angel74

The Anglo-American poet W. H. Auden once said: "Thousands have lived without love, not one without water" - The Australian filmmakers probably couldn't have chosen better opening words for their documentary, which offers a fascinating look at planet Earth crisscrossed with life-giving rivers. It is an almost meditative audiovisual experience, enhanced by the haunting voice of Willem Dafoe as the narrator. However, as it is the case with similar projects, the movie also contains a warning subtext. (85%)

For some reason, the emotionless drama A Certain Kind of Silence grabbed me right from the start. I was waiting to see how it would end up, but I never would have thought that the movies would be based on a real Christian sect called the Twelve Tribes. The absence of emotion or catharsis seems to reflect the situation in today's over-tech society, where there is not much space left for feelings. The transformation of the main character working as an au-pair is almost unbelievable. I still can't help wondering how malleable a material it has become in the hands of an upper-class family. It should be noted that Eliška Křenková did a wonderful job playing the central role. (75%)

It took me a while to get into this, but I still have to admit that director Xavier Giannoli has come out with an interesting movie about faith that has the power to impress even the non-believers. I know what I'm talking about because I'm an atheist. Although many questions remain unanswered, I do admit the possibility of the existence of something higher than our visible and sense-perceptible world. (75%)

Jan Švankmajer once again demonstrates that his font of ideas is nowhere near drying up. I wouldn't have had any of the food he served up here, but I had a great time. Mostly probably at lunch with Jan Kraus, although all the dishes were almost too "nutritious" for my taste. (100%)

Actually, I don't know who I felt more sorry for, the victim of the violence or the perpetrator himself. It was perhaps a bit tired at times, but the pros far outweighed the cons. The main strength of the movie is that the director managed to keep the story more or less opaque until the surprising ending. The acting is also of a high standard, with almost all the actors playing their roles very convincingly. I was also intrigued by the second storyline following the rehearsal and the subsequent performance of the play where, after a traumatic experience, the central couple vent their emotions and feelings, including frustration, anger, fear or anxiety. (80%)

Three inseparable friends and one fateful woman reminisce about the best years of their lives. The story is told from the point of view of one of the characters in an almost literary form. And that Italian explosiveness that sometimes slips into quarrelsomeness... Simply put, it's very similar in style to my favorite show My Brilliant Friend with some parallels in the story itself. (80%)

Bohdan Karásek prove for the second time and apparently definitively that he has a good knowledge of the described environment and an amazing talent for observation. Both of these factors form the solid foundation of his medium-length conversation pieces, where he unwaveringly maintains a stylistic plane and seems utterly believable even in minor details. Love Songs, however, is pure melodrama, unlike his previous movie Lucie, which was partly comedic, thanks to Petra Nesvačilová's expressive acting. (75%)

A perfectly crafted theme set in the gloomy environment of a women's prison in Odessa, Ukraine. The average person doesn't get the chance every day to take a peek inside and doesn't even particularly care to. Slovak director Peter Kerekes has made a great job of blending documentary with movie, and I found the result surprisingly engaging. I didn't feel sorry for the mothers serving time for serious crimes, but I did feel sorry for the children born there. In terms of character, I was very impressed by the warden Irina, who was involved in censoring prison correspondence quite extensively. (85%)

"Sometimes I just feel that we are just reminders of our parents' pain" - The German movie No Hard Feelings is a strongly emotional affair with an occasional very sad tinge. So I actually don't quite understand why almost no emotion came over me while watching the film. Despite that, I quite liked it. (60%)

If any movie can be said to have a soul, the low key, intimate drama called Adam is certainly one of them. Apart from the story itself, the two main protagonists contribute to this to a great extent; you can see all the mental processes they are going through in their faces. The plot is not very vivid, but that doesn't matter in this case. The old adage that simplicity is beauty clearly applies here. This movie will probably appeal to women in particular, as feelings associated with maternal love are simply impossible for anyone else to feel properly. (90%)