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Reviews
Polypore (2013)
Overshadowed by the list of actors
From the mind of Jesse Barack comes "Polypore," a sci-fi thriller that centers around a real-life fungus known as polypore. In the film some of the characters, such as Paul, played by Jeffrey Bielat, stumble upon the fungus and are exposed to its powers. He then struggles to control his new power of telepathy and finds himself targeted by a power hungry corporation that seeks to harvest his powers. From here you're on your own; the already over-ambitious storyline becomes clouded when we are introduced to a variety of characters, all of which have their own point of view.
The sheer number of cast members in this short 1-hour film becomes too distracting. One after the other, in flash-forwards and flashbacks, a dizzying amount of names and character importance become lost in the already complicated storyline. Some characters do impress, such as Paul's father, played by Shelly Whittle, but even then at times many of the actors seemed to overact their roles at the request of the director.
While the film becomes overshadowed by the list of actors it contains, it did have some very impressive camera angles as well as special effects. From the start the camera seemed to never stay still, in a positive way, and it truly helped move the otherwise confusing film. The other high point was special effects, for a limited budget the film impressed with its gun shootouts and fungi special effects. The film wanted desperately to hit the CGI standards of Hollywood thrillers but, unfortunately, they were hidden with the confusing story and characters.
The director seems to ignore his limits and rather then accept the budget and constraints with his actor's performances he still pushes the limits. There was also a struggle with combining and finding the complicated balance between comedy and thriller. At random moments characters would break into jokes during scenes that were meant to be dramatic. The failure to find the right timing was evident and this further dampened the film.
Overall there is not much to see here, after viewing you are left with more questions then answers. You have traveled around the world yet you feel like you haven't seen anything to explain the story. The characters, while passionate in their roles, fall flat at times and fail to drive the story forward. But you still will find yourself impressed with the young ambitious filmmaker. He wants nothing more then to impress with his art but unfortunately he is still learning and understanding his craft.
Poklosie (2012)
An outstanding European seat-sticker
Aftermath tells the story of Franek, pulled back to his native Polish roots from Chicago after thirty years, to see his brother Jozek, who lives on the family farm outside Warsaw. They are both experiencing some kind of aftermath - Franek fled Poland years before and is teased for coming back home, while Jozek's wife and kids have inexplicably left him and he's the most hated man in town. When Franek finds out Jozek (Maciej Stuhr) has inexplicably ripped up a thoroughfare road surface nearby he must unravel the mystery - leading to a discovery that breaks open all they know about their family and the town around them.
The film has a strong storyline related to World War II and the slaughter of Polish Jews, which has been controversial in its home country.
This unique gritty thriller is bound to true-life events, and so emotive that it's easy to see why the reaction might have been so strong from a country where religion still plays such a huge part in all aspects of life.
Performances are tight, measured and well-rounded. Actors breathe life into the script in every corner with even cameo players adding to a dark and lustrous community of characters within the film's grim premise - The human drive for survival in exceptional circumstances as violent, greedy and barbaric fuels performances with meaty and violent lines in even the oldest actors here.
Wladyslaw Pasikowski, the director, stuns from the first minute, narrating with simple and blunt motif from the off: We see Franek (Ireneusz Czop) arriving in Warsaw at the start of the film; his eye twitches just once as he irritatedly hands over his passport. It's lean storytelling that keeps you guessing to a sad and horrifying end.
Exquisitely shot and colored, with images of Polish landscape like paintings that wash you in the atmosphere of 80's Eastern Europe - maybe Franek feels nothing has changed since he left thirty years ago - "Hasn't changed a bit." he says, entering Jozek's house. It's no surprise that Polanski's cinematographer on The Pianist, Pawel Edelman is at work as the DoP here.
Something about this movie reminded me of Almodovar's The Skin I Live in or Arcel's Dragon Tattoo, or maybe Music Box. The way the characters build, and the tension in silence, and also the absolutely native way the tradition, political situation and historical culture of Poland is presented. The back story is crafted brilliantly - Poland becomes a whole character in itself, with a personality, mood and motivation - and not always in a good way. Poland has its dark underbelly.
This is where the genius of this script lies. To someone who knows nothing of Poland's rich interior tapestry and relationships with the outside world, this film enlightens and interests succinctly without a history lesson, with an engrossing soundtrack from Jan Duszyński, (reminiscent of another Polish composer Zbigniew Preisner with his work on Three Colors).
In fact the criticism lies only in the way the subtitles have been produced. They are one beat behind all the time - I would like to see the subtitle when the character speaks, not half a second after, and there are some spelling mistakes in them: here/hear, drom/from, your/you're, maybe/mebbe, for example, and odd words like " vacationers" and "a 100 years" used in a sort of non-native way. Some sentences are not proof read and are missing words, "your brother didn't back.."(?) This did spoil my enjoyment of the film occasionally.
This script is ripe for an American remake, but it's pretty likely this Polish original will remain superior. A tense and intelligent haunting of a film absolutely recommended - an outstanding European seat-sticker.
Tennis (2013)
An intriguing short set in London mines classic modern British sensibility with themes of addiction and loneliness
An overlooked and lonely rich housewife Mary comes home from playing tennis to find burglar Jerry in her home perusing her many books; her dog murdered and she's scared. But this burglar is an erudite philosopher, an addict. In their shared loneliness, they strike up a rapport, quoting Kant and discussing addiction.
Joseph Gilgun (the Travis Bickell-esque Hydell in Lockout, and as far as I am concerned, the saving grace of the movie) and Jacqueline Leonard (a woefully underused British talent any UK viewer will know forever more as Lorraine Wicks in Eastenders) star in this clever and pithy piece set in London.
So with the wonderful casting in place, director Alastair Gourlay only needed a fantastic script. And he has one here, written by himself and Emilio Iasiello. This is a masterclass in short writing. Like a game of tennis, the dialog flies seamlessly between the two characters. This would work just as well as a play: this is usually not a positive comment, but here, it is: unlike many shorts, the story stays within its realm and explores the detail of that space.
Gilgun, reminiscent of Ryan Gosling in The Believer is stunning. And Leonard as usual lives up to her solid chops and delivers a worthy and real performance.
This struck the same chords as Notes On A Scandal or Another Year for me – a gritty, empty and beautiful British film where being lonely becomes poetic.
It's a sad and poignant piece, and to boot, based on a true story - I guess life is more grim than fiction. The only vague critique is that the piece ends around twenty seconds too late, after a seriously brilliant soliloquy that would have left the viewer breathless, but that's just me picking holes in near perfection.
In my reviewing career, I don't say this much: It was a pleasure to review this film and I hope to see more like it from Gourlay in the future. A fine talent.
The Pact (2011)
A good-natured film told from the male perspective but with interesting and dynamic female characters
Co-written by real-life brothers Matthew and Aaron Toronto, THE PACT is a film about two fictional brothers, Grant and Ancel Fox, who swear off women for a year after their respective relationships go sour. Grant is the responsible 9 to 5er and Ancel, the between-gigs-musician who moves in with his more responsible sibling.
Much of the action in this film takes place inside of local watering hole Jim's Tap, where Ancel often plays. When Ancel discovers his girlfriend cheated on him with a fellow band member, he's had enough. He drinks himself into a stupor, wrangles his brother Grant onto a tabletop and they make a pact: No women for a year. They seal their pact in blood and frame the blood-stained napkin on a wall of shame (or glory?). It's the kind of thing you can only get away with at a bar where you're a regular. After this quick set up, the movie is off and running.
The next day, on the first full day of the pact, Grant goes to work and all of a sudden women can't get enough of him. Grant's coworker, Joanne, shoots him an email confessing her love while peering over the shared wall of their cubicles. She even goes as far as to openly declare herself "a stalker." On the other hand, Ancel is already ready to break the pact once he's sobered up in the morning. He tries, but has terrible luck; As he's about to hook up with one woman in the bathroom, the fire alarm goes off.
One day, Grant runs into a cute new neighbor, Charlie. They meet at Jim's Tap and immediately hit it off. Charlie moves in for the kiss but Grant pulls back, beholden to the pact. As Grant tries to keep Charlie at an arm's length, counting down the days until the pact ends, Ancel also starts to take a liking to Charlie. The Fox brothers have a falling out and it appears that the pact has done more harm than good. In the end, though, Grant and Ancel learn that the pact wasn't really about women at all.
Jackie is particularly strong as bartender of Jim's tap, who sees Grant as the nice guy that he is, helping him stay true to the pact and himself. The film is quite funny and though limited in scale with only a few locations, makes good use of music to add to the atmosphere and comedy.