Stanislaus

Sitting is, without a doubt, one of the essential activities in everyone's life, but paradoxically it causes us a lot of health problems. Sedentary playfully addresses the issue of the "sedentary society" and points out some interesting findings, especially in the field of ergonomics. More than once while watching, I found myself noticing my sitting style, while at the same time counting in my head the hours I am sitting in a day (which is a crazy number).

The Mushroom Speaks reminded me at more than once of Carbon - The Unauthorised Biography. Fungi, like carbon, are personified and presented in this documentary as an integral part of all of us that was here long before us and will be here long after us. The Mushroom Speaks, however, is not as audience-friendly and attractive as the aforementioned Carbon. Although the film offers some interesting insights and the story of the German grandma childhood experience with "shrooms" was great, it felt very long, even tedious at times (10-15 minutes less would not have hurt the film). Better three stars!

Who would have thought that during lockdown and in a very intimate space, it is possible to make such a high quality documentary as My Garden of a Thousand Bees. At first glance, the making of this documentary may seem like a product of boredom, but the opposite is true. In a relatively small space, Martin Dohrn lets the viewer peek into the secrets of his garden, which is home to many species of bees and other insects. My Garden of a Thousand Bees is a supremely informative and superbly shot film (macro shots of the insect kingdom are always a stunning experience), while Dohrn's narration also makes it funny and lighthearted. Plus, who wouldn't love "pal Nicky"?

"We are essentially stardust." Everyone remembers the importance of carbon from high school chemistry, but this documentary gives a whole new dimension to one of the basic chemical elements. In the film, carbon as both creator and destroyer takes on a physical, albeit invisible, form and presents itself in all its beauty and power. I was intrigued by the way in which the experts spoke about carbon, because their talks were entertaining, but also informative and erudite. This is how I imagine a perfectly fine example of a popular educational documentary - from a playful and entertaining level that can appeal to a wide audience, it moves into more serious and dense waters with a visible ecological overlay. Carbon was here before us and will be here after us, but we shouldn't take our existence for granted.

In his documentary Fathom, Drew Xanthopoulos not only discusses humpback whale research and new findings from observing these cetaceans, but also focuses on the scientists themselves and their lives – both professional and personal. I liked the sequences with recordings of communication between the humpback whales and the visual representation of their "voices", complemented by the beautiful music. In the other hand, the personal side of the documentary bothered me. It’s not very traditional for this genre, and in my eyes detracted from the message of the film. Better three stars!

Pleistocene Park provides a behind-the-scenes look at a truly bold and daring project with an uncertain course and an even more uncertain outcome. The rescue of the permafrost according to the ambitious vision of Sergei and Nikita Zimov looks like a well-thought-out, but at the same time very foolish idea. But it was interesting to see the enormous determination of both men (although Sergei is a really peculiar character), with obstacles constantly getting in their way. The documentary exuded a strong regional colour and was quite funny in places.

Rather than a traditional documentary, Silence of Tides is a kind of cinematic essay on the Wadden Sea, which the director brings to life in striking images. During the 100-minute running time (which could certainly have been shortened a bit), the screen is filled with many scenes that could be summed up as "Life on the Wadden Sea from A to Z and back again". We witness birth and death; traditional, working and military life; we observe natural beauty and human activity. Two distinctive motifs run through the film, almost like a red thread. The first is the postman who uses various means of transport in this remote (and not yet so corrupt) region. The second is the church organist, which forms the most prominent musical component of the film. Silence of Tides certainly lives up to its title - instead of listening to the commentary of a guide, you are carried along on the waves by natural sounds, witnessing many captivating images.

Hidden Pacific offers many breathtaking shots of the marine, terrestrial and aerial worlds, but it falls a bit short as far as new knowledge is concerned – it shows rather than teaches and discovers. But the film points out to the ever worsening environmental situation – plastic pollution and the increase in acidity and water temperature in the ocean.

James Audubon seems to be a well-known name in certain circles in the USA, but for me it was my first encounter with this pioneer in the field of ornithology. At first glance, the documentary is about Audubon's “The Birds of America”, which continues to amaze even today, but at second glance, it deals with much broader themes – from extinct species that we know about thanks to contemporary records, among other things, to ecological changes that have had and are having an impact on human and animal populations.

While watching The Northman, a few films came to mind, which is not to say that it is some kind of unoriginal rip-off. In terms of both content and form, Robert Eggers's film straddles the line between heroic epic (The Lord of the Rings came to mind during the sword plotline) and Shakespearean drama (perhaps a bold statement, but references to “Macbeth” and “Hamlet”?), while its atmosphere reminded me of the director's earlier film The Witch or a sort of nocturnal version of Ari Aster’s Midsommar. From a visual point of view (despite a few glaringly artificial things), this is a polished piece with more than one captivating scene. Despite being a rather harsh film with countless violent scenes, The Northman is not gratuitously and pointlessly gory. I have a minor complaint about the acting, which was perhaps a little too theatrical in places, but, I was pleased with Björk's cameo.