As Mil e Uma Noites: Volume 1, O Inquieto (2015)

Slo naslov: 1001 noč: Nemiren 

Angleški naslov: Arabian Nights: Volume 1- The Restless One

Država: Portugalska, Francija, Nemčija

Leto: 2015

Dolžina: 125', Imdb

Žanri: Drama    

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Miguel Gomes 

Scenarij: Telmo Churro, Miguel Gomes, Mariana Ricardo

Igrajo: Crista Alfaiate, Miguel Gomes, Maria Rueff, Rogério Samora, Adriano Luz, Carloto Cotta

[SLO]

Via Kinodvor

V prvem delu se najprej srečamo s portugalskimi delavci v krizi: na eni strani so odpuščeni ladjedelničarji, na drugi čebelar v boju z invazivnimi azijskimi čebelami, vmes pa režiser osebno, ki pred našimi očmi zbeži pred velikopoteznostjo zastavljenega projekta. Pripovedovanje nato prevzame Šeherezada, ki pove tri zgodbe. V prvi afriški čarovnik s svojim magičnim sprejem za močno in dolgotrajno erekcijo vpliva na položaj Portugalske v pogajanjih z evropsko trojko. V drugi zgodbi spremljamo proces proti petelinu, ki je obtožen prezgodnjega kikirikanja, a pozneje vendarle dobi kar nekaj glasov na lokalnih volitvah. V tretji zgodbi sindikalist pred tradicionalnim novoletnim skokom v Atlantik intervjuva brezposelne delavce, na obali pa eksplodira nasedli kit.

Šeherezadine zgodbe so navdihnile ekscentrično alegorično satiro na temo zlomljene Portugalske v krempljih evropske varčevalne politike, znotraj katere režiser stke tridelno tapiserijo frustracij, melanholije in burleske. Resnično se prepleta z domišljenim, tragično s komičnim in resno z absurdnim. 

Tisoč in ena noč temelji na popularni kulturi, zato so zgodbe grajene zelo burno. Knjiga – veliko bolj kot film – je zelo skatološka, včasih nadvse nasilna. Je popolnoma pankovska. In ker izhaja iz popularne kulture, vsebuje ekstremne stvari, zelo neposredna občutja, in tudi primarne stvari. Želel sem, da film odzvanja to vrsto čustvovanja. (Miguel Gomes)

[ENG]

This unconventional blend of documentary and fantasy uses the stories-within-stories structure of the classic Arabian Nights to explore the lives of ordinary people in austerity-stricken, contemporary Portugal. Among the tales: A group of bankers discover a cure for impotence, a rooster is put on trial for crowing too early in the morning, and a group of jobless citizens go swimming on New Year's Day. 

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The number of films dealing head-on with the global economic crisis have been shockingly few, leaving the field wide open for someone with the creative complexity and storytelling verve of Miguel Gomes, whose three-part “Arabian Nights” tackles the subject with characteristic imagination and, unsurprisingly, righteous anger. While too early to tell how the trio of pics hang together, it’s possible to say from “Arabian Nights: Volume 1, The Restless One,” that audiences are in for a meaty opus that weaves actuality and allegorical fantasy into an outraged portrait of European austerity, witch doctors, the Portuguese politicos at their beck and call, and, most importantly, the unemployed masses. The project’s commercial viability is less clear, though art ouses will certainly find space. (Jay Weissberg, Variety)

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The Family Fang (2015)

Slo naslov: - 

Država: ZDA

Leto: 2015

Dolžina: 105',  Imdb

Žanri: Komedija, Drama, Misterij  

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Jason Bateman

Scenarij: David Lindsay-Abaire, Kevin Wilson (knjiga)

Igrajo: Nicole Kidman, Jason Bateman, Christopher Walken, Maryann Plunkett, Kathryn Hahn, Jason Butler Harner

[ENG]

After an unlikely accident, a pair of grown siblings (Nicole Kidman and director-star Jason Bateman) are compelled to move back in with their eccentric parents (Christopher Walken and Maryann Plunkett), situationist artists/​​professional practical jokers whose lifetime of public interventions have alienated their children.

The line between real life and art can sometimes get blurry. To the Fangs, a married couple renowned for their semi-improvised public interventions, that line is nearly invisible. The Family Fang, Jason Bateman's sophomore feature, is a fascinating, funny, and resonant study of what it means to grow up in a family for whom everything is performance.

Annie (Nicole Kidman) and Baxter (Bateman) have spent most of their adult lives trying to get as far as possible from their parents, Caleb (Christopher Walken) and Camille Fang (Maryann Plunkett). The elder Fangs have attracted both kudos and controversy for their provocative, socially disruptive body of work, which, over the past forty-five years, has involved everything from faux bank robberies to staged incidents of child-busker harassment.

When journalist Baxter sustains a head injury in a potato-cannon mishap, he winds up involuntarily in his parents' care. Annie comes to rescue him — and also to confront Mr. and Mrs. Fang once and for all about the madness of their vocation — but the siblings are thrown for a loop when Caleb and Camille suddenly go missing and foul play is suspected. Is their disappearance a genuine cause for alarm or just another situationist prank?

Based on Kevin Wilson's bestselling novel, The Family Fang asks how far is too far when it comes to shaking people up. Galvanized by complex, charismatic performances, the film uses an extraordinary family dynamic as a means of addressing the problems of ordinary families everywhere.

(Jane Schoettle, TIFF.net)

[RT Critics Consensus]

Layered performances from Nicole Kidman and director-star Jason Bateman add extra depth to The Family Fang's sharply observed look at domestic dysfunction.

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Yi ge shao zi (2014)

Slo naslov: - 

Angleški naslov: A Fool

Država: Kitajska

Leto: 2014

Dolžina: 103',  Imdb

Žanri: Komedija. Drama  

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Jianbin Chen

Scenarij: Xuewen Hu

Igrajo: Jianjiang Chen, Shijia Jin, Qinqin Jiang, Xuebing Wang

[ENG]

Latiaozi was a Farmer who made a living with shepherding with his wife Jinzhizi. One day, their only son had been condemned for the crime. The couple scrabbled up 50000 Yuan to ask Li Datou, the able person of the town, for help, begging if Li Datou could find some big shot to reduce the penalty of their son. But they had been cheated. Latiaozi went to Li Datou's home to argue for his money but he failed. On his way home, he met a fool by accident. He had no choice but to pick him home. After a night spent in sheepfold, the fool was sent back to the town... (Rottentomatoes.com)

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Part drama, part black comedy, A Fool raises the question: in a world of greed and grifting, is it a kind, generous, and honest person who’s actually the fool? Providing no concrete answer, this well-made and though-provoking movie invites each viewer to reach his or her own conclusion.

(Stan Glick, VCinema)  

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Lamb (2015)

Slo naslov: - 

Država: ZDA

Leto: 2015

Dolžina: 97',  Imdb

Žanri: Drama   

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Ross Partridge

Scenarij: Ross Partridge, Bonnie Nadzam (knjiga)

Igrajo: Ross Partridge, Oona Laurence, Jess Weixler, Tom Bower, Scoot McNairy, Joel Murray

[ENG]

Lamb, based on the novel by Bonnie Nadzam, traces the self-discovery of David Lamb in the weeks following the disintegration of his marriage and the death of his father. Hoping to regain some faith in his own goodness, he turns his attention to Tommie, an awkward and unpopular eleven-year-old girl. Lamb is convinced that he can help her avoid a destiny of apathy and emptiness, and takes Tommie for a road trip from Chicago to the Rockies, planning to initiate her into the beauty of the mountain wilderness. The journey shakes them in ways neither expects. (Imdb)

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A dangerously unclassifiable relationship between two lost and lonely individuals is the focus of “Lamb,” writer-director-star Ross Partridge’s beautiful and troubling sophomore feature. In adapting Bonnie Nadzam’s novel about a middle-aged man who befriends a young girl and coaxes her into joining him for a week at his rural hideaway, Partridge navigates risky material with assurance, delicacy and a deepening sense of intimacy that can turn, without warning, into complicity: The more at ease we feel in the characters’ company, the more disturbingly questionable the situation becomes. Superbly shot and movingly acted, especially by young Oona Laurence, this arthouse-ready item should prove a potent conversation-starter at festivals, where even naysayers may be hard pressed to deny the film’s cumulative emotional impact. (Justin Chang, Variety)

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American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson (2016– )

Slo naslov: Ljudstvo proti O. J. Simpsonu: Ameriška zločinska zgodba 

Država: ZDA

Leto: 2016

Dolžina: 10x 45',  Imdb

Žanri: Biografija, Krimi, Drama  

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Ryan Murphy, Anthony Hemingway

Avtorja: Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski

Igrajo: Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance, Sterling K. Brown, Cuba Gooding, Jr., Kenneth Choi, David Schwimmer, John Travolta

[SLO]

Serija spremlja sojenje razvpitemu O. J. Simpsonu, ki se je odvijalo leta 1995.

Serija temelji na knjigi Jeffreyja Toobina, The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Daje nam vpogled v sojenje O. J. Simpsonu s perspektive odvetnikov. Poglobi se v kaotične dogodke v ozadju sojenja in strategije obeh strani na sodišču. Predstavi, kako je splet pretirane samozavesti tožilcev, pretkanosti branilcev in izkušenj policije s skupnostjo temnopoltih prebivalcev dal poroti, kar je potrebovala: utemeljeni sum. (Vir: Siol.net)

[ENG]

American Crime Story is an American true crime anthology television series developed by Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski, who are executive producers with Brad Falchuk, Nina Jacobson, Ryan Murphy, and Brad Simpson. It premiered on the cable network FX in the United States on February 2, 2016.

The first season, subtitled The People v. O.J. Simpson, presents the murder trial of O.J. Simpson, based on Jeffrey Toobin's book The Run of His Life: The People v. O.J. Simpson. A second season is in development and it will focus on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. (Wikipedia)

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There are few truly unifying events in American life. When something happens that makes the entire country stop and take notice, we remember it forever. Everybody remembers where they were when O.J. Simpson, riding in a white Bronco, led the police on a low-speed chase all over Los Angeles. This marked the emergence of the 24-hour news cycle and the birth of reality television. (Imdb)

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The Lady in the Van (2015)

Slo naslov: - 

Država: VB

Leto: 2015

Dolžina: 104',  Imdb

Žanri: Biografija, Drama, Komedija   

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Nicholas Hytner

Scenarij: Alan Bennett

Igrajo: Maggie Smith, Alex Jennings, Jim Broadbent, Roger Allam

[ENG]

The Lady in the Van tells the true story of Alan Bennett's strained friendship with Miss Mary Shepherd, an eccentric homeless woman whom Bennett befriended in the 1970s before allowing her temporarily to park her Bedford van in the driveway of his Camden home. She stayed there for 15 years. As the story develops Bennett learns that Miss Shepherd is really Margaret Fairchild (died 1989), a former gifted pupil of the pianist Alfred Cortot. She had played Chopin in a promenade concert, tried to become a nun, was committed to an institution by her brother, escaped, had an accident when her van was hit by a motorcyclist for which she believed herself to blame, and thereafter lived in fear of arrest.

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If crotchety upper-class vagrant Mary Shepherd hadn’t turned up on the North London doorstep of the celebrated playwright Alan Bennett, he might have had to make her up — if only to give Maggie Smith, our veritable Garbo of dingbat hauteur, one of the most tailor-made leading roles of her late career. Then again, perhaps Shepherd was partly his idea: The tension between life experience and authorial invention is the one complicating factor in “The Lady in the Van,” an otherwise heart-coddling, crowdpleasing study of two eccentric introverts — on opposite sides of the poverty line — finding common ground in more ways than one. Low on narrative drive, and marred by a misjudged final-act swerve into extravagant whimsy, Nicholas Hytner’s amiable luvvie-fest is enlivened by Smith’s signature irascibility; silver-dollar auds should turn up, if not in droves, at least in healthy vanloads.

(Guy Lodge, Variety)

[RT Critics Consensus]

Led by a marvelous performance from Maggie Smith, Lady in the Van wrings poignant, often hilarious insight from its fact-based source material.

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Saat po long 2 (2015)

Slo naslov: SPL2: Bitka s časom

Angleški naslov: SPL2: A Time For Consequences

Država: Kitajska, Hong Kong

Leto: 2015

Dolžina: 120',  Imdb

Žanri: Akcija, Krimi, Triler   

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Soi Cheang 

Scenarij: Leung Lai-yin, Ying Wong

Igrajo: Wu Jing, Tony Jaa, Simon Yam, Louis Koo, Andy On, Jin Zhang, Ken Lo 

[SLO]

Svež prispevek k hongkonškemu akcijskemu filmu, ki vedno znova navduši z bogato koreografiranimi prizori bojev in strelskih obračunov.

Kit je policist pod krinko, ki postane džanki, da bi ujel g. Hunga, vodjo kriminalnega sindikata. A operacija spodleti, zato jo Kitov nadzornik Vah prekine. Kit nato izgine brez sledu, Vah pa ga na lastno pest poišče v zaporu na Tajskem. Tamkajšnji policist Čai v tem času postane zaporniški paznik, da bi zbral denar za zdravljenje hčerke, ki boleha za levkemijo. Izkaže se, da bi lahko bil Kit idealen darovalec kostnega mozga zanjo. A medtem ko želi Čai zapornika ohraniti pri življenju, ga upravnik zapora hoče mrtvega, da bi njegovo telo predali nezakoniti trgovini z organi pod okriljem g. Hunga. Vse je pripravljeno za veliki obračun. (Liffe)

[ENG]

When an undercover cop gets too close to revealing the mastermind of a drug syndicate, his cover is blown. Double-crossed and under a false identity, he's thrown into a Thai prison, where a guard discovers the inmate - claiming he's a cop - is a bone marrow match for his dying daughter...and his warden may have an even deadlier operation hidden within the prison walls. In this giddily frenetic follow-up (though not a sequel) to modern martial arts epic Kill Zone (aka SPL: Sha Po Lang), action icons Tony Jaa (Ong-Bak, The Protector) and Zhang Jin (Ip Man 3) team up with Hong Kong megastars Simon Yam, Wu Jing, and Louis Koo for a breakneck story of dirty cops, prison riots, and black market organ transplants, all brought together by a non-stop series of inventive, bone-crunching setpieces.

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10 Cloverfield Lane (2016)

Slo naslov: Cloverfieldska 10 

Država: ZDA

Leto: 2016

Dolžina: 103',  Imdb

Žanri: Drama, Grozljivka, Misterij   

Slo recenzija: Filmoljub, Mladina

Režija: Dan Trachtenberg

Scenarij: Josh Campbell, Matt Stueken, Damien Chazelle

Igrajo: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.

[SLO]

Mlada Michelle se po prometni nesreči zbudi v podzemnem bunkerju čudaškega Howarda, ki ji razloži, da je svet prizadela kemična vojna. Ker je zunanjost preveč onesnažena, mora Michelle ostati z njim, na srečo pa je Howard dobro pripravljen in založen z dovolj hrane ter drugimi potrebščinami. Kljub na videz iskrenim namenom rešitelja, Michelle vedno bolj razjeda dvom, dokler se ne odloči pobegniti, ne glede na posledice in nevarnost, ki ji bo izpostavljena, če se Howardova zgodba izkaže za resnično. (Kolosej)

/.../Zgodba je zasnovana okrog negotovosti, otipljive čustvene vzajemnosti in počasi naraščajoče napetosti med liki. Igralska predstava Winsteadove je prepričljiva in z lahkoto parira pričakovano odličnemu Goodmanu, ki še enkrat dokazuje, kakšno veličastno prezenco in pretanjeno izraznost premore — bodisi v drami, komediji ali kateremkoli drugem žanru. Medtem ko je Michelle osvežujoče brihten in neverjetno iznajdljiv lik, vselej za korak celo pred gledalcem (potem ko smo v podobnih žanrih vajeni butastih blondink in drugih stereotipnih protagonistov, ki nenehno počnejo napačne stvari), je Goodman tako neverjetno dvoumna ter zavajajoče dvolična figura, da do konca ni jasno, kaj je res in kaj ne. Njegovim nerazumljivim izbruhom besa in tiranske zaslepljenosti sledijo trenutki izjemnega sočutja in racionalnosti; njegove odločitve in dejanja so dejansko upravičena in smiselna. A ker ničesar ni mogoče potrditi v objektivnem zunanjem svetu, se nelagoden občutek skupaj z Michelle vse bolj polašča tudi gledalca: je Howard (ne)navaden psihopat ali pa — četudi je možakar nedvomno svojeglav čudak — njegove osupljive trditve pravzaprav držijo?/.../(Filmoljub)

[ENG]

A young woman wakes up after a terrible accident to find that she's locked in a cellar with a doomsday prepper, who insists that he saved her life and that the world outside is uninhabitable following an apocalyptic catastrophe. Uncertain what to believe, the woman soon determines that she must escape at any cost.

[RT Critics Consensus]

Smart, solidly crafted, and palpably tense, 10 Cloverfield Lane makes the most of its confined setting and outstanding cast -- and suggests a new frontier for franchise filmmaking.

Ocena

Seongsilhan nalaui Aelliseu (2015)

Slo naslov: - 

Angleški naslov: Alice In Earnestland

Država: Južna Koreja

Leto: 2015 

Dolžina: 90',  Imdb

Žanri: Drama, Komedija   

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Ahn Gooc-Jin

Scenarij: Ahn Gooc-Jin

Igrajo: Lee Jung-Hyun, Lee Hae-Young, Seo Young-Hwa, Lee Joon-Hyuk, Bae Je-Ki

[ENG]

Since she was young, Soo-Nam (Lee Jung-Hyun) has been able to do anything well with her hands. She holds 14 different certificates for typing excellence, but a computer takes over her job. Luckily, she finds a new job and marries. Soo-Nam and her husband decide to buy a house. They take out a loan to pay for their home. Soo-Nam works hard to pay off the loan, but she falls into more debt. Then ... an opportunity arises to pay off all her debts at once.

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South Korean film “Alice in Earnestland” is a dark comedy about one woman who has reached for a good life but instead finds herself being pushed down to more despair waiting for her. While occasionally violent and bloody, the movie is hilarious in its quirky mixture of humor and pathos, and we cannot help but laugh even while feeling sorry for her messy predicament. (Seongyong's Private Place)

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O piseu (2015)

Drugi naslovi: Office

Slo naslov: Krvava pisarna

Država: Južna Koreja

Leto: 2015

Dolžina: 111' ,  Imdb

Žanri: Triler

Slo recenzija: -

Režija: Hong Won-chan

Scenarij: Choi Yun-jin

Igrajo: Bae Sung-woo, Kim Eui-sung, Ko Ah-sung, Park Sung Woong, Ryu Hyun-kyung

[SLO]

Vir: Liffe

Južnokorejski triler, v katerem režiser Hong Won-chan z metaforo serijskega morilca razkrije temačno plat neizprosnega tekmovanja na delovnem mestu.

Vzoren pisarniški delavec in družinski oče Kim Byung-guk umori svojo družino, nato pa izgine v neznano. Detektiv Jong-hoon v Kimovi pisarni nemudoma začne preiskavo, a zdi se, da vsi morilčevi sodelavci nekaj skrivajo. Izkaže se, da je imel Kim tesen odnos s pripravnico Mirae, zato detektiv sumi, da se je med njima pletlo nekaj nenavadnega. Jong-hoon se dokoplje tudi do posnetkov nadzorne kamere, s katerih postane razvidno, da je Kim takoj po umorih vstopil v pisarniške prostore … izstopiti pa ga ni videl nihče.

V korejski družbi je služba tesno povezana s preživetjem posameznika, in če zaostajaš v igri tekmovanja, te prevzame obup onkraj razsežnosti stresa. Gre za družbeni sistem, v katerem je 'delo' 'preživetje' in 'odpoved' 'smrt'. To je največje protislovje današnje korejske družbe. Ne moremo preprosto prezreti povezave med tem dejstvom in stopnjo samomorilnosti v Koreji, ki je ena najvišjih na svetu. (Hong Won-chan)

[ENG]

The taut thriller by South Korean filmmaker Hong Won-chan uses the serial killer metaphor to expose the dark side of the cut-throat workplace competition.

An exemplary officer worker and head of his family Kim Byung-guk murdered his entire family and disappeared into thin air. Homicide detective Jong-hoon immediately begins his investigation at Kim's office but all of his colleagues seem to be hiding something. He realises that Kim and an intern named Mirae were close and suspects something out of the ordinary. During his investigation, Jong-hoon obtains a CCTV footage of Kim entering the office parking lot immediately following the murder of his family but he was never seen exiting.

In Korean society, one's job is so closely tied to one's survival, and when one falls behind in the game of competition, he is overcome with despair that is beyond the scope of stress. It is a social system in which 'working' is 'survival' and 'dismissal' is 'death'. This is the biggest contradiction that lies within Korean society today. You cannot simply ignore the connection between this and Korea's suicide rate, which is one of the highest in the world. (Hong Won-chan)

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