Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer (2013)

Had to see what it was all about and did not regret a second of this film. It is more a documentary than a music film since the main purpose and meaning lies in the movement these women do. They are women with b@ll$ if you pardon my expression!

Rising a voice against a totalitarian regime, requires a lot of courage. Having to deal with prison, harassment for those you love requires a lot more.

One point I do not agree is insulting the beliefs of others. But, as far as I could see in the film, this was not a true intention. It was a bad side-effect that was intelligently used by the regime to exert true punishment, to shut the voices that object for ever.

It is true that all those that benefit from that regime have every motive to pursue that cause. How else could they be in these positions?

But history shows that whenever someone attempts to destroy a just opposition, this works like a boomerang.

My rating: 07/10

PS. Do you believe that what is described here, is happening in 2013?

Luton (2013)

Luton is another elegy to violence. While on ‘Harmony Lessons‘ it was justified (as much as such thing may be so) in Luton, it comes out as a psychological need, it is more atrocious, unjustified and repulsive. Have to admit I left before the end of the film because the scenes were very shocking. So I might have.missed the meaning (?) of the film. Due to reasons analyzed on the previous post, this is not a good film for me.

My rating: 02/10

Harmony Lessons (2013)

Harmony Lessons is an elegy to violence. Violence at school used by gangs to terrorize kids and get money. Ironically more intense, brutal and sophisticated violence is used by police authorities on the name of the law. A circle of violence out of which the use of brains and violence is shown as the only way out.
If this is the message of the film (just leaving a question mark in case I did not understand it) I strongly disagree. We have so much violence in our lives around us, both physical and psychological, that yet another show of it is too much.
Bertolt Brecht said that “Art is not a mirror to hold up to society but rather a hammer to shape it”. Personally I am looking for artists that try to shape a better world.

My rating: 03/10

The Past (Le passé) (2013)

After seeing Asghar Farhadi‘s film “A Separation“, I expected a lot from “The Past“. Expectation is the best way to ruin your moments :). Anyway. “The Past” is a very good film, dealing with relationships between people, the feelings they have, the way they clutter their judgement, the effort they make to discover the truth in themselves, and the search for a truth which may be well hidden behind lies and misunderstandings.

Excellent acting even by children, with an unusual plot for its kind, it is a film exploring the question: can we leave our past behind and move ahead?

My rating: 08/10

Love Eternal (2013)

Love Eternal: original story, good acting, on the up-side. Morbid, repulsive, creating a strong urge to leave the movie theater on the down side. Makes one wonder why someone would create such a film.

My rating: 03/10 – such a high rating just for a spark of optimism

Kill Your Darlings (2013)

An attempt to think, relate to others and act without limits. An effort to challenge the status-quo, to pave a new path, no matter what the cost.

My rating: 07/10

Illusion (2013)

Illusion by Savvas Karydas is a film-noir. with a good story, plot turns, convincing characters, where things change to the last moment.

My rating: 07/10

September (2013)

The story is simple and the strength of the movie is not in the story. It is in the acting (even by small kids), the direction and the fact that it is one of these movies where almost everything is said without words. It is the face of the actor, the scenes, the sequence of the events that convey all the feelings about the loss of someone you love, the struggle to get some support while in that position, and what other people are willing to do (or not) in order to help. It is also about life itself, which has its turns and the light may hit you when you are inside the tunnel. Humane, realistic and optimistic (after all).

My rating: 08/10

Short Term 12 (2013)

A facility for underprivileged kids. People working there that struggle to make their lives affordable till the State finds a solution for them. ‘Short Term 12‘ may not appeal to you as the theme sounds depressing. Yet, it is a highly optimistic film showing, that despite the harsh conditions these kids lived in and the wounds marked on their body and soul, there is still hope for a better life, thanks to those who through love, patience, and understanding stand by them. One can better understand its own daemons by looking at them in another person’s soul.

Destin Cretton made a movie which reaches deep in your emotions, a hymn to the best of what we carry inside us,

This is a film you should definitely NOT miss.

My rating: 10/10

The Rendez-Vous of Déjà-Vu (La fille du 14 juillet) (2013)

Irony at its best, criticizing “the malfunction of the universe” as a blogger uses to say. It is not only the gags, their originality and the way they are set up. It is also the truth which lies behind them, and “the truth behind the truth” as said in the film. If you want to have a laugh with another view of what the financial crisis has done to your life (that is, if you can still laugh!), you will have it with this film. You know of course it is a bitter laugh, so, do not be surprised with the after taste.

My rating: 07/10