bohdanascheinostova

In her directorial debut Luna Carmoon captures extraordinarily how we can be connected to our positive childhood memories and experiences even when they can be seen as strange and even traumatic by some. Essentially "Hoard" tells the story of love - platonic, friendly, physical or parental, and the way it can affect our behaviour and also our personality. But Carmoon decided to show slightly disturbing and sometimes disgusting side of connecting and bonding of two people, which made the whole film more gripping in my opinion. I found this concept intriguing and although there were some themes I would have wished to be more developed, I am really interested to see what comes out next from the mind of Carmoon. I must highlight the debut performance of Saura Lightfoot Leon in the leading role whose stubborn, emotional and fragile yet brave Maria carried the narrative. In the supporting role the new rising star Joseph Quinn proved that he has the talent even for more artistic approach in film-making than just for mainstream production like Stranger Things (his break-out role).

Sometimes when you have a beautiful and powerful story on the paper, it unfortunately doesn't automatically mean that it is going to translate well to the silver screen - which is the case of Woman At Sea. I actually do believe that the book of the same name tells a beautiful story of freedom and independence that leaves some pieces of the protagonist's future to the readers imagination. Sadly as a film the story feels unfinished and the ending anticlimactic. I wish there was more to the denouement, but at the same time I understand that the film-makers had to follow the original book and for that reason could not make any big changes. Like I implied in the beginning - I think that it is actually an accurate adaptation of the original book, but I also think that this book was not suitable for a film adaptation in the first place...

This is the the first time that the fact that my sister has a degree in taking care of people with special needs (e.g. People with autism) helped with my review. After reading the synopsis it was obvious that the goal of "Weekend Rebels" was to have an emotional moving story about finding a way to connect with an autistic child eventhough it can sometimes be a challenge. Unfortunately for me personally it didn't feel that way at all - for me it was the story of how a couple of parents is incompetent to take care of their son with Asperger syndrome, because most of the time they don't communicate with him at all and just shake their heads without addressing what is happening (and I don't think that was the director's intention). I must admit that in the end this film actually made me furious because of the unlikable character of the father, who just have no idea how to raise a child with special needs. Apart from this issue I found "Weekend Rebels" extremely lengthy despite the fact its runtime is only 95 minutes. I wish I could recommend this film because I always support more representation of minorities in television, but sadly "Weekend Rebels" was just a disappointment.

What starts as an intriguing horror with dark woods, abandoned castles and mysterious murders sadly becomes a mediocre thriller with too many loose ends. While the first half of "The Nightman" attracts us with establishing some gripping plot details, e.g. An old legend, problematic relationships in the protagonists family, odd suspicious neighbours, strange sleepwalking etc., the second half completely forgets about all of the above and goes with a bland and plain denouement of the whole story. It felt like Mélanie Delloye, the director, wanted to combine some classical horror tropes (like I said - dark forests, old castles etc.) but didn't know how to properly tie them together. As a result what appeared as a complex mystery in the beginning became just another below-average horror flick.

This simple animated fairy tale is the perfect combination of comedy, emotive moving story and brilliant artistic quality. I was really pleasantly surprised by Chicken for Linda and how it managed to balance out witty non-awkward humour with more serious motives such as loss of your loved ones or a troubling mother-daughter relationship. I was fully invested in the story and on one hand I laughed at its clever jokes and on the other hand I even shed a tear in the end for its touching message. What also has to be mentioned is the simple yet beautiful animation that creates just the right setting and atmosphere.

Foremost By Night, based on true events during the Francisco Franco's dictatorship in Spain, tells the story of undying maternal love - inborn, gained, lost or found. Shot in four chapters each with a different camera frame, I actually welcomed this unexpected various points of views of different story lines and how they connect with each other. Because of its concise script that doesn't want to give too much away and rather leaves the viewer to fill in what is not directly said, the cinematography helps the audience to keep track of the story. Although this is definitely a film-festival type of picture (usually not suited for TV) I dare to say that the message of Foremost By Night is strong enough to withhold in a television programme. Because of its artistic, stoic yet emotive at the same time approach, when I finished watching it the impression of this film stayed with me for quite some time.

I Love You More follows the contemporary trend in cinema with its depiction of misunderstood queer youth, but unfortunately doesn't contribute with anything new to this issue. The story is simple, which I would have appreciated, if it had depth - unfortunately it did not. I wish it dove deeper into the ambivalence of Ben and his stance on his future. The plot centers around Ben and missed the opportunity to focus more on his parents and their feelings and thoughts, which is something I would have loved to see in this pictture. On the other hand I must compliment the cinematography with its intimate approach and the filming locations that feel true to Kosovo. But in the end I just felt that I Love You More was missing something that would truly capture my attention.

Falling Into Place tells the story of how meeting one person can change our whole view on life. Aylin Tezel, director, writer and also the leading actress, with Chris Fulton as the other half of the main couple of protagonists both delivered a truly gentle, intimate and simple yet powerful performance which is really in the core of this film. With their great chemistry they achieved that we are truly invested in their relationship as well as their seperate lives, which still seem very real, true and genuine. Like I said the story itself is very simple - boy meets girl, girl meets boy but both have their own issues they need to take care of first before they realise they are the ones for each other. It can sound cheesy, but thanks to the tender, delicate and truthful script and direction of Tezel it does not come through as too sweet or too cute - instead it offers us raw emotions and brutal honesty.

This film starts off as a drama about life in a struggling community which is run by some kind of mafia/gang, with solid performance by the main actress, Karen Hassan. Unfortunately the biggest flaw of Bad Faith is its screenplay, which just feels extremely unnatural and staged. Every line sounds like a catch phrase and you just wonder why the characters don't communicate like normal people do. It actually comes through as a bit unsettling. Sadly other elements of the film could not save this story - even at 30 minutes we are still not quite sure what the main plot is and the cinematography looks like a cheap TV series. Overall it did not catch my attention at all, apart from the script, which definitely caught my attention - but in a seriously bad way.

Artcon comes with an interesting premise but, but fails to deliver a solid story-telling, screenplay or acting performances. I actually thought that the whole film could have worked as a black comedy or dramedy with its kind of unrealistic plot, but instead the creators chose to make it into a wannabe drama, that unfortunately lacks the dramatic element. The narrative feels extremely monotonous without and twists or turnarounds and the audience is just waiting for something unexpected to happen - but nothing does. The acting performances are very mediocre, in some cases even straight bad, and overall it just comes through as a cheap boring TV soap opera. Except for the initial idea of the premise I do not have anything to think highly of.

This touching emotive picture proves that we still have not used up topics and themes focused on the life in the communist era based on real events, because Amerikatsi comes with a pleasant and quite fresh new take on this genre. Instead of showing the events of this film in a serious dramatic way, Amerikatsi managed to take a much lighter route, which still feels deep and profound, but offers more subtle and gentle way to show the hardship of the communist regime in Europe. Even though the story takes place in Armenia the plot could seem somehow familiar to many who were born in Eastern Europe and their nation used to belong to the Soviet Union, so in that sense it is quite a relatable picture that the viewers could connect with. I also loved how Amerikatsi did not try to be a big succesful Holywood movie and opted for much more intimate approach instead. Overall I was very pleased with this picture and in the end actually a bit moved.

Beginning with a strong premise, Along Came Love promises a complicated and complex story showing how two lives of complete strangers can get intertwined while exploring their past and their future. Unfortunately new twists and turns show up constantly in this picture without solving or finishing the old ones, which resulted in me feeling a bit "robbed" in the end, because the whole narrative just kind of fizzled out without a climax. However my biggest issue was the pace of the film - it felt lengthy and some scenes were unnecessarily prolonged while others could have been more detailed. I would best describe Along Came Love as a film that was given a solid base for its story and a run time that needed to be filled - which sadly resulted in just a sequence of various scenes with no proper buildup. Even though it still had some good qualities (music score, cinematography...) and overall I would still classify this film as an easily watchable, for me it just was not strong or gripping enough to have my full attention.

Contrary to its title, "All Will Be Revealed" fulfills its name only partially - in some story lines everything is revealed too quickly and quite predictably, in others it leaves some questions unlcear and unanswered in the final act, which hurts the whole plot. What I can compliment is Harald Schrotts performance in the leading role, who really carried the film on his shoulders. On the other hand some supporting actors didn't succeed in capturing the citizens of the petty bourgeois and sadly as a result some scenes felt a bit ridiculous. Peter Keglevic, the director, was clearly trying to make a shocking serious detective political period drama, but because of its poor production design the narrative was bumpy, rugged and dull thus making the picture blunt and tedious.

Director Wang Chao managed to capture a tender and delicate stance of an ordinary woman, which is in contrast with the industrial-based communist regime of 1960s and 1970s. This slow-burn Chinese picture offers a beatifully built story with incredibly intimate cinematography and simple yet strong production design. Although at first I wished that the protagonist's feelings and emotions were shown a bit more prominently so that the audience could connect with her on a deeper level, in the end I actually realised that the fact that we don't get to see the protagonist's emotional breakdowns corresponds perfectly with the reality of her life - she can't let anything get to her or break her, because she just has to keep pushing through every hardship in order to survive - and in that way she is forced to stay a bit indifferent to everything that affects her. She has a great chararcter developement, which is essentially the main point and message of this picture.

Emad Aleebrahim-Dehkordi's feature debut came across as authentic and truthful thanks to decent cinematography and brilliant acting performances. What is at the center "A Tale of Shemroon" is the loving relation between Iman and Payar who respect and help each other despite their differences, which is beautifully portrayed by the two main actors. The typical trope of one troubled brother and the other one being good and obedient is broken by the fact that Iman indeed does sell drugs, but uses the money to help his father, eventhough he banished him from home - I particularly appreciated this part of the story, because it has shown that not everything is black and white. Eventhough this picture has some bumps on the way, e.g. Some cuts from scene to scene doesn't feel organic and the ending could have escalated much more powerfully, I would still recommend it as it was tense and gripping.

An attemp at a shocking thriller unfortunately turns into a lengthy, dull and plain film with plenty of cliches and repetitive tropes. The story itself had a nice simple (although not original) plot twist that sadly got lost in completely ordinary unsophisticated script. I am not saying that to make a good film you need to present an extremely complicated story, but when you do have a simple tale you have to grab the viewer's attention with other elements like a solid script or engaging cinematography and production design - all of which this picture lacks. Yet the biggest downfall (out of many) of What Comes Around is its incredibly weak acting performances. The rising Grace Van Dien (Stranger Things) just could not capture the protagonists's personality believably and her portrayal felt deeply artificial and in some scenes even ridiculous.

Although I must admit this italian comedy was not as silly or witless as I presumed when I first saw its synopsis, I still wasn't woved with how this film turned out. Serena Rosi in the leading role gave a solid acting performance, but the character of Archangel Gabriel just felt badly written, awkward and obviously the creators where trying to play the "fantasy character that doesn't understand human manners as the comic relief" card. Eventhough I believe that Fabio Balsamo is actually a good actor, the role of the angel just wasn't salvagable. I think it is actually a shame, that this film didn't try to be a bit more serious because it could discuss the themes of prioritizing career over having children and raising children as a single parent - but as it is, it only scratched the surface of these topics. Overall it was not a complete disaster, but I don't think this film is worth the watch.

After watching 30 minutes of "It Only Takes a Night" I knew already that I am probably going to hate it, because I was bored, fed up and actually a bit furious (but actually ended up finishing the film, because I wanted to see where it was going). What angered me the most was the awful script and cringey delivering of the lines by the actors - combination of these two elements was really the downfall of this picture. Although marketed as a comedy I don't think I have laughed once during this film - the jokes are stupid, childish and extremely awkward. I must also mention the whole plot was about nothing and the ending was just completely ridiculous. Even though the runtime is only 93 minutes, watching it felt like eternity. I definitely don't recommend this film.

I believe the initial intention of "Last Summer" was to make the audience a bit uncomfortable and challenge their view on a controversial topic. However it is the lack of dynamics and tension that makes this film plain and dull. Eventhough the story itself is outrageous and shocking, that sadly doesn't translate to the narrative. The scenes that should have been the most intense just pass by and the tale goes on. Personally I think what could have helped to build some gradation was to add some background music (there is no film score at all), that would have helped to depict the atmosphere of the scene more accurately. Something positive that I can say about "Last Summer" is the focus on the portrayal of female gaze and female pleasure, that is still missing in some productions today. But unfortunately overall it felt monotonous and I would also say incomplete...

An inspiring real-life story about a Guiness World Record holder Elham Asghari. Even though this film is centered around swimming, the main plot tackles much deeper serious issues such as religious, political and sexist obstacles that are built for women in sports in Iran and also domestic violence. On the other hand it also beautifully shows the journey of fighting for your dreams and what it takes to become your true self. The whole film is accompanied by a very soothing and enjoyable music score. I must also highlight the performance of Taraneh Alidoosti , who proves once again that she is an unstoppable force in contemporary Iranian cinema.

Inspired by the life of Laure Badufle, the screen-writer, "Return To Seoul" takes us on a journey of regret, anger, sorrow and wondering what could have been. This film puts an exciting spin on the "adoptee wants to find their biological parents" genre with its depiction of all of the stages Freddie, the protagonist, goes through on her journey of reconciling with her biological parents and also finding her own identity. Davy Chou, the director, captures incredibly Freddie's stance on reuniting with her father, which shows that she is torn between wanting to meet him and being angry with him for giving her up in the first place - this ambivalence keeps the whole narrative thrilling in an otherwise slow pace/slow burn picture like this. What I must appreciate is the truly realistic approach to the legislative side of how adoptees can find their parents, that helps the film being believable. Also I completely admired the striking performance of Park Ji-min in the titular role and I couldn't believe that this was actually her first film ever.

At first I was caught of guard, because for me "Fathers & Mothers" feels more like a satirical drama than a comedy - as was advertised. But after that I actually truly enjoyed this picture, for it is relatable in the sense that we all have met someone who behaves exactly like the characters in this film. All of the parents' hunger for success and appreciation from others show how much we can sacrifice for our own child and how much pretence we are willing to live in just for the acceptance by a community that we initially didn't want to be part of. I also appreciated how the plot didn't focus solely on the main couple of parents, but it has shown that all of the parents have different issues that are kept hidden for the sake of their place in the school community. I must also highlight the well-written script - the dialogues or monologues flowed effortlessly and smoothly. Eventhough the whole film is not that exceptional or revolutionary, I would still gladly recommend it.

"First Snow Of Summer" would be best described as a romantic fairy-tale for grown-ups that combines the imaginative world of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amélie or Delicatessen with Wes Anderson-like cinematography and colour palette. The romantic story evolves slowly yet steadily with its pleasant gentle soundtrack and a fantastical undertone. I actually didn't mind that the whole plot was far-fetched and obviously impossible and not realistic, because from the beginning Chris Raiber, the director and screenwriter, didn't even try to convince us that this story should be taking place in the real world. I only wish we got to see some scenes that were more honest or straightforward in dialogue, because the characters mostly speak in metaphores or in a poetic manner - I would have loved to see some rawer or more naturalistic parts of the script for it would add some contrast to the whole narrative that otherwise feels a bit too uniform. But despite this I still think it is a nice spin on the romantic genre.

This bold film is a perfect example of a progressive contemporary cinema, that is not afraid to capture modern thoughts on love and romantic relationships - namely polyamory, yet it also doesn't forget about the struggles and obstacles that come with these relationships. What I found especially pleasing were the performances of the main four actors that were in complete harmony - every actor was complimenting another and together they formed a compact performance where noone was towering over the others, which given the plot would be very disruptive in my opinion. I also appreciated the inclusion of positive religious thoughts on polyamory (one of the main characters is a priest), because too often people think that polyamory is not compatible with being a Christian. In that way "Four Little Adults" remind us that we can't choose who we love and, like in this case, how many people we love.

If you don't know much about Bettino Craxi's life and political actions, it can be quite difficult to keep up with the story of this film. The story concentrates only on the character of Craxi and his point of view on the scandal that he was part of. Gianni Amelio tried to compose this film basically only from the thoughts and philosophical monologues of Craxi without any real plot or twist, which I must say became pretty tiresome after 60 minutes. It is obvious the whole film heavily relies on Pierfrancesco Favino as Craxi (who was simply masterful), but I wish it had more to it than just a great acting performance. I was also questioned by the mysterious character of the son of one of Craxi's former friends, who seeks truth about Craxi and also his own father. Perhaps this character should represent viewers or people affected by his actions also looking for the truth, but it felt like this character didn't really fit the whole atmosphere of this picture. If it had been at least 15 minutes shorter I would have mabe recommended it, but in spite of Favino's great performance this film feels quite forgettable.