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Kanal (1957)
Brilliantly Dark Display of National Memories of WW2
"Kanal" is a dark and sobering film but it is an excellent one. Poland suffered more than any nation during WW2, proportionally speaking, and "Kanal" is a great reminder that not all peoples remember that conflict through the same lens has people in the US or UK do. Excellent direction and cinematography, good acting, and a gripping sense of helplessness turn "Kanal" into a tour de force.
The film takes place during the last days of the Warsaw Uprising which, due to Soviet inaction, is about to be crushed by the Germans. The survivors of a resistance company are ordered to use the sewers to get to downtown so they rejoin with the last of the other resistance units and make a last stand. The company quickly gets separated and lost in the sewers however and, due to oxygen deprivation and fumes, exhaustion and madness begins to settle in.
The film is excellently directed by Andrzej Wajda. The movie feels like it was actually filmed in Warsaw's sewers it is so dark and claustrophobic; you get a good feeling for the characters fear as they desperately search for a safe way out. The set design in order to achieve that effect also deserves mention.
The film's acting is very good. Some characters slip into madness, others into paranoia, and all into desperation and there are also a couple romantic subplots; the actors handle all of this convincingly.
I believe however that "Kanal" is a film about national memories, and the memories it seems to represent would be ones of suffering, betrayal, helplessness, and death. The Poles were betrayed at the very start of WW2 by the pact between Germany and the USSR that partitioned Poland yet again, but also felt betrayed by French and British inaction to help them (even if in reality there was little either country could do). A further more topical betrayal was when the Soviets let the Germans crush the uprising to rid themselves of political competitors. A sergeant's lies to the commander about the unit following him in the film is perhaps a reference to betrayal, as is one of the romantic subplots; a young woman resistance fighter eventually figures out that her lover has a wife he plans to go back too when the war is over. As this relationship was the last thing she had keeping her going, this news devastates her.
Perhaps most prominent and important though is the sense of helplessness the permeates throughout the film. The sewers are dark and confusing and the fighters do not know where to go. Every possible exit is seemingly a trap with the Germans just waiting to shoot them; even being too loud can bring the Germans down on them.
This feeling of helplessness could be representative of how the Poles felt while occupied by Germany. Poland no longer existed, it had been split up between Germany and Russia (till the Germans took over all of it in 1941) and essentially had to wait for another country to rescue them, as they had no army left to fight for themselves. This is in contrast to say Russia's experience where, while the occupied parts suffered terribly, there was always the Red Army fighting against the Germans; Russia was never completely occupied and could still fight for itself, not so for Poland. And when the Red Army finally did arrive to "rescue" them and the Poles could finally come out and fight, Stalin stalled and let them get killed. Which leads to my final observation, much of this helpless atmosphere perhaps represents the idea that Poland had "no good options" during WW2, either Germany won and they were occupied by a foreign totalitarian force, or the Soviets won and they were occupied (or at least dominated) by a foreign totalitarian force. Either way it is hard to see how Poland, although part of the Allies during WW2, could be counted as among the victors.
The relentless darkness of "Kanal" seems to me to represent this continued feeling among the Poles, and it is excellently portrayed in this movie, which I highly recommend you watch. I guarantee that this one will stick with you for a while after you see it. 9/10.
In Search of Fellini (2017)
A Charming and Poignant Journey
"In Search of Fellini" is not a film without flaws but due to a well-crafted sense of wonder, an obvious reverence of Fellini's work, and especially a terrific lead performance, it is able to overcome them and in the end deliver a satisfying drama.
Young Lucy has been sheltered from the world by her loving, though over-protective, mom and after her 1st job interview goes awry, she stumbles upon a Fellini film festival and falls in love with the enigmatic films. So enamored is Lucy that she travels to Italy in the hopes of meeting the legendary filmmaker, in the process getting introduced to the real world, both the bad and the good of it.
The film's writing is generally well done, though a couple aspects of the story require some suspension of disbelief. I didn't find that any of these moments too damaging however, though occasionally just a little distracting.
The visuals were excellent; From beautiful wide shots of Italy too party scenes where vivid color usage livens things up, the film was nice looking and more importantly did a great job of placing how Lucy was viewing these scenes and events onto the screen. Her sense of excitement and wonder at the beauty of the Colosseum, for instance, along with her feelings of confusion during a hectic dance scene. Very well done indeed by the first-time director Taron Lexton and his cinematographer.
I admit to not being a connoisseur of Frederico Fellini, though I have found what I have watched of his films enjoyable. The people behind "In Search of Fellini" obviously have great admiration of the late filmmaker, as their movie is chock full of references and parallels to his films. From the obvious (such as the appearance of the 'man in chains') to the subtler (Lucy's striped shirt) the love of Fellini is everywhere, and just seeing how much these filmmakers admired him adds even more charm to an already charming film.
My favorite part of the movie however was Ksenia Solo's performance as Lucy. Already a big fan of Miss Solo's previous work, I think this may be her finest performance yet. Her Lucy is naïve and shy, though occasionally rash, but also curious and the primary source of the aforementioned charm. Miss Solo delivers all of this and a wide range of emotion throughout the film, in my opinion just top-notch work. The other actors do their part too though, Maria Bello as Lucy's mother Claire and Mary Lynn Rajskub as Claire's sister both deliver good performances as well.
My main criticisms of the film are the previously mentioned parts of the story that require 'suspension of disbelief', but also the fact the film is occasionally melodramatic. There are more than a few times where some more subtlety would have been welcome.
All in all, In Search of Fellini is probably not a brilliant film, but it is certainly a good one. Wonder-filled with some dramatic punch to boot, I found it thoroughly enjoyable. 8/10.
Pet (2016)
Mediocre Thriller
"Pet" is nowhere close to the worst made horror film I have seen, as a fan of horror (even the bad ones sometimes) I have watched my fair share of god-awfulness, but it is not a very good one either.
The 1st half of the movie is generally well-done and unsettling, but not very original: Lonely creep stalks pretty girl. There scenes that are well-crafted, one in a diner is almost unwatchable it is so awkward (intentionally so), and give us a good feel for Seth's loneliness, frustration, and (a tad too quick) devolution into complete obsession. His target, Holly, is less developed at this time. She largely just gets increasingly unnerved by Seth.
Then comes the 2nd half, and the film goes off the rails a bit, even as it tries to add more originality to it. After Seth has locked Holly in the cage, the movie's big twist, about Holly, is revealed. Sure the twist is pretty ridiculous, but being a horror movie, it's nothing too unreasonable. The twist just didn't have the intended impact with me however, largely because the movie up to this point has gotten us to know Seth, not Holly. So the big twist about her is rendered kind of "meh".
The psychological battle that follows Holly's imprisonment is fairly predictable, as is its final result. The wildly inconsistent characterization of Seth also hinders the film's 2nd half, especially its 3rd act. During the 1st half Seth goes from lonely loser to a cackling madman, then in the 2nd from that to controlling kidnapper to groveling wimp who maims himself, with not a lot of segue in between. Almost seems more like Seth turned into whatever was convenient to move the story along, rather than a character of his own.
The acting by the leads was pretty good. Despite having to put up the poor writing of his character, Dominic Monaghan is convincing as Seth, especially during the 1st half. I am a big fan of Ksenia Solo and think she is one of the best young actresses working today, and she doesn't disappoint as Holly, even if it isn't an extraordinary performance (just a tad over-the-top in a couple scenes). Their lines could have had some work though, more than a few of them are remixed clichés ("So, you think you know me?" and the like).
More than a couple scenes in the movie also require some suspension of belief, the ending pretty prominent among them.
As a whole "Pet" just doesn't offer much anything special, even if it isn't terrible. It is suspenseful at times, but not to the point of discomfort like a good horror movie can ratchet it up too. The movie's twists don't land with a lot of weight either, though they aren't awfully done. I'm not a fan of a lot of gore in movies, but the film does have one really violent scene and it works pretty well. But there are also a couple of gross-out scenes that I thought were just cheap. At times "Pet" also veers toward wanting to be psycho-sexual, but never achieves much there either. There just isn't anything it does, or tries to do, that other movies haven't done better. If you like horror like me, than it could be worth checking out for some mediocre thrills and suspense, but if you're looking for an actually good movie to scare and/or unnerve you, than this isn't it. 5/10.
Another You (2017)
Hampered by poor writing
"Another You" has a lot going for it, but is ultimately made mediocre by its flawed writing.
To me, the film is a dark coming-of-age movie. I'll start with the things it does well. It effectively draws on both the pain of failed relationships and the anxiety college age young people feel having to face the complex real world for the first time.
The acting was solid all-round. Ksenia Solo, of whom I'm a big fan, does an excellent job portraying Sydney's pain and frustration. Diego Boneta and Richard T. Jones competently fill out their roles as well.
Visually, the film is unremarkable but avoids being bad. The score, however, is occasionally a little distracting.
The bad of the movie is its writing. Sydney should be a character we emphasize with, as her struggles are similar ones most people have dealt with to some degree. But the writers fail to make her very likable, often seeming more pathetic than anything else. This could serve to erode audience interest in her story, even if she is well- portrayed. A pretty big thing considering that is what the whole movie is about. She is also apparently something of a genius, but we don't see her do much that is very smart, except in a brief moment where she explains some science.
It was the ending that really drags down the film, however. The writers chose to make it an ambiguous ending which I felt didn't let Sydney come full circle as a character. This was disappointing after watching a whole movie about her.
To summarize, the film is not awful but is not especially good either. If you have 90 minutes to kill and want to watch something dramatic, there are worse films to see. If your expectations are not too high, it'll do the job. This is not a movie that you plan an evening around to see though; it is not a movie that will have you deeply invested or have you thinking about it hours later either. 6/10.