Change Your Image
David_G_Young
Reviews
11'09''01 - September 11 (2002)
At last some balance - a film that needs to be seen.
Two films really. Ken Loach's and a collection of ten others. After watching the comparisons Loach makes it is hard not to see parallels with Diana-mania when watching most other anniversary specials on the WTC tragedy.
It would be unfair to say that this is an anti-American film. It contains such sentiments but also, in differing degrees, nearly all possible takes on September the eleventh. It is unlikely any one viewer will find all eleven films equally to their liking. You may even find yourself impatiently waiting for the next one given the difference in depth, message and above all style of these shorts.
As with Kieslowski's 'Decalogue' you may want to avoid reading plot synopses before viewing as in at least one case this detracts from the film.
A Thief in the Night (1972)
Just a load of sect propaganda
The sects that capitalise on this film are well known for their claim to take the 'message' of the bible without any alteration or extra-biblical influence. The existence of this film is solely due to the fact that there is no such thing.
If you want to know what the born-again branch of Christianity were harping on about in the seventies just look up the word 'rapture' in a dictionary of cults and sects. It's quicker than sitting through this waste of celluloid.
Poor acting, uneven sound quality and a script that could just as easily have been written by Jack T Chick (paranoid Christian conspiracy theorist for those not familiar with the Evangelical scene). You could not really put this into the 'so bad it's good' category so its only audience are either those with a pamphlet collection looking to branch out or the extremely paranoid.
Daleko od okna (2000)
Impressive in all departments.
An engaging and moving story. Fine performances from Dominika Osta³owska and Bartosz Opania in particular. Micha³ Lorenc's music complements the film wonderfully without making it over-scored. Scripted and shot with great attention to quality this is a highly recommended film to see.
For those who liked Zabiæ Sekala this one belongs to the same league.
Zero Hour! (1957)
Gripping stuff
This is an exciting film which is well acted and directed with all the tension needed to keep you sitting bolt upright throughout the climactic finale. Perhaps the rushed narrated intro is just a little too over-dramatic but it does not detract from the quality of the rest of the film.
I am well aware of the film's relation to "Airplane!" (which is hilarious) and some moments are impossible to watch without one being reminded of their parody versions (the reference to quitting smoking especially). Nevertheless, it still works as an exciting piece of cinema.
Pan Tadeusz (1999)
A masterpiece.
Andrzej Wajda has taken a masterpiece in one genre (poetry) and not only done justice to it but created a masterpiece in another genre (film), one which did not even exist when Mickiewicz wrote the poem 166 years earlier.
The actors are mainly well-known faces in Polish cinema and yet all rise above the stereotypical images many of the audience have of them. The greatest example of this is Boguslaw Linda as Robak the Priest. In the most moving scene in the film he gives the performance of his life.
The harmonious blend of Wajda's direction and Wojciech Kilar's score is a sensual feast. It is a film which impresses a profound sense of beauty to such an extent that one could appreciate the sheer art of the film without even having to understand the language (I cannot vouch for the quality of the sub-titles in English as I saw it in its original version).
If you only see one foreign language film this year, make sure it is this one.