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Fúsi (2015)
"Thanks for not killing me"
Dostoevsky had a genuinely good person as protagonist in The Idiot in order to explore how such a person would get by in contemporary Russia. This movie does the same thing with modern day Iceland, but it could be set anywhere in the world.
Fúsi is 42, fat, almost friendless and lives with his mother. When he gets bullied at work, he turns the other cheek. When a lonely child asks him to play, he obliges. When a woman at his dance class asks for a lift, he drives her home. Her laconic "Thanks for not killing me" is possibly one of the best lines in the film.
We get to see a friendship evolving throughout the film, and Fúsi makes an impressive personal journey.
A gem of a movie - watch it if you haven't already.
Shirley (2020)
Outside-the-box biopic about a great writer
Ignore the 1- or 2-star reviews, which all seem to have been written by Donald Trump or people with a similar intellectual capacity.
This was a dream-like and stunningly beautiful movie about the author Shirley Jackson, and watching it felt like being in one of her novels, but with a grown-up main character rather than (only) a young, inexperienced girl. The acting was top notch and the story deliciously multi-layered, and the camerawork unusual and excellent.
Do watch this movie if you like Shirley Jackson's work, but watch it with an open mind. You will not be disappointed.
The Lighthouse (2019)
Beautiful cinematography but thin story
The first hour of this movie was a fine example of building suspense; it was excellently done - beautiful cinematography (probably the best I've seen this year), great music/sound effects, great acting, and a build-up of expectations that there'd be a well thought-through and worth-while finale to the film. So many teasers! So much foreboding!
But then it all fell flat. The story fell apart; the substance that was there in the first part just vanished. There are movies that are successfully dreamy and Kafkaesque. This isn't one of them.
This movie is the big disappointment of the year. I give it five points for the cinematography, acting and music, but the script-writer needs to go back to school.
La influencia (2019)
Solid, Slow-Paced Spanish Horror
I watched La Influencia just after an American horror movie, and was immediately reminded of how good Spanish horror movies are compared to basically all other ones. This is quality horror - slow-paced, without jump scares every five minutes, and without badly made computer-animated monsters. The classic moving-into-an-old-house start makes the viewer feel immediately at home in the story. The basement is complete with a broken doll and other random old objects, the upper floor has flickering lights and dusty books. It's a perfect cosy horror movie.
The only thing that doesn't quite hold the same quality as the rest of the film is the last part, which has some weaknesses. However, the ending is still good and this is a movie that's well worth watching. In Spanish, of course, not dubbed into English.
Durante la tormenta (2018)
An enjoyable time-travel/parallel universe movie
There are a lot of good movies coming out of Spain at the minute, and this is clearly one of them.
Vera, a former med student who gave up her career for the sake of her husband and instead became a nurse, moves into a new house with her family. She finds out that a boy who used to live there witnessed a murder and was run over by a car as he ran from the scene of the crime. During a violent thunderstorm, Vera gets connected with the boy's reality 25 years earlier through an old TV set, and convinces him that he shouldn't go to the house where the murder takes place, thus saving his life. She then ends up in the alternate reality she's created.
An interesting story in the same vein as German series Dark and some other Netflix productions. A very enjoyable movie, well worth watching.
Bokeh (2017)
A beautiful and slow post-apocalyptic movie
Two American tourists in Iceland wake up one morning and find that all other humans have mysteriously disappeared. Judging by how no-one is active on the Internet, reachable on the phone, and that there are no live news on TV, the rest of the world seems to be gone, too.
How do the two protagonists cope with this knowledge? How do you handle the stress of being utterly alone (although there are two of you), of never being able to return home, and the prospect of never seeing your loved ones again? These and more are the questions this film deals with.
It is a beautifully shot, meditative film which moves at a slow pace. If you're looking for something like The Walking Dead, don't watch this. If you want a movie that focuses on existential questions, do.
Le chalet (2017)
Compelling and atmospheric horror series
This is a beautifully done, slow but compelling "And Then There Were None" style horror-revenge story and murder mystery. There is a chilling, sinister feeling throughout the series, emphasised by the beautiful scenery and cinematography. Great acting throughout and a welcome change from the usual Hollywood fare.
The Hateful Eight (2015)
Disappointing Christmas movie by Tarantino
After a quite promising beginning, the movie seemed to turn into a Christmas movie, which is an original thought seeing as it was directed by Tarantino. But sadly it got more and more boring after that, partly because the pacing was too slow, partly because the story was far-fetched even for Tarantino.
Beautifully shot, a plus for the snowy scenes, some interesting dialogue, but apart from that it was a disappointment.
Tom of Finland (2017)
Moving life story and gay history of Europe and America
It's a riddle to me why Tom of Finland isn't being released more widely around the world - it's a fascinating life story, and at the same time also a history of gay rights in Europe and America during the 20th century.
The movie is beautifully shot and there isn't a boring moment in it. It begins with the Winter War and World War Two, with Touko a.k.a. Tom's early sexual encounters in a park in Helsinki during an air raid. In that park, he meets his future life partner, but their encounter is interrupted by a police raid, as homosexuality was illegal in Finland (and most of the world) at this time.
The movie portrays the hardships Touko faces, as well as his success in the US. Parts of the movie are painful, other parts melancholic, but there is also joy and happiness. The actors did a great job - both Pekka Strang (Touko), Jessica Grabowsky (his sister) and Lauri Tilkanen (his partner). I hope to see more of them in the future.
Many scenes were shot in strong, dark, dream-like colours reminiscent of cartoons or animations, and the cinematography was excellent over all - it is well worth seeing this film at the cinema rather than just at home on your TV.
This is one of the few films I've considered watching more than once at the cinema. Highly recommended!
The King's Speech (2010)
Solid acting but little substance
A nice feel-good movie about the Duke of York, later to be King George VI, who has a stammer that nobody's been able to cure. He's consulted every expert available but found no help, until his wife finds a self-taught speech therapist with no medical degree in a shoddy basement in Harley Street. Friendship ensues, and the Duke/King gradually gains confidence in himself. The film culminates with the King's speech at the outbreak of World War II.
It's a movie full of British acting greats, such as Colin FIrth, Jennifer Ehle, David Bamber (who were all in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice from 1995); Michael Gambon, Helena Bonham Carter, Timothy Spall (from Harry Potter), and other old acquaintances such as Anthony Andrews, Geoffrey Rush, and Derek Jacobi.
In spite of that, the film doesn't have a lot of substance. It's cute and it's nice to watch, but in the end it's about a British royal's speech impediment, with some flimsy psychological friendship blahblah thrown in. I give it a five out of ten for good acting and atmosphere, and a technically good script. Do watch it if you come across it, but spend no money on it.
Cike Nie Yin Niang (2015)
If you like traditional Chinese landscape paintings, you will love this film
I went to the cinema expecting a wuxia movie, or something along the lines of Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but this was a very different type of film.
The fighting scenes were sparse, slow, and seemed to end in mid-fight; the interaction between characters was often wordless, and the plot was vague and hard to follow. Yet it was a beautiful, meditative, and very enjoyable film.
There were long scenes showing the clouds drifting across the sky, or a group of horsemen riding in the distance beside a stunningly beautiful mountain. You'd have expected some Chinese calligraphy in the upper corner to complete the picture.
The Assassin reminded me of movies such as Leviathan, Tarkovsky's Solaris, and Blade Runner. If you liked those, and if you go to the cinema with an open mind (and not expecting and action movie), you'll like The Assassin too.