Author: The Reviews Hub - Film

According to Thoreau most of us lead lives of quiet desperation. That is certainly the case with Mira Napieralski (Dorota Pomykala) who, two years short of retiring from midwifery and struggling with mental depression and monetary debts, makes a half-baked and half-hearted attempt to rob a bank armed only with a kitchen knife. This sets off a chain of events leading Mira to the grim conclusion she is no longer of value to her ungrateful family or to an indifferent society as a whole. Woman on the Roof is based on a real-life incident and writer and director Anna Jadowska…

Writer: Filip K. Kasperaszek, Anna Kazejak Director: Anna Kazejak Despite its in-your-face title, Anna Kazejak’s Fucking Bornholm is a relatively gentle, semi-comic meditation on parenthood and married life. Maja and Hubert are a forty-something Polish couple who set off with their two young sons Kaj and Eryk for a camping weekend on Bornholm. They’ve been to this beautiful Danish island before and still use Hubert’s father’s beloved camper van. Hubert’s old friend Dawid is joining them. He’s divorced, but has recently acquired a new girlfriend Nina a psychology student. This is the first time Nina has met Maja and Hubert…

Writers: Roberto Bueso and Óscar Díaz Cruz Director: Roberto Bueso How do you solve a problem like Marina? Sister Marina (Carmen Machi) is one of those unorthodox nuns who appear regularly in the world of cinema. Although her past is obscure (old photographs suggest she lived a full life before finding her vocation) there are hints she has offended previous employers or left assignments of her own choice. There is a sense, therefore, employment as teacher for the summer term at the El Parral, a boarding school for boys, may be her last chance as well as being a job…

Writer: Bent Hamer from a novel by Lars Saabye Christensen Director: Bent Hamer Lars Saabye Christensen, who wrote the novel upon which The Middle Man is based, is an Norwegian/Danish author. Bent Hamer who adapted the novel and directs the movie is also Norwegian as are several members of the cast who, although fluent in English have distinct accents or speak with a precise tone as if using a language which is not their original tongue. As the film is set in a decaying American town this creates a disconcerting atmosphere, a sense of things not being quite right. As…

Director: Damian Kocur Damian Kocur’s debut Bread and Salt opens for the Polish film festival in London following its Special Jury Prize in the Horizons section of the Venice film festival. The film focuses on young pianist brothers Tymoteusz (Tymek) and Jacek, played by real-life brothers Tymoteusz and Jacek Bies. Older brother Tymek is returning for the summer from the Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw and it is Chopin’s music that provides a soulful soundtrack for the film. Tymek berates his younger brother Jacek for not practising – he too is an accomplished pianist. Where they live is deliberately…

Writers: Phil Grabsky  and Ali Ray Director: Ali Ray Impressionist and innovator, Mary Cassatt is the subject of Exhibition On Screen’s latest documentary. Born in 1840’s Pittsburgh, the American painter found her home and career in Paris. Cassatt was from a wealthy family, but her privilege didn’t buy her success. It wasn’t until she met Edgar Degas, and was introduced to the group of artists known as the Impressionists, that her work could finally be exhibited. She also began to experiment. What is noticeable about this documentary is how much the content centres around close readings of Cassatt’s work. We…

Director: Marie Lidén There is no denying the unusual impression that William makes in new documentary Electric Malady, released in cinemas this week. He is shrouded in long white sheets and has created a raised crown that encircles his head to protect him from the radiation that causes searing headaches and an unshakeable illness. Marie Lidén’s film sensitively explores the experience of electrosensitivity and its consequences for William and his worried parents in a world where few believe this is anything other than a mental illness. The documentary opens with William’s parents discussing the hope they once harboured for their…

Writers:  Camilla Hall, Lauren Saffa and Jennifer Tiexiera Directors:  Camilla Hall and Jennifer Tiexiera This documentary about documentaries isn’t quite as incisive about the art form as the publicity suggests. Subject focuses on a handful of people who have featured in films such as Staircase, The Square, The Wolfpack and, most interestingly, Hoop Dreams to work out if their participation could be seen a exploitation. However, Subject is too celebratory of the genre to really interrogate the ethics involved. One of the main problems is that we aren’t introduced to Subject’s makers. It seems a strange omission, especially when the…