a Bildungsroman, a coming-of-age story of little Skunk, who deals with matters bigger than herself. Perhaps you see echoes of "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, and such juxtapositions would be justified as well.
"Broken" has just recently won the Independent British Film Award for best independent picture, and Rory Kinnear got the award as well. Eloise Laurence, an exceptional lady, made her debut here as well as Rufus Norris, but you would think she was just born to act.
The review in Polish is to be found on FilmNews or below.

"Django Unchained" - brilliant acting and more

Although the movie is in the cinemas worldwide for some time now, and I've seen it around 3 weeks ago too, it is finally time to discuss it, briefly at least, before everyone's eyes are turned to Berlin next week.
Quentin Tarantino remains one of my favorite directors ever for his wit, extravagant ideas, mixing all the genras together, and the attachment to detail. Above all, I like his scripts and music he chooses. He doesn't have to ask anyone for their opinion now, unlike in the beginnings of his career. With the premieres of "Reservoir Dogs," "Pulp Fiction," "True Romance" (script) and "Inglorious Basterds" he himself is able to decide on the terms of cooperation. And you can see it all in "Django Unchained." Although there were people in Hollywood who protested Tarantino approaching the topic of slavery (Spike Lee) he did it his own way. He told the story of a certain slave (Jamie Foxx) who had more brains than most of his masters, and a certain German dentist (recklessly played by an Austrian Christoph Waltz) who becomes a bounty hunter. His adventures lead them to a slave owner (Leonardo DiCaprio) who owns Broomhilda, Django's wife. There will be blood, as classics say.
The story is intriguing and witty. Main characters played with bravado and intelligence, exceptional Tarantino's discovery - Christoph Waltz makes a wonderful appearance, same goes for DiCaprio. If one should like to choose between Tarantino's two last films, it would be my recommendation to start with "Django Unchained" and then the "Basterds", but in my opinion the latter is still a wee bit better.
All in all, Quentin Tarantino keeps in shape, he rediscovers US history with a twist. Worth seeing!

Peter Bradshaw writes about the film for "The Guardian"

Review from "The New York Times"

Sundance! "Fruitvale" nails it

One of the most beloved film festivals around the world, that promotes above all independent cinema, which you're not always likely to see on big screens in your country. Nevertheless, here it is all about small films. Films that cherish great stories, intimate atmosphere and climate for in-depth discussions.
It so happens that the movies that win Sundance are usually the ones that public loves, like "Little Miss Sunshine," "Juno," or "Beasts of the Southern Wild" from last year.
Too bad Utah is so far away. Good films to be seen. Sundance Film Festival is almost over however, it takes place from 19th till 29th January 2013.
Below is the full list of films in competition AND THE WINNERS. We'll surely hear a lot about them in the nearest future!

"The Human Stain" by Philip Roth

Philip Roth, one of the greatest writers alive, remains one of my personal favorite authors. For his outstanding  work he received many awards in his lifetime, but is still waiting in the line to get his Nobel Prize. Roth has written a lot over the years, and just recently he announced that he is retiring, what caused a considerable stir in the literary world. His best known works include "Portnoy's Complaint (1969)," "American Pastoral (1997)," "I Married a Communist" (1998), "The Human Stain" (2000), "The Plot Against America" (2004). Just recently I finished two books in a row, first "A Plot Against America" and now "The Human Stain."
"The Human Stain" is a book about a seventy-year-old classics professor Coleman Silk living in 1990s New England. There is the whole Clinton-Lewinsky scandal in the background, but most importantly there are intriguing themes of modern-day racism, love affairs, illiteracy, feminism, race and many more.

The way Roth writes about all these things makes you wonder where does he get all his brilliant ideas from. In this story there are more skeletons in the closets you might possibly imagine. One cannot call it an enjoyable read (as there are too many important themes written about to enjoy the story), but nevertheless, "The Human Stain" is gripping, witty, and tells you more about the great American society than you ever wanted to know. Recommended to all those who always wanted more from literature.

The book was adapted as quite a successful film starring Anthony Hopkins as Coleman Silk, Nicole Kidman as Faunia Farley (lover of Silk's) and Gary Sinise as Nathan Zuckerman, the narrator, Ed Harris as Lester Farley (Faunia's ex-husband) and Wentworth Miller (as young Coleman Silk), directed by Robert Benton.

A review from "The New York Times"
A review from "The Guardian"