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Sap nin (2015)
Fiction became a documentary
This film truly is something out of ordinary. The authorities tried to prevent its release, but it became a box office hit, defying all the odds. Upon release, it seemed to be an overly exaggerated prediction of days to come, and yet now it feels more like a documentary than anything else.
As it turned out, it didn't take 10 years for the future predicted in this anthology to come. What is more, the filmmakers' grim vision turned out to be an understatement! And viewing it post-factum, knowing of all the events that have happened since 2015, only makes each of these short films hit ever closer to home. I wouldn't say that the cinematography here is perfect and one would need to be introduced to the recent history of Hong Kong prior to viewing to fully understand the statements the film is trying to make, but I'd say it's worthy of your time.
We may only hope that the future of Hong Kong will be a bright one, yet can definitely say that it will never be as it was before.
Boze Cialo (2019)
It may not make you believe but it will certainly understand why others do.
Once in a while you run into a film that is absolutely not what you expected when going to the cinema but also was everything you wanted to see - and more. The trailer for this film was so misleading that I was reluctant to watch it, yet when it was over, I was in awe, and the very next day I went to see it again, first time I did this in my life.
Frankly, this film may be hard to understand to those of us not from Easter Europe and you'll be missing out on some meta humor, but at the same time, it may become your little doorway into how so many of us live here. As a non-Polish non-religious person, I still found myself relating to Corpus Cristi quite a bit.
Finally, Daniel's spiritual journey will be yours, as well. Just like himself, it's impossible to become a saint without ever knowing sin and overcoming it. This movie did not make me believe in God more than I did (or didn't) before, but it certainly did bring me closer to understanding what people find in religion - and why angels might live even in the most unholy of us. A must see, and the best film I have seen in 2020 so far.
Shaonian de ni (2019)
I really wanted to like it, but..
This movie was touted as a must-see, especially for couples, with its theme of school violence that is quite brave for China, and I have to admit, for a while it managed to keep me interested. The suicide of a schoolgirl, the main character suffering from her peers' violence, with only one mysterious person out there to support her - how could that not be moving? Is it that the Chinese movie industry has finally come to age and movies on difficult topics are now being made?
However, it is a Chinese movie, and no matter how brave they dare to be, there is a set of rules that they have to follow. Bad guys have to be in prison, policemen and women cannot be corrupt even slightly (lest justice will be served as always), and so on. For this reason, the emotional conflict and hard decisions of the main characters are completely spoiled when they decide to admit what they have done and surrender after talking to a policeman once, and the final accord is one of the lead actors telling us about how we should be vigilant about school violence, and about oh so many things the government does to prevent it; instead of leaving some food for thought to the viewers, the film decides to spoon-feed, and that does ruin the impression quite a bit.
You will probably not see this movie outside of China, and its cinema run is coming to an end now, but if you do, try to appreciate the fact that this movie is doing something new for the ever more conservative modern Chinese cinema at this difficult time. There are some bits and pieces that might make you feel something, and some of the shots are really beautifully made.