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(London Film Festival, October 8th, 2019, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8XT, United Kingdom, 18:10 pm) https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=guestofhonour&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id= "Guest Of Honour" Jim Davis (David Thewlis) and his daughter Veronica (Laysla De Oliveira), a young high-school music teacher, attempt to unravel their complicated histories and intertwined secrets in "Guest Of Honour", a film that weaves through time exploring perception and penance, memory and forgiveness. A hoax instigated by an aggressive school bus driver Mike (Rossif Sutherland) goes very wrong. Accused of abusing her position of authority with 17-year-old Clive (Alexandre Bourgeois) and another student, Veronica is imprisoned. Convinced that she deserves to be punished for crimes she committed at an earlier age, Veronica rebuffs her father’s attempts to secure her early release. Confused and frustrated by Veronica’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his job. As a food inspector, he wields great power over small, family-owned restaurants. It’s a power he doesn’t hesitate to use. While preparing Jim’s funeral, Veronica confides the secrets of her past to Father Greg (Luke Wilson) who may hold the final piece of this father-daughter puzzle. "Guest Of Honour" is a twisting morality tale exploring the complicated relationship between Jim, and his daughter Veronica, a young high-school music teacher, and the past that haunts them both. As the film weaves through time, scenes from the past catch up to the present, illuminating dark secrets. Jim is a food inspector working in a multicultural city. For him, each establishment is a potential hazard. He has the power to shut down restaurants not observing health codes. It’s a power he doesn’t hesitate to wield. Part of Jim’s weekly ritual is visiting his daughter in prison. Having confessed to abusing her position of authority as a music teacher during a high school band trip, Veronica rebuffs her father’s attempts to secure an early release. Confused and frustrated by his daughter’s intransigence, Jim’s anguish begins to impinge on his work. Scenes from the band trip gradually reveal that Veronica and Clive, one of her senior students, turned the tables on Mike, their aggressive bus driver. Their prank spirals out of control and becomes the basis for the charges brought against Veronica. Over Jim’s visits with Veronica, it becomes clear that there's another history at play. Veronica is using the prison sentence to punish herself for earlier transgressions. When she was a young girl, Veronica believed that her father was having an affair with her music teacher. Tragedy unfolds, in which Veronica is implicated, but was never held responsible. As a teenager, she confessed to the teacher’s son, with devastating consequences. Having lived with these secrets for years, Veronica has found a unique way of serving her penance. Jim doesn’t seem at all aware of his daughter’s true history even though he finds himself increasingly implicated in the compelling revelations of Veronica’s personal narrative. Father and daughter move towards a resolution, which is brought to a brutal halt when Jim dies. As she prepares for Jim’s funeral, Veronica confides in Father Greg (Luke Wilson) who may hold the final piece to the puzzle of the past. "Guest Of Honour" is a disturbing and compelling study of perception, memory and forgiveness. As a food inspector, Jim has the power to close a restaurant down, and while he uses this authority to determine other people’s destinies, he desperately tries to understand his own place in the world. Jim’s relationship with his daughter is obviously highly complex, that’s what the film is about. Realizing that the story really begins there, with the death of the mother. Jim is left on his own from then onwards, the fifteen intervening years between Veronica as young girl and Veronica as a woman. We've to understand what Jim so much loved about Veronica as a woman, a woman who’s gone off the rails, a woman who now baffles him, a woman who seems absolutely so incomprehensible in terms of her motives. And seeing that little girl playing the piano, the whole story becomes clear. Of course, there are sub-plots and various metaphorical issues and symbolism and storytelling, but it’s about a man trying to communicate with his daughter, trying to communicate the love he has for his daughter. That's utterly relatable in terms of how so many young people can get lost somewhere between adolescence and early adulthood, in all kinds of things that maybe one wouldn’t anticipate in their earlier years and can be catastrophic. It’s a terrible thing that’s happened really. One of the Jim’s characteristics is this sense of power he wields as a food inspector which may sound a rather banal job description. It doesn’t evoke wonderful images of this is a fascinating character we want to get to know until you really go down that hole and see what the issues are with food inspectors, and what a power-complex this man has. Simply, he can wreak havoc on people’s lives, close down family businesses with the flick of a pen-based on opinion or perfidy. He starts to abuse his power and manipulate his occupation to his own ends. But he’s rather delusional. He sees himself as some saviour, as some campaigner for health and safety, health and cleanliness, the health code is his bible and it takes him over. We've a backstory where he started a restaurant and that seems to have been scuppered by what happened to Veronica. He has to walk away from that business because of the vicissitudes of Veronica’s life and whether he holds some resentment there's another thing to be discussed. Maybe he’s doing this job as some kind of revenge. Now he enters a restaurant with the power to destroy the business, the lives of the owners. His vocation is taken away from him, and now he can visit the same fate on others. There are many levels to this film, you keep discovering. His daughter Veronica is a young music teacher who's passionate about her craft. But, she also carries trauma that bleeds into her relationship with her father. The film explores the complexities of family life. How family can absolutely make you or absolutely break you or both at the same time. The vast breadth of feelings, the turmoil those feelings cause! Music is very important to Veronica, it’s her source of joy and we’ll see in "Guest Of Honour" that she’s not always happy all the time so it will be nice to see the moments where she's lost in her music. She believes that she has found a way to a strange sort of peace in her life, until that is challenged by revelations of a past she never fully understood. She’s a character who’s broken, who makes impulsive, self-destructive decisions. We see her joy in music and we see her dark pain as well. With incarceration, she’s found a way of medicating herself. But it’s not sustainable and then something unexpected happens, which transforms her life. The character who holds the key to this past seems to be a priest. Father Greg is a Texan who's transplanted to Canada, The biggest mystery in the film is whether the food inspector Jim, in asking for his eulogy to be performed by this particular priest, has somehow planned an emotional reconciliation he could never have achieved with his daughter in life. Father Greg is an unusual priest. He knows about Veronica who’s come to see him to arrange a funeral for Jim. As he talks with Veronica to learn details for the eulogy, Father Greg comes to understand that he knows a great deal about her narrative. But he’s bound by oath not to share his knowledge. He breaks his word because, he decides, it's critical for Veronica to understand her father. Rather than see her continue to suffer, living with false assumptions, Father Greg renounces his pledge. As viewers, we can locate ourselves in this very complex narrative in terms of how he sets himself within it. Father Greg has an unexpected front row seat to Veronica’s story. Father Greg is one of those characters that’s woven throughout the story, Not quite a narrator, and not the protagonist, but a figure that intersects with the different characters. In that way, he knows all of the people that the audience meets, at different times and in different situations. And often times, as we find out, he knows these very personal parts of some of the characters’ histories. Father Greg’s character is a way for the audience to keep up with the storyline and these characters whose lives interrelate. You've these imperfect, interwoven characters and then there’s the priest who’s something of a psychiatrist, or a psychologist, or a doctor, somebody that people go to and share their personal stories. “Guest Of Honour" is an emotional investigation of the bond between a father and a daughter. Their history has been rocked by events that neither fully understands. They’re both in a suspended state for much of the film, trying to understand the nature of their connection to one another. There’s a very clear sense of time passing in this film. While we understand from the beginning that their physical relationship has ended with the father’s death, the details of their past are evealed in a form of psychological autopsy. The film finds a cinematic way of allowing the viewer to inhabit they particular world the characters are trying to navigate. The film explores what might be called the emotional chronology of Jim and his daughter, Veronica, a way of measuring their complex feelings. While the structure of the film is non-linear, it's actually based on a simple recounting of the scenes as they flow into the characters’ minds. While the situations specific to Jim and Veronica are extreme, the parent/child bond will be very familiar to audiences. The film creates a sense that for Jim and Veronica the scenes all play in a continuous and sometimes shocking sense of the ‘eternal present’. The film itself becomes a sort of machine through which the characters come to an understanding of what they mean to each other. "Guest Of Honour" is a story told through glass. Apart from the actual glass of the camera lens, which displays the way in which images of the past can be refracted and refigured, there's a literal use of a glass musical instrument woven through the film. The use of glass as a distorting lens, as well as a material which allows the process of creative expression, is an important motif in "Guest Of Honour". The soundtrack wows in unexpected ways, as the characters come to terms with the complexity of their lives and the exoticism of their relationship to their own pasts. Every child feels their parents made mistakes, certain ways in which the parent did not express love, or pay the right sort of attention. Those moments reverberate through our lives in sometimes painful ways. "Guest Of Honour" covers such a wide range of time, you get to see the evolution of specific characters, which is very exciting. Our family has been around us for our entire lives, they’re everything we know. Sometimes we project our feelings onto them, sometimes we feel their words are hurtful, but that’s what having a family is all about. The film ends with an unexpected reconciliation.

Rudyard, there are no people living in this forest. Do you see any animals? There’s no flora with any color, nothing to allure insects! Are you someone who prefers to spend his free time in his perfectly tended garden? Is your lawn as if a delegation from the International Golf Federation could arrive any minute to ask if it could be used as a “green” at a next golf championship? Do you spend hours in your garden staring at freshly planted and potted flowers and plants? Are you an expert in fertilizing, scarifying, digging, pruning, grafting and draining? Well, I guess this film is really suitable for you. Because “Flora” is actually nothing more than a nature film that every botanical film viewer will be excited about. Do you know which film quote always came to me? “Run, Forrest, Run!“. Only here the main characters are running away from a forest. They might have used the following alternative movie title: “Attack of the killer pollen“. That about covers it. It really looks like the 1920s. “Flora” certainly isn’t a bad film. But for those who don’t see themselves as purebred nature lovers, this film may seem terribly boring. What they managed to do, is to show a decent image of the 1920s. I found the props and atmosphere perfect. All the pieces fitted. The oldtimer, the costumes, and the used music. Perfectly chosen. Everything seemed innocent and frivolous in those days. The naivety and insufficient knowledge are portrayed in a proper way. The resources available to the six scientists are fairly limited. Plants are cataloged in notebooks. Illustrations are made with the use of a whole array of colored pencils. No electronic worksheet and digital camera as one would use in the present time. You won’t see the main characters wandering around with a tiny headphone connected to a compact MP3 player. No, here they are lugging around with an impressive gramophone with a huge horn. Before you know it, an old-fashioned foxtrot echoes through the forest after putting on such a fragile record. The footage and acting look great. Unfortunately, it’s slow and superficial. Praise for the creators of this indie-horror. Because despite the extremely limited budget, film-technically it looks fab. Even the for me unknown actors made themselves meritorious in the field of acting. Admittedly, sometimes there was a touch of overacting. And they tried to bring drama in a forced way. But this was certainly not irritating. Unfortunately, it was all fairly superficial with a painfully slow pace. It seemed after a while that the entire film consisted of exploring the surrounding nature. And yes, the discovery that no living organism can be detected in the surrounding area can easily be called troubling. But it’s never really exciting. Nail-biting boredom. Trust me, I’m not someone who only associates horror with gory slaughter and diabolical entities. And also, a forest in a horror movie isn’t automatically linked to a lonely, deserted wooden cabin. Or a wandering, bloodthirsty creature that suddenly shows up from behind a tree and rips you into pieces. So all the praise to try a different idea and for once think out of the box. However, I don’t think this symbiotic fungus that kills every human and animal life is something that ensures it to be a movie with nail-biting suspense. All in all, the starting point of the film wasn’t bad when you talk about originality. But apart from some beautiful nature shots and moments in which the dialogue seemed interesting, it’s all relatively boring and monotonous. My rating 3/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

Now to finally review my Number 1 favourite film of all time. There is a reason why Shame is my favourite film and takes my number 1 spot, but I’ll get onto that later.  First a little summary of what the film is about.  We follow Brandon who is a sex addict living in New York. Portrayed by the brilliant Michael Fassbender. The film is a character study into the mind of a sex addict and the effect it has over the person in general. A study shows that sex addiction can have negative impacts on the person it's affecting. Either in social, financial and work life. A sex addicts main thrive is to constantly pleasure and feed there need. Releasing endorphins in the brain. The way this inflicts on there life in general is by the means to fulfil that addiction. Financial wise, they waste their money buying porn and paying for prostitutes. Work wise it can inflict on their job. If they are caught watching or having porn at work it is bordering on being fired. In social life it can impede on their relationships. A sex addict will struggle to maintain a romantic relationship with a partner. Ever needing to feed their desire will strain their relationships.  Now sex addiction on a whole is a very touchy subject to work on. I should know, I wrote and directed a film on the cause and effect of Sex addiction and child abuse. 'Where Demons Hide'.  The research was long and tedious. Finding people who would openly talk about their addictions was very difficult to ascertain. Only by going to AA meetings and talking to therapist did my actor portraying a sex addict find the reality of the addiction.  However my film was set in the UK, I experienced first hand the struggle that the crew of Shamehad in finding the correct source material and research. That's why Shame is based in New York as apposed to the UK. People in New York were more willing to open up and talk openly about their addictions in order for the crew to tell a realistic story and representation of the condition.  Anyway, what has all of this got to do with Shame?  The character of Brandon portrays all of the aspects that the effects of Sex addiction has on you. He watches porn at work and nearly gets caught. However he has such a good relationship with his boss that it's passed off. His boss knows that being with and around Brandon allows him to pick up girls, so he brushes the whole thing under the carpet. Brandon's social life is affected. He tries to start a relationship with a co-worker, but because of his addiction and how he is used to sex with hookers, he can't get little Brandon to work. This doesn’t help his self-esteem over his whole situation either. Above all Brandon's personal life is inflicted. When his sister comes to stay at his flat Brandon has to cope with his addiction conflicting with his chance to have a normal life. His sister coming to stay really kick-starts his desire to rid himself of the addiction. But like with any addiction, the withdrawal is the hardest part. There is a brilliant sequence near to the end of the film titled Unravelling, which really gets into the mind-set of the withdrawal effect and how it messes with your mind, conflicting your thoughts and your actions. Unravelling your life until your unsure of what you must do.  Now I mentioned this was my favourite film. You might find it weird how I can re watch a film about sex addiction over and over again. That's because it's more than a film about sex addiction. It's a character study. It's a film that gets down to the very roots of what makes us human. Why our actions affect others. The what if's. The looming question to what could my life could be like if I just decided to act?  Shame really expresses all of that to its audience. Not just with Brandon, but all the other characters in the film. They have believable traits that relate to Brandon's state of mind. His sister is the part of Brandon that want's to break free and have a normal life. His boss is the part that want's him to continue and indulge in his desire. Even the city of New York feels like a character in this film. It feels alive.  If you notice when watching Shame there is a sense of power to the locations that Brandon is portrayed in. His apartment, his work place, the hotel room he hires and the restaurant where his sister sings. They’re all high up above the city. What this suggests to me is a metaphor of how the addiction affects Brandon. A feeling of Highness. The addiction makes him feel high and feel in power. By being positioned high above the city this gives that power of being above other people. It's where he feels in control. However when he is below on the streets this is where he is less in control. On the subway where we start the film, he see's a woman on the train and tries to follow her and ends up loosing her. He runs along the streets in order to vent off his addiction. Most of the Unravelling sequence takes place at street level. And above all he breaks down emotionally at the docks. The street level is where the addiction is not in his control. New York feels alive because of this very reason.  The cinematography is beautiful. Steve McQueen is an artist. And Sean Bobbitt really expresses this art style. By having shots linger and hold on situations and characters really draws you into their state of mind and brings reality and realism to the scene. It makes you more immersed in what is going on and makes you connect more with what you are viewing. The way Steve McQueen and Sean Bobbitt chose to portray New York was a brilliant decision. Actually going out and identify what colours New York actually holds and expresses really helped bring the city to life. By far one of my favourite pieces of the film is the Soundtrack. There are only 3 pieces of scored music by Harry Escott. Tracks titled "Brandon", "Unravelling" and "End Credits" These pieces of music are so powerful they really help convey the essence and the message of what the film is about. The choice to use the Goldberg Variations by Glenn Gould was also a fantastic choice. Having classic music as powerful as that really helps express Brandon's state of mind. And let us not forget Carey Mulligan's brilliant and moving performance of Frank Sinatra's 'New York, New York'. Now in my mind I would say that this film is a cinematic masterpiece along side Mr. Nobody. However that's solely my opinion. My preferred films are Drama and films that focus on character study. This may not be the film for you. It's defiantly not one to watch with you parents. But it is a film that has heart and above all has a message. A message that is not to fear the unknown. If you have an addiction that is affecting your life, don't shut people out. Let them help you fight it. Because of that message, this is why Shame is my favourite film.

(Release Info London schedule; March 25th, 2020, Curzon Bloomsbury, The Brunswick Centre, London WC1N 1AW, United Kingdom, 6:00 pm) https://www.curzoncinemas.com/bloomsbury/film-info/the-painted-bird "The Painted Bird" Based on Jerzy Kosiriski novel, "The Painted Bird" is a meticulous 35mm black and white evocation of wild, primitive 'Eastern Europe' at the bloody close of 'World War II'. The film follows the journey of 'The Boy' (Petr Kotlar), entrusted by his persecuted parents to an elderly foster mother (Claudia Vaseková). The old woman soon dies and 'The Boy' is on his own, wandering through the countryside, from village to village, farmhouse to farmhouse. As he struggles for survival, 'The Boy' suffers through extraordinary brutality meted out by the ignorant, superstitious peasants and he witnesses the terrifying violence of the efficient, ruthless soldiers, both 'Russian' and 'German'. In a defining scene, one of the peasants shows 'The Boy' the flight of a captive bird, whom the man has painted and then released back into it's own flock. The bird is immediately ripped apart because it's different from it's fellows. That lesson reinforces all 'The Boy' already knows and will soon know better; difference is fatal. But there are rare moments of compassion. Hans (Stellan Skarsgărd), a 'German' soldier spares 'The Boy, a priest (Harvey Keitel) intervenes on his behalf, and finally 'The Boy' becomes the protégé of Garbos (Julien Sands), a 'Russian' sniper, who's kind to the child, but ruthless with the enemy. And there are signs of love. 'The Boy' is seduced by Ludmilla (Jitka Cvanrarnova), an older girl, finally re-discovering the comfort of intimacy, only to realize that he has been used. When he's miraculously reunited with his weakened father Nicodemus (Petr Varnek) at the end of the war, 'The Boy' is cold and impenetrable, hardened by his ordeal. Yet we can still glimpse something of the old, sensitive 'Boy' (Antonin Masek) behind the eyes of the new. Perhaps there's hope. "The Painted Bird" is a meditation on evil, but also, the opposite, goodness, empathy, love. In their absence, we inevitably turn to those values. When we do have glimpses of good and love in "The Painted Bird", we appreciate their essence and we yearn for more. This is the positive message of the movie, the human longing for good. When 'The Boy' cries: ‘I want to go home!’, we too want to go home, to a safe place of love'. Anything else seems absurd. And to preserve the sense of reality, we've a story order, so that the growth of the child actor mirrors the progression and growth of the central character. The black and white images, the framing, the pacing and the expansive setting of the countryside gives the viewers the emotional room to seriously reflect on the acts of violence that 'The Boy' sees and endures. In several of the most problematic scenes, the boy isn't there at all. The camera views the action in his place and conveys his subjective vision. The goal is to create a series of tableaux that, cumulatively, takes the protagonist on a journey to the very heart of the dark human soul. Each part of the series is a visual clue, a sort of lost fragment of a larger painting, a canvas that draws the protagonist irrevocably toward a final catharsis. It's intended as a kind of gradual peeling away of layers so that, by the end, the viewer has arrived at the very core of the central character, who has discovered a hard-won truth. It’s the story’s spirit of the ballad, it's quiet urgency, the vivid internal world of the central character, 'The Boy', whose nature is beautiful despite the horror around him. It’s also the story of the historical and geographical setting, and the characters 'The Boy' encounters. It’s not always important that we love these characters or mourn their fate. What's important is that we see them and bear witness. Adults have their own pasts, which they're aware of, and at the same time they can imagine a future. But this is not true for a child. The past is an unbelievably shallow body of water, where it’s not possible to swim. And the future cannot be imagined at all. A child, basically, can only think a few days ahead. What will happen in a month is unknowable. Several clinical psychologists have concluded that children, paradoxically, accept difficult reality far more easily than adults do. They take it as it's. And of course, this is the quality that helps children survive by allowing them to believe that the terrible things around them are normal. Something like this happens to the main character, 'The Boy', who's saved but perhaps irrevocably damaged by the very resilience that allowed him to tolerate horror. 'The Boy' is a kind of symbol, a representative of all those hundreds of thousands of children who lived through the war, wandered through ruined Europe, lost their parents and perhaps never saw them again. And it’s just the same now across the entire world wherever military conflict is going on. After reading the original novel 'The Painted Bird', we're shocked by the descriptions of violence and brutality. The conception of violence can be disturbing, but it's not one-dimensional, or even two-dimensional. Violence unveils and frames the essence of humanity. The book was seen as autobiographical, but then, Kosinski was accused of having invented most of the situations, of writing a work of fiction and imagining horrifying situations that he himself never experienced. Kosinski during his lifetime made a mistake when he said that it was his personal autobiography. But to understand why he did it, it's necessary to know his life, his spirit and his thoughts. Whether the book reflects his own experiences or not is completely irrelevant, because the essential element of a work of art is not it's biographical truth, but it's truthfulness. Even movies that make the valid claim 'based on a true story' are not reality. Without imagination, whether deliberate or not, art is impossible. At the end, every Creator arrives at some degree of aestheticization. It's not a literary fiction; the book simply relates the dreadful, deadening facts and the knowledge that all of this really happened, and will happen again. No artwork can deliver such raw reality, that's not it's purpose and it will always fail. But art is capable of treating these stories empathetically, and above all truthfully. A film, unlike a novel, is based not on words but on images and no adaption to film can match what been created in the imagination of the reader. The camera is absolutely uncompromising; it offers the viewpoint of the director and no one else. An adaptation can only be successful if the aesthetic concept of the film, the narrative style and the message of the story re-create for the viewer the emotional and intellectual impact the book would have on it's readers. The film resolutely avoids pathos, and eliminates well-worn clichés, exploitative melodrama and music that attempts to evoke artificial feelings. Absolute quiet can be as stark and more emotionally charged than any music. The 'Cinemascope' is a richly emotive format. No other format can capture, with such accuracy and force, both the beauty and the cruelty playing out on screen. The quality of the digital image still lags behind the tactile properties of the classical negative, most especially because the digital image loses it's rawness. Black-and-white captures the essential truthfulness and urgency of the images. The negative is more authentic, especially for something like “The Painted Bird”, which is in black and white precisely to reinforce the basic narrative line. Filming it in colour would have been a catastrophe. It would have looked entirely unconvincing, fake, commercial. The locality is describes only as a place somewhere in 'Eastern Europe', where a special dialect is spoken. The film is a mixture of all 'Slavic' languages, while 'German' and 'Russian' soldiers speak in their native tongues. The style of storytelling is not verbal, it’s cinematic. There's no interior monologue or explanatory narration. The tempo of the film is set by the pace of a flowing river, unpredictable and continually shifting in it's rhythms. This directorial approach forces the viewer to experience the events unfolding on screen, to essentially live both moments of great emotional tension and moments of resolution. We've to find the key to the door named 'Kosinski’s The Painted Bird'. The film fully awares the controversies surrounding both the authorship and the relationship between Kozinski’s novel and the plot of “The Painted Bird”. "The Painted Bird" wants the audience and the novel’s readers to come away with the same questions. Are psychologists right when they say we will turn towards evil if there's no danger of punishment? Is evil inevitable within a struggle for life itself? What circumstances allow us to betray our principles? The story asks us many unpleasant questions and to struggle, alone, for the answers. We're left in doubt about the purpose and fate of 'Homo Sapiens' as a species and these doubts hurt so much that we've to hang on to anything positive. It's not a war film, nor even a 'Holocaust' film. It's a story of the struggle between darkness and light, good and evil, true faith and organized religion and many other opposites. And this is precisely where the magic lies; only in darkness can we see light. Through confronting evil, we arrive at the unshakeable conviction that good and love must necessarily exist. At least, through the horror is hope.

"Four Daughters"     The life of Olfa (Hend Sabri), a Tunisian woman and mother of 4 daughters, oscillates between light and shadow. One day, her two eldest daughters disappear. To fill their absence, the film intimates a journey full rebellion, violence, intergenerational transmission and sisterhood, which will question the very foundation of our societies.   It's the story of a mother and of her four teenage daughters. When the film begins, it's astonishing to see them so radiant and smiling, when we're expecting to find women who are grieving. They're like that in real life. The passing down of traumas from mother to daughter is a recurring theme throughout this film. It's the story of a curse, because in turn, this little girl will hold her mother to account. Olfa is a very powerful character. She's the embodiment of a mother with all of her contradictions, her ambiguities, her troubled areas. Olfa’s story is well known in Tunisia. But what role was she playing and what was the nature of this trap? Olfa had been conditioned by journalists. But we've to understand that at that time, this kind of story was commonplace. We notice that in life we often behave in a way that's influenced by clichés that we’ve seen on TV or in the media. Most of these reports do not allow for the different dimensions of an individual to be explored. Yet Olfa is so exuberant, so ambiguous, and so complex that it is impossible to show just one side of her. What struck us about Olfa and her daughter's lives is the absence of men. As soon as a man enters their world, they throw him out. The men around them can’t survive them. They've a very complex relationship with masculinity. Olfa embodies something that's both very feminine and very masculine.   In a way, as all of the men have been ejected from their group, it's as if all these men are just one man (Majd Mastoura). For him, we can not permit ourselves to elicit such confessions in front of a camera. He thinks that this intimate speech should not have left the psychologists office. When you're faced with such revelations about other people’s lives, you've to ask yourself a thousand ethical questions. When you're faced with such revelations about other people’s lives, you've to ask yourself a thousand ethical questions. The strength of their resilience is phenomenal. It's a retrograde form of patriarchy that women have to assimilate in order to survive. They don’t have a choice. Olfa might not respect men, but she still embodies one of the forms of this patriarchy. When you come from a humble background like her, the choice for a young girl is limited: to become a prostitute or holier-than-holy. There's no room for nuance. And as they're beautiful, that's their other curse, her daughters chose holiness and even going beyond holiness, they've wished for death! Through the four portraits that the film paints of these young women, it's also a film about adolescence, of this chasm between childhood and adulthood, where suddenly we seek to understand, and even to experiment with, the idea of death, as one of the girls demonstrates when she wants to sleep in a grave. But even as we play with death, it's the period of our lives when we're searching for an ideal of life while worrying about our social environment.   The emergence of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, transformed the world of jihadism. After capturing large swaths of Iraq and Syria in 2014, the Islamic State attracted tens of thousands of foreigners who sought to build a new Islamic society in a modern caliphate. They included engineers, accountants, teachers, grandparents, and teenage girls, as well as fighters. They reinvigorated existing jihadist movements and galvanized a new wave of support for jihadism generally. In 2014, ISIS seemed to eclipse al-Qaeda. But al-Qaeda, the vanguard of the global jihadist movement, is seeking to reclaim its primacy. It has built support among local jihadist groups in the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and the Caucasus. Core leaders still provide overall directives, although they've also dispersed among affiliates. Advisors help groups define local goals and targets. Al-Qaeda has played the long game, and it may prove to be a more enduring model than the Islamic State. But the jihadist spectrum is also far more diverse today than it was on 9/11. Tunisian nationals make up the largest number of foreign fighters affiliated with ISIS in Syria, Iraq, and Libya. As ISIS gains a stronger grip in neighboring Libya, the issue of youth radicalization in Tunisia is more pressing than ever. ISIS is highly effective and organized in using social media platforms to recruit foreign and local fighters across national borders.   The paper examines ISIS’s use of sophisticated online propaganda strategies to recruit young Tunisians and proposes concrete ways to improve the gov- ernment’s thus far lackluster response. Fighting the online and offline recruitment efforts of terrorist groups should include not only monitoring online content that incites violence but also more constructive measures such as building platforms to connect government with the population, from using social media to encourage civic engagement to crowdsourcing in policy making. How did ISIS manage to successfully recruit a person as ordinary as Olfa’s daughter's and convince them to commit a terrorist attack on such a scale? There are a plethora of reasons why Tunisian men and women flock to join ISIS at home and abroad. Regardless of their diverse motivations, ISIS has shown itself to be highly effective at recruiting foreign and local fighters across borders, using sleek online propaganda and social media platforms. In Olfa’s case, there's no evidence that her daughters were recruited online by ISIS. Nevertheless the threat of online recruitment and radicalization by Islamist terrorist groups remains very high. ISIS is one of the biggest threats to Tunisia’s stability and democratic consolidation as it is getting a stronger hold over parts of neighboring   After the revolution in Tunisia, the new government tolerated jihadist-Salafist discourse as part of its commitment to freedom of expression and beliefs. Such discourse in fact further strengthened the message that jihad is a duty of Muslims in times of war, for example in the war in Syria. Hungry for change, young men and women fell victim to such narratives, only to be disappointed later. Friends and family of some of the Tunisian fighters have reported that they've often regretted going to Syria after discovering a different reality. In fact, the number of returnee fighters to Tunisia is also the highest globally. While this number could signal a threat that terrorism will be reimported home, the returnees are a very valuable source of information for learning more about the motivation behind radicalization and designing proactive measures accordingly. For this to materialize, however, de-radicalization programs have to be in place to rehabilitate returnees, win their trust, give amnesties in return for their readiness to peacefully engage with society and to cooperate to prevent further radicalization. Jihadism has evolved dramatically and traumatically since the 9/11 attacks. Movements, leaders, targets, tactics, and arenas of operation have all proliferated in ways unimagined in 2001.   How to revive memories without embellishing or changing them, without playing the good guy, without sugar-coating the truth? How to succeed in recapturing what took place and what is no longer there? How to face up to the truth of one’s own past years later? The girls are looking for something that's missing. They want to challenge the authority of Olfa who has always embodied both their father and mother figure and who wanted to repress their sexuality. Since they did not have the tools to be able to do so, they became, as one of them said, 'God’s chosen ones'. This gave them the illusion of transcendence to try and impose their desires on the world. This film documents the different relationships to death and to life that sometimes run through adolescents in a confused manner.   However, taking a deeper look at the contradictions, the sensations, the emotions, requires time that journalists do not have. It is the role of cinema to explore these areas, these ambiguities of the human spirit. It's the role of cinema to explore these areas, these ambiguities of the human spirit. However, taking a deeper look at the contradictions, the sensations, the emotions, requires time that journalists do not have.  The line needed to become blurred because we spend our time acting in life and even more so in front of the camera. Since the early days, movies enjoyed exploring the tenuous relationship between fiction and documentary. It's a common thread that runs through all films. This film is a therapeutic laboratory in which memories can be recaptured.   Written by Gregory Mann

It’s intense. The infinite horizon. After a few days, I feel reborn. You know, just you, the wind and the sound of the boat cutting through the ocean. When you compare “Adrift” with the movie “All is lost“, where Robert Redford sailed across the ocean on board of a huge sailboat, you’ll notice some similarities. First of all, you can expect some idyllic footage once again. The words horizon, the setting sun, and sails that blow in the wind can be used to compose a corresponding sentence. In both films, it’s an upcoming storm that ensures that the spotless sailboat is reduced to floating wreckage. And then you see an admirable struggle for survival. These being the similarities, isn’t surprising. What else did you expect in a film about a shipwreck? Similarities and differences. However, there are also some significant differences. Differences which make “Adrift” a more interesting film. First, let’s talk about the conversations. In “All is lost” there are as many dialogue lines as you encounter traffic lights on the ocean. None! But then again, Robert Redford was drifting all alone while Tami (Shailene Woodley) and Richard (Sam Claflin) had each other. If there would be no conversation at all, you could say those two Globetrotters weren’t really meant for each other. And the trip across the Pacific would have been boring as hell for both of them in that case. The most obvious difference is the gender of the person who does everything to survive. And finally, there’s the psychological aspect that reminds you immediately of “47 Meters down“. Before you know it, the storm is over. The film can be divided into two chapters. One part before and one after the storm of course. Don’t expect an apocalyptic drawn-out part with a ferocious ocean that throws the boat around like a walnut after which it finally crushes it like a coconut by a heavy stone. Otherwise, you’ll be disappointed. The devastating storm itself is extremely short. The part that was given a lot of attention, is about Tami and Richard meeting each other. And on the other hand, the terrible period on a destroyed boat with a limited supply of food and something to drink. And as a vegetarian, it’s even more difficult For Tami. Because catching a fish causes her to gag instead of being happy. If I’d be in a similar situation, I would throw away my morals instantly. Lots of flashbacks. In terms of content, both parts were interesting enough. Only the romantic stuff was a bit too much of a good thing. I understand they tried to show the contrast between the pleasant and the difficult moments. And then there’s the least successful part for me. The alternation of fragments from the two different time lines with the help of recurring flashbacks. Just when you are empathizing with the dramatic part of the story, in which Tami tries to cope with the situation and does the impossible to cheer up the badly wounded Richard, they jump back to a romantic scene with those two lovebirds watching a beautiful sunset while drinking a Cuba Libre. Even though these are sometimes scenes with beautiful images, I thought it slowed down the pace and decreased the tension. After every flashback, I thought to myself “Show up, you damn storm. Where are you?“. But once this terrible event is over, it’s still a fascinating film with a well-thought-out twist. Don’t watch when you’re about to go on a boat trip. “Adrift” isn’t a bad movie. Or you hate romantic issues. Or you instantly get seasick when you look at a sailboat. What impressed me the most was the interaction between Shailene Woodley (who effortlessly transcends her acting level from “Divergent“) and Sam Claflin. Their love relationship felt convincing and realistic. No fake moments. They were two wandering souls who met each other by chance and together undertook this adventurous trip. They aren’t married yet and already they experience what it means to be together for better or for worse. The film is based on true facts. Mostly the result is a mocking chuckle when I read this. But for me the result was an enormous respect for that young girl who experienced this disaster. Tami Oldham is living proof that one should not talk about the weakness of women. She proves that women can stand their ground in certain circumstances. “Adrift” shows that the term “Girlpower” is not an empty concept. Only one advise. Best not watch this movie when you’re planning to take a boat trip in the near future. I’m sure you’ll start that well-deserved holiday with trembling knees. My rating 7/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

Since early December 2017, you couldn’t escape the empowering anthem, This Is Me from the soundtrack to 2017’s, The Greatest Showman. From radio stations to supermarkets, the song was inescapable, as was other forms of marketing for the upcoming film release. And after initially passing it off as another desperate Oscar baiting film, I sat down at the start of 2018, and was immediately enthralled with the toe tapping songs and sublime cinematography, just like many fans of the film did. But that’s not to say this is the perfect film. If you’re looking for a 100% accurate retelling of P.T. Barnum’s (Hugh Jackman) life, you may not find this as enjoyable. Throughout the film, Barnum is often written in a way that doesn’t justify why he starts what many people of the time would call “a freak show”, but it instead gives you an insight into why Barnum sees this as a good idea. Lines like “they’re already laughing kid, might as well get paid for it” can makes sense to some people, and back then, it could’ve been seen as justification. We also have to appreciate that while doing something like this in 2018 would be morally wrong, back when Barnum started the circus, it was socially acceptable to go to a show like this, and laugh at the “oddities” on display. There’s also the two romantic subplots that didn’t really happen. There’s the added romantic tension between Barnum and Jenny Lind, (Rebecca Ferguson) which was the only narrative element that I didn’t care for. There wasn’t a big impact on the plot apart from one argument with Barnum’s wife, Charity. (Michelle Williams) It also felt like it was forced in for a contrived attempt at drama. The other romantic subplot between Zac Efron’s Phillip Carlyle, and Zendaya’s Anne Wheeler. This one had much better chemistry and tension between the fictional couple, primarily because of the prejudice of the time period. Efron and Zendaya create a real sense of restricted love, where the characters are desperate to be together, but feel restrained by the world around them. Highlights include their tender interaction at Lind’s opening night, and the big expression of their love, and the chains that hold them back during Rewrite The Stars. But forgetting all the historical inaccuracies for just a moment, the film still others a lot for the modern audience to enjoy. Seamus McGarvey’s cinematography is beautifully handled, with sharp and clear use of colour through each frame of the film. From the silhouettes of Barnum at the start, to the shots of yesteryear America, as Barnum and Charity start their lives together, each image comes alive with beautiful imagery. But it never takes away from the first class performances by the entire cast, with a particular highlight coming from Keala Settle as Lettie, (The Bearded Lady) who stole the show whenever she took the spotlight. She’ll make you laugh and cry at each perfect point. And when it comes to the songs, it’s some of the best examples of film songs in recent memory. With the minds behind City Of Stars from 2016’s La La Land responsible for all the lyrics this time, each song fills the listener with empowering messages and thrilling imagery, while bringing the film to life in a whole other way. Just like the opening to La La Land, many audience members will be won over by the end of the first song! So, is The Greatest Showman the most accurate telling of Barnum’s life, not by any stretch of the imagination, but if you can look past that, and be sucked into this interpretation of history, then many are bound to be enthralled with the show stopping tunes, fantastic performances across the board, and some stellar imagery. Having spoken to many viewers of the film, it’s done exactly that to them, with some saying they’ve felt the urge to join in the songs every-time they heard them. All I can say is, no wonder it did so well. Musical fans, you’ll love it! Historians… maybe look somewhere else. 4.5 Stars Out Of 5

(Decision to Leave • 2022 ‧ Mystery/Romance ‧ 2h 18m • Showtimes • London Tue 18 Oct ▪ Wed 19 Oct • Thu 20 Oct • Fri 21 Oct • Sat 22 Oct • Sun 23 Oct • Mon 24 Oct Institute of Contemporary Arts, 260 m·The Mall, Institute of Contemporary Arts, LONDON SW1Y 5AH, United Kingdom, 20:45 ODEON Luxe Haymarket, 400 m·11/18 Panton Street, LONDON SW1Y 4DP, United Kingdom, 17:00 • 20:15 Picturehouse Central, 600 m·Piccadilly Circus, 13 Coventry Street, LONDON W1D 7DH, United Kingdom, 16:00 • 19:00 Curzon Soho, 650 m·99 Shaftesbury Avenue, LONDON W1D 5DY, United Kingdom, 14:40 • 18:10 • 20:40 BFI Southbank, 900 m·South Bank, Belvedere Road, LONDON SE1 8XT, United Kingdom, 14:20 • 17:50 • 20:20 Curzon Bloomsbury, 2,0 km·The Brunswick, LONDON WC1N 1AW, United Kingdom, 15:00 • 18:20 • 20:20) "Decision To Leave" From a mountain peak in South Korea, Soo-wan (Go Kyung-Pyo), a businessman, plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae (Tang Wei) may know more than she initially lets on. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, Hae-joon finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire, proving that the darkest mysteries lurk inside the human heart. Set against a contrasting backdrop of mountains and seas, "Decision To Leave" captures the tension of a police investigation while simultaneously being focused on the changing psychology of a man and a woman. The film begins with the detective Hae-joon investigating the death of a man who fell from a mountaintop. The character is similar to the police character Martin Beck from the Swedish detective novel series. When he meets the deceased man’s wife Seo-rae, he starts to suspect her at the same time that he begins feeling an attraction to her. The wife of the man who dies on the mountain, although she's Chinese, her maternal grandfather was a Korean independence fighter, and she's proud of her family’s history and her grandfather. When her husband who loved climbing dies on the mountain, leaving her alone, she comes across the polite and clean detective Hae-joon who's in charge of her husband’s case. During the course of the investigation, she feels she's being considered a suspect. Even so, she maintains her usual upright posture and speaks boldly to Hae-joon in her Korean that's awkward, but which expresses her intentions clearly. Amidst the rising tension of the crime investigation, the film delicately captures the emotions of two characters who feel a special curiosity and unexpected affinity for each other, providing an intriguing mix of suspense and romance. In particular, the unreadable words and actions by Seo-rae make her tantalizingly hard to read, not only for Hae-joon but for the viewer as well, raising dramatic tension. As the location of the story shifts from the mountain to the sea, as their developing relationship is torn between suspicion and attraction, and as the investigation slowly reveals more details about the past, the complex, subtle emotions that tie these two characters together will leave an unforgettable impression on viewers. The film follows the emotional trajectory of two characters: the wife of the deceased man, and the detective who becomes fascinated by her. Seo-rae, who lost her husband in a sudden accident, does not show any signs of grief or agitation. The police start to investigate her as a suspect, but she never loses her upright and imposing attitude, making the audience curious whether she might really be the culprit. She does not hesitate in her exchanges with Hae-joon, even though he suspects her. And despite her limited Korean skills, her unexpected expressions and answers stymie those who question her. Seo-rae can knock her opponent off guard without ever losing her composure, making it impossible to ever know what's truth, what she's truly feeling, and who she really is. Meanwhile Hae-joon, from the moment he first sets eyes on Seo-rae, feels a subtle interest stirring in him even as his instincts as a detective tell him to suspect her. Having been recognized for his abilities and named team leader at the violent crimes division, Hae-joon stands out from other detective characters in the police procedural genre with his neatly dressed look, clean personality, and polite manner of interacting with others. A person who has never felt disturbance in the slightest, he begins to change in unexpected ways after meeting Seo-rae. Having often suffered from insomnia, he's finally able to sleep deeply. "Decision To Leave" focuses on facial expressions and eyelines to better capture the true face of the two character's emotions. With bold zooming in and zooming out to visualize the character's imagination, and unusual perspective shots that capture the sense of watching the relationship develop between the characters. In particular, such as the houses belonging to Seo-rae and Hae-joon, or the police station and interrogation rooms with their differentiated structure. Things will will not work out between them. But when they express their intention in this resolute way, from an outside perspective it doesn’t feel very convincing. They may want and agree to separate, but given that deep inside their hearts they don’t really want to part, it’s a title that suggests they won’t be able to leave each other. To Seo-rae, who has always thought of herself as being unhappy, Hae-joon is like a precious gift. She must have been taken with surprise to think, For Hae-joon, Seo-rae is like the waves on the sea. Sometimes she's calm, sometimes violent, sometimes overwhelming. Sometimes she wraps you in her embrace, but it’s always changeable. She’s a very attractive character. The always proud and faithful detective Hae-joon is so capable that he becomes the youngest officer ever to rise to the position of Inspector. He always dresses neatly, cares about cleanliness, and has a polite, kind personality, but above all, he's a person who sincerely devotes himself to catching criminals. He records all details at the scene of a crime on his smartwatch, and routinely performs late-night duty because of his insomnia. He depicts a character who departs significantly from the familiar conventions of the police procedural genre. It’s to this person that Seo-rae approaches so boldly with strong curiosity. The subtle and tense feelings that emerge between these two people, which having begun as the relationship between a detective and a suspect cannot easily reveal it's true nature, will leave an unforgettable impression on the audience. With nods toward classic Hollywood and Hitchcok’s "Vertigo", the film infuses with ingenuity and a knife-edge precision that truly cannot be matched. A blend of investigative drama, "Decision To Leave" eschews the shocking breaking of taboos in which subtle emotional tremors coexist with pulsating inner waves. "Decision To Leave" is a seductive romantic thriller that takes a renowned stylistic flair to dizzying new heights. There's not much violence, nudity or sexual content. The film’s message is expressed in a subtle way. Like the sand is soaked by the waves. Because from a genre perspective it’s a romance. There are many shots in the film that are technically unconventional and physically impossible. With it's genre mix of police procedural and it's intriguing characters, the sensual mise-en-scène, "Decision To Leave" is at once the most classic and most original film of 2022. Written by Gregory Mann (Won best director at Cannes 2022)

First it was borderline personality,then severe depression, yesterday, she said it was antisocial with schizoid tendency. She’s basically just flipping to random pages of the DSM-5and throwing medications at me. But I have a perfectly healthy brain. It just doesn’t contain feelings. There are films that aren’t much of a story and still leave a certain impression. The same applies to “Thoroughbreds” where two teenage girls, each with a specific personality disorder, come up with a plan to kill someone. The two haven’t seen each other for a long time. An eternity in which much has changed. One grew up in a rich family while the other knew a past in which the killing of her own horse played an important role. But despite the contradictions, the old friendship bond is restored. And before they know it, they are planning a murder together. Strange but true. Although it’s about a murder, it’s actually a funny and comic film. Especially because of the fascinating conversations full of dry, nonchalant humor. Sometimes it seems like the two young girls are totally insensitive people. Which is applicable to one of them. Two tasty actresses. The two main roles are played by two young actresses whose earlier performances I could appreciate. Physically they both look appetizing. Only Anya Taylor-Joy, who takes care of the role of Lily, has a more unique look with those big Bambi eyes. Olivia Cooke, on the other hand, is more the cliché image of the beautiful girl next door who’s slowly changing into a sensual young lady. The type of girl you’ve already met in countless feature films. Maybe that’s why Anya Taylor-Joy appeared in movies like “The Witch“, “Morgan“, “Split” and “Marrowbone“. All of which I enjoyed. Although I was kind of disappointed about “The Witch“. Not because of the acting. I was expecting more of a horror instead of a medieval drama. Dead serious and funny at the same time. Olivia Cooke’s acting was breathtaking and extraordinary in the film “Me and Earl and the dying girl“. A film that’s difficult to surpass. Even though her acting in “The Signal“, “The Quiet Ones” and “Ready player one” (although the emphasis was on the visual part) wasn’t so bad, the quoted film really stands out. But what she shows in “Thoroughbreds” as the apathetic Amanda, can compete with it. This was an enjoyment from start to finish. The way she plays the personality of Amanda is truly magnificent. And even though this film is meant to be deadly serious, her attitude will unintentionally cause comical situations. I bet you didn’t see that one coming. “Thoroughbreds” is such a type of film which is difficult to pin down to a specific genre. Yes, it’s indeed a crime film about two eccentric girls who are brooding on a devilish plan. And yes, unintentionally there’s also that comical approach through the behavior of the two ladies and the way they interact with each other. And wait till you see the unexpected ending which makes it all seem sinister. But if you think about it longer, you’ll agree it’s a logical outcome. “Thoroughbreds” is not exactly an easy movie in terms of genre. It is a fascinating film with the emphasis on the character and psyche of the protagonists. The fact that an intriguing and ingenious twist has been given to it only makes it more interesting. I was fascinated by the conversations. Bizarre. So if you like a well-thought-out story that isn’t simply crafted up, then you should definitely give this film a chance. And besides that, you can also enjoy Anton Yelchin, who unfortunately died in a sad accident, once more. I thought the last film he acted in was “Green Room“. But most of all, it’s the literary jousting that takes place between the two female main characters that made an impression on me. It sometimes seemed like a Shakespearean play that uses fancy words in a subtle dialogue. I never thought a conversation would fascinate me. The wonders of the world are not yet out. My rating 7/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

(Release Info London schedule; February 28th, 2020, Electric Cinema White City, Television Centre, 101 Wood Ln, White City, London W12 7FR, United Kingdom, 15:00 · 18:00 · 20:45) https://www.electriccinema.co.uk/film/downhill/film-times/all "Downhill" Barely escaping an avalanche during a family ski vacation in 'The Alps', a married couple is thrown into disarray as they're forced to reevaluate their lives and how they feel about each other. It’s the ski vacation of a lifetime for Pete (Will Ferrell) and Billie Stanton (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and their two boys Finn (Julian Grey) and Emerson (Ammon Jacob Ford); a week in 'The Austrian Alps'. With both parents unplugged from their professional careers, 'The Stantons' are, on the surface, ready for seven days of snowy family fun. What's poised to be a delightful week of skiing and togetherness instead becomes a series of awkward and emotionally fraught moments in which Pete and Billie have to be honest with themselves and each other in ways they hadn’t expected. Early in the trip, while having lunch at a mountainside restaurant, Pete and Billie have dramatically different responses to what's, unbeknownst to them, a controlled avalanche that appears frighteningly out of control. Pete’s reaction stuns the family and throws the rest of their vacation and the couple’s marriage into chaos, as Billie reevaluates their relationship and each is forced to wrestle with their own sense of self. How well can two people really know each other? And what happens when one of them does something totally unexpected? As a long-married couple, Billie and Pete know each other inside and out, or so they thought before their trip to 'The Alps'. When disaster strikes, Pete reacts in a way Billie couldn’t have predicted or imagined. These characters, including the children, are digesting the reality of what just happened. As terrifying as the avalanche is, what Pete does is just as terrifying, if not even more so. And it happens so quickly and it’s such a disaster that it’s hard for Billie to actually fully understand what happened. She’s in shock. Pete is also in denial. Unable to accept or understand what he’s done, he tries hard to carry on with the family vacation they’d all hoped for. Pete is pathetic in his own way. When you watch the movie, you’re also kind of sympathetic to him at the same time. He makes the most egregious error he could make, and he’s so sorry, but he’s just too childish to admit it. Otherwise, it could be easy to write off Pete’s actions, abandoning his family in a moment of danger, as wholly unredeemable. Billie is a self-assured, accomplished attorney and devoted wife and mother who suddenly finds herself on unstable emotional ground. There are countless times where the film is able to tell the story just because of her reactions. It's Pete’s regrettable response and resulting shame that make the story so relatable. There are no good guys or bad guys in this movie. Maybe there are good people making bad decisions, but even then, they’re questionable decisions. Billie ultimately feels a great deal of sympathy for her husband because she understands the shame he feels for what he has done. Providing a foible to both the established relationship and emotional tension between Billie and Pete are Zach (Zach Woods) and Rosie (Zoë Chao), a carefree young couple enjoying a free-wheeling exploration of Europe that they document online with the hashtag 'NoAgenda'. The couple ends up in a pivotal role in Billie and Pete’s understanding of the avalanche and it's aftermath. They’re a couple in the euphoric phase of falling in love, where your brain is just marinating in all those love hormones. You’re just so excited and sort of disinclined to pay attention to the limitations in yourself or the other person. Zach works with Pete in real estate, though it’s debatable how close their friendship is. Pete has been following Zach and Rosie’s European adventures online, perhaps with a bit of jealousy and envy, and, unbeknownst to Billie, invites the couple to drop by their hotel for dinner. Pete kind of reels them into their predicament to give him cover. He’s using Zach and Rosie as a smokescreen or a way of blocking the conversation from Billie about what happened during the avalanche. The two couples spend an incredibly squirm-worthy evening together, as Zach and Rosie bear witness to the unbearable tension between Billie and Pete. Having Rosie and Zach observe Billie and Pete’s meltdown is a great device; we can feel the cringing and the awkwardness. It also gives a small nod that these two people, in their own way, are also headed toward an avalanche if they’re not careful, and we get clues about what Rosie wants and what Zach wants as they've private time with Billie and Pete respectively. So, it's important to show, again, the theme of the individual within the whole. Zach also has private conversations with Pete, as Rosie does with Billie, where the younger couple provides perspective for the agonized husband and wife. Pete and Zach have the relationship that so many men have, where you go out expecting to have the time of your life and by the end of the night, you’re crying into your 'Jägermeister'. Zach is a critical component to Pete’s journey. Rosie and Billie have a poignant exchange when the two women unexpectedly cross paths the day after their stressful dinner. She’s almost a stranger to Billie but when they unexpectedly meet on the same ski lift, Rosie says, 'hey, what your husband did was messed up and you've every right to be angry'. Rosie is an outsider looking in at a situation and offering an honest, objective observation. Two other characters that help Billie gain perspective are Charlotte (Miranda Otto), a mysterious and outspoken woman who may or may not work at the hotel where the couple is staying, and Guglielmo (Giulio Berruti), a handsome and passionate ski instructor with whom Billie spends an afternoon on the slopes. Charlotte is the story’s most enigmatic and outrageous character. She's among the first people Pete and Billie meet when they arrive in Austria, and within seconds, she’s sharing tales of her sexual exploits. She feels she’s there to liven up the party and make people loosen up. She’s super confident about herself and doesn’t care about anyone else’s opinions at all. She has a very black and white kind of stance on things. It’s just totally different than an American point of view. She’s definitely a character that has a toe on the ground but is a little larger-than-life and lives her life differently from every other character that we meet in the story. Guglielmo is a guy that's very passionate about what he’s doing. He doesn’t think too much. He just feels a lot. His passion contrasts with Pete’s avoidance, as he helps Billie understand that sometimes we might need to feel rather than think. Billie's interaction with Guglielmo is a spontaneous, surprising relief and a tempting distraction from the anxiety and tension she is experiencing with her husband and her family. You've these characters that flow into the story of Pete and Billie in the right time in this moment in their lives where they’re figuring out if they can go down the hill together. Charlotte and Guglielmo are characters who, especially for Billie, come in at the right time with a message for her. Finn and Emerson are Billie and Pete’s twin sons. The characters have different feelings about skiing. As with Billie and Pete, the avalanche changes the vibe of the boys’ vacation. Finn and Emerson experience the close call alongside their parents and are deeply shaken by Pete’s reaction. They’re not just frightened, but confused as to why he would do that. And in fact, their father becomes a child to them. The version of the film uses the avalanche as a metaphor for the marriage. Billie and Pete can’t move on because they see the things that are happening differently.  The question is, can they sync up in their stories? They mimic life’s unpredictable nature where daily stress or even tragic circumstances can often be accompanied by comedic moments and/or relief. Billie and Pete are thrown off balance in a culture they don’t understand, frustrated by a language they don’t speak, and confused by customs and laws they’re not familiar with. They’re just these tiny, confused human beings. And then a massive, out-of-control avalanche rolls over them. The story shows us that it’s in moments of unexpected stress and imbalance that characters find their true selves and reveal the fissures in their relationships. We've both the woman’s perspective as well as the man’s and examine how this random, yet incredibly significant, incident affects them both as individuals and as a couple. Inevitably, the characters are forced to reevaluate everything they thought to be true. And as a result, the audience is left at the end of the film debating whose side they're on. From the start of "Downhill", there’s a sense of foreboding, even before 'The Stantons' come face to face with an avalanche. That feeling of uncertainty comes from a combination of camerawork, the sight of avalanche-blast cannons on the mountainside and the film’s doom-heralding score. The challenge is to combine humor, melancholy and a distinct regional feel in the music without muddling the composition. Such difficulties can be inspirational because you’re doing something you wouldn’t do instinctively. Sonic warnings also come from avalanche cannons scattered throughout the peaks. Though they appear ominous, they’re designed to blast away accumulated snow, creating intentional slides on empty slopes to diminish the risk of spontaneous avalanches on active ski runs. Anytime you see an actual avalanche on the mountain, that whole mountain range is changed and replaced from the one that's there. It adds a whole other layer of, oh gosh, this scenario that kicks off the emotional journey for this family is actually something that's happening 30 miles down the road. All of those elements adds poignancy that you couldn’t help but feel. For example, Charlotte dresses almost entirely in white, from her fur-trimmed ski suit to her glamorous casual wear. The color plays into other character's’ clothes. There’s a scene with Billie and Pete, sort of a pivotal scene in the hallway, and Billie’s wearing this white scarf. The intention there's to show this impending avalanche of feelings is sort of choking her, to put it bluntly. Another little signature is putting the characters in a white environment even when they’re inside. We've the apartment with the sofa, chair and carpet. That's really to put Billie in the snow even though she’s actually in a physical interior. It’s this thing again of being trapped in a blind environment where you haven’t got depth perception and those kinds of things. It’s just white all around her, so even when she’s inside, she’s still in the snow. The design concept aims to keep Billie and Pete in the eye of the storm, no matter where they're. The theme is that Billie and Pete are still trying to weather this large avalanche. Multiple things happen along the way, but it really is about two people spiraling and trying to figure out how they can navigate their way back to each other. Even when Billie and Pete are safe from avalanche danger, they’re still surrounded by a cold and snowy landscape. The scenery and the landscape are so stunning that people could think that they’re fake. Beyond the starkness of white, the film leanes on a muted palette for Billie and Pete, both in their ski wear and the dark grays and blues that round out their apartment, as a way of expressing the mood of their trip. While the locals take to the slopes in bright, flashy outfits, 'The Stantons' look is a little less lively. The point is that even within the sphere of wonderful enjoyment, 'The Stanton' family seems to be this slightly neutral-toned whole, because maybe they’re not enjoying the holiday as much as everybody else is, and that’s significant for the film. "Downhill" is a distinctly American take on an original story by Swedish director Ruben Östlund. It's inspired by the 2014 'Swedish' film "Force Majeure". It's a classic dinner party kind of question; what would you do if you're faced with this sort of event? How would you react? What appeals about the story is the idea that a person can be viewing their life through a certain lens, and what happens when that lens is taken off, what’s different? And is, in fact, anything different? How can a subtle shift in perspective, if facing an avalanche can be subtle, have such profound emotional effects. It’s a very big crisis, and it’s a big actual event that happens in the film. There’s a long-standing tradition in every art form of taking a work of art that you admire and interpreting it in a different context. It’s the film version of a cover song. You take a movie that you love, that has a very particular  sensibility and showing how you can riff on it. The intention is to take the ideas that the original movie had and explore them in a new context. It's a character-driven ballet between comedy and drama.

To utilize a tesseract… all you need is to tap into the right frequency. You just need your mind. I’ve never tried L.S.D. in my life. But while watching this confusing and psychedelic-looking movie, I thought my wife used some exotic spices in my dinner I’d just eaten. After a while, I still didn’t know what this movie was about. It’s something about space traveling with use of the 5th dimension where one moves through the universe by using just his mind. Mr. And Mrs. Murry (Chris Pine and Gugu Mbatha-Raw), two scientists, worked on this for years and are convinced it’s possible. Until one day Mr. Murry actually disappears without a trace and leaves his family behind. What? Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who? And before they know it, three eccentric-looking, fairy-like women show up. They are called Mrs. Which (Oprah Winfrey), Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon) and Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling). The three are a sort of space police who heard a cry for help and moved quickly through the universe to the spot where Meg (Storm Reid), daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Murry, lives. And together with her brother Charles Wallace (Deric McCabe) and Calvin (Levi “Better watch out” Miller), Mr. Popularity at school, they’re off on a rescue mission. Tv makes women look chunkier. Look at Oprah Winfrey what a movie does. This rescue mission leads them from one obscure and bizarre place to the other. From the colorful planet Uriel, where Mrs. Whatsit turns into a fluttering carpet with a face that looks like a gigantic sprout after she has conversed with a whole bunch of flying flowers. And they talk in color. For real? Yes really. Next, they arrive in a gloomy, dark world covered with clouds, with strangely stacked rock formations. Worlds with immensely sheepish creatures on stilts. And a spreading black smoke called Camazotz. Apparently, this cloud represents evil. And it’s spreading rapidly in space. And all this can be seen in the company of a huge, giant Oprah Winfrey. Whether this has been done intentionally to justify her body weight or it’s described like that in a book by Madeleine L’Engle, where this film is based on, I really don’t know. But it looked absurd anyway. Wasn’t it a bit exaggerated? “A wrinkle in time” is a fantasy movie, with a gang of children on an adventure in deep space. It reminded me sometimes of Wonka’s chocolate factory where every room was a new surprise as well. Only this film is not the same as its other Disney predecessors. Even though every Disney production is clearly aimed at a younger audience, there was always a bit of magic that appealed to adults as well. To be honest: I always have and still can enjoy a Disney movie. Well, this is the first film of them where I can’t agree with that fact. I was really annoyed at certain moments. The cacophony of colors and the absurdity of places where they traveled to, felt really exaggerated. The moralistic messages are a bit exorbitant and theatrical. Sometimes it was a bit too obvious. Or did the makers feel the need to give the youth of today an educational kick in the pants to draw their attention to those certain values in life again? A lesson about good and evil. And furthermore, being different doesn’t mean that you are an outsider and that it’s not normal to be scorned by others. Big spectacle. No, this Disney film wasn’t my cup of tea. I even thought it was just plain boring. Despite the fact the cast is filled with some famous stars, the acting itself was sometimes even laughable. Even a bonding with the characters was missing. So I really didn’t care in the end whether they would be catapulted through the universe or not. The only one of the three cosmic goddesses who could charm me was Reese Witherspoon. And that because of her brutal attitude and a big mouth. Maybe fans of the book will be excited while watching this film. If, however, it was the intention to proclaim the message about goodness and equality, it might have been better if they didn’t make a spectacle out of it. My rating 2/10 Links: IMDB More reviews here

(Glasgow Film Festival ● Select event time ● Here are a list of days and times at which this event will take place ● March Sun 06 Screening time 20:20 ● Mon 07.Screening time 15:00) https://glasgowfilm.org/glasgow-film-festival/shows/red-rocket-nc-18 "Red Rocket" "Red Rocket" in a magnetic, live-wire performance. It's a darkly funny, raw, and humane portrait of Mikey Saber (Simon Rex), an uniquely 'American' hustler, and a hometown that barely tolerates him. Mikey Saber is illuminating the hustler’s code, or something akin to it. Maybe it’s an overall philosophy of life. Maybe it’s just a way of explaining his character. Whatever it's, there’s a truth to it. Some people, if there’s a bottle thrown into a crowd, they’re going to get hit in the head with it every time. Other people step in shit and come out smelling like roses and nothing ever happens to them. Mikey’s just one of those guys. He doesn’t think about the future. He doesn’t care about ramifications. Flat broke and scheming, Mikey is back home in his tiny town of Texas City, T after a Los Angeles flame-out, hoping to move back in with his estranged wife Lexi (Bree Elrod) and mother-in-law Lil (Brenda Davis). They shouldn’t let him in, but they do. Mikey’s a man-child, constantly sugarcoating things for his own mental state. He’s feeding his head with positivity because he can’t really face the negative place he's in. It’s literally the only way he can cope. Everything is always somebody else’s fault. You see a lot of 'America' in that. That’s definitely an 'American' characteristic, somebody who's striving for success and it doesn’t matter who’s left trampled on the sidelines. You see it in "There Will Be Blood" and "The Wolf Of Wall Street" too, these ruthless guys who exploit to get to the top. The film uses comedy to a degree to soften Mikey, to show how one could be attracted to him. The central character is a distinctively American figure; a confidence man, an irrepressible optimist and a total grifter. Like snake-oil salesmen and Ponzi schemers, Mikey earns his living as a specific kind of freeloader, feeding off other people’s false hopes and real work; a suitcase pimp. It's a total revelation for the character. Since leaving the adult movie industry herself, Lexi has retreated to their hometown and slipped into drugs, but Mikey’s return sparks in her a mass of conflicting feelings, not all of them negative. She can see through the bullshit and can identify it immediately. But she's also a woman who's very lost and feeling trapped and addicted. Sometimes when you love someone, it can cloud your judgment and you can fall back into bad habits easily. Lexi’s character is crucial to the design of the film. She’s a keyhole into Mikey’s past and also, potentially, an opportunity for his redemption. Forgiveness may be off the table, but there’s a thaw. Still, Texas City doesn’t really know what to do with Mikey, this oddball former resident and washed up pseudo-celebrity riding around town on a borrowed bicycle. He’s un-hirable, unmanageable and largely irredeemable, especially to Lexi’s no-nonsense mother Lil, Significantly, "Red Rocket" is about Mikey’s eventual comeuppance at the hands of a community of women who grow tired of the hustles he believes he’s pulling off at their expense. Leading that charge, and quick to see through him, is Leondria (Judy Hill), a pot-supply kingpin. A dark comedy with a keen attention to the dynamics of sex and power, "Red Rocket" works on it's own terms as a high-wire balancing act and mesmerizing character-driven drama. Intriguingly, though, we sometimes hear snippets of a very different off-screen drama; a careful listener will realize that the film, about a malignant narcissist on the outs, is set during the fateful summer of 2016. "Red Rocket" is a product of bold thinking and even bolder resourcefulness. An exhilarating realm of dark comedy, stylistic ambition, and pure off-the-grid adventurousness. It's a film that turns on a pin from live-wire comedy to quiet poignancy and back again, a movie as big and complex as the character at it's center. Rarely explored on film, much less on TV or in literature, the suitcase pimp is a male hanger-on, often a loosely employed boyfriend or husband, who manages a more popular female porn star, grooming and using her. Their lives are all about exploitation and using the women they’re with. The women make thousands while the men are making hundreds at best. So they've to live off the women, financially. There’s a self-denial, a holier-than-thou attitude, an obliviousness, an ignorance that these guys have. Because that’s how we think the magic happens in life, when you don’t have any expectations and you just go. And that’s what happened with this movie. It’s the full spectrum of our obscene, over-the-top culture, a culture of excess. written by Gregory Mann