Več nas bo, prej bomo na cilju - The more of us there are, the faster we will reach, 2010

Več nas bo, prej bomo na cilju - The more of us there are, the faster we will reach, 2010
Director: Janša & Janša & Janša
Cast: Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Janez Janša, Dražen Dragojevič



Stage: Theatre Cankarjev dom, Movie festival Life

Preps: I know about the controversial trio Janša and I am curious what kind of performance this is or documentary. As I am not sure, where one would get such an awkward idea of renaming himself into one of the most notorious politicians in Slovenia, I really wonder what this is all about.

Reality: The movie is a performance. A live actor (two of them, actually) split various scenes from the movie and interact with the picture. So you have this live/filmed image that pushes your brain to think about things you normally don't. What is a name? Who does it define? Are you a greater/poorer/different person if you change your name? Why would someone change his/her name, still remains a mystery to me. Nevertheless, the unique idea of evolving three people with the same name - of a famous polititian is picturesque and brings irony in the brains when I see it.
There are several statements from more or less "famous people" in Slovenia - or media exposed - on the topic of changing name, precisely changing it into Janez Janša and they bring joy to the audience in the theatre. Salvations of laughter and somehow also admiration. Curiosity and non-understanding also find their way into this. By the end of the show we are all fully aware, that they don't want to reveal really why the change.
Furthermore, the main political party of the right side in Slovenia - SDS proves itself to be rigid and immature in their responses. And the action of the trio is praised in some circles and deeply judged in others. In my opinion, the main idea of this is making people think about this and no other profound message.
Is Janez Janša really the same Janez, if there are four of them? Do they exclude or complement each other? How about the families the people, that used to be someone else than Janez, left behind? The name is really something that distincts one person from another. So that you know who are you talking about. But it says nothing about who that person is for real.


My personal rating: 8,0 (brilliant philosophy and a lot to think about. Performance, not only a movie. A strong way to interact with screen activity)


The official festival page

Les Amours Imaginaires - Heartbeats, 2010

Les Amours Imaginaires - Heartbeats, 2010
Director: Xavier Dolan
Cast: Monika Chokri, Niels Schneider, Xavier Dolan



Stage: Movie theatre Cankarjev dom, Life - movie festival

Heartbeats in short: A story about three close friends who are involved in a love-triangle and the obstacles they have to face when trying to get along with each other.


Preps: Seeing the description of the movie makes me believe that this will be one of the more preminent movies of the festival. Plus, the director of my personal favourite from last year - J'ai tue ma mere - makes this belief even stronger.


Reality: The story about love, deception, rejection, jealousy, trading friendship for love or vice versa. A unique way of showing how a person can enter your life and posess your thoughts. A modern approach in terms of philosophy, accepting different views of sexuality in an individual.
The lovely thing about the movie are the distortions from the main story. The main love triangle story is broken down in four parts, each defined by three individuals that are not a part of triangle, saying realistic experience with their spouses, couple or love breaking. Funny sit-com ironical scenes with a lot of reality that can break your heart, because you will feel involved with the story or be part of it instantly.

There are some backdrops in the movie, as it get a bit statical or unbelievable. Is it really the way it would go, goes on and on in my mind. Baring in my head, that it's the director's cut and his point of view, I find myself in many occasions, feeling hard to believe this is real and this might be alternative truth the viewer might find in the movie. Nevertheless, the story is unique and very classy for this present we live in. The topic highly neglected in cinemography, now gets its place in the universe. Dolan, however, dissappoints me a bit, because in my opinion, his last year's work exceeded my expectations on a very high and barely reachable level. Well, this year the expectations were set higher, but overall achievement seems on a lower level. Plus, I wasn't aware that he also did the act of young Adonis - I only see it when reviewing the cast and thinking about the movie a lot. In some sense, this is what a movie should trigger, thinking about it or the topic it represents. In this case, a fine job. But nothing more than that.




My personal rating: 6,0 (worth seeing in philosophical view - if you want to think about possibilities in a relationship and how to involve third person might not be such a great idea for the initial couple. However, the script is somehow poorer than this topic deserves, also the direction)


Les Amours on IMDB

The home page

La casa muda - The Silent House, 2010

La casa muda - The Silent House, 2010
Director: Gustavo Rojo
Cast: Gustavo Alonso, Florencia Colucci, Maria Salazar, Abel Tripaldi



La casa muda in short: Laura ( Florencia Colucci) and her father ( Gustavo Alonso) settle down in a cottage which seems to be off the beaten track in order to update it since its owner ( Abel Tripaldi) will soon put the house on sale. They will spend the night there in order to start the repairs the following morning. Everything seems to go on smoothly until Laura hears a sound that comes from outside and gets louder and louder in the upper floor of the house. Wilson goes up to see what is going on while she remains downstairs on her own waiting for her father to come down. The plot is based on a true story that happened some time ago in a small village in Uruguay. "La Casa Muda" focuses on the last seventy eight minutes, second by second, when Laura intends to leave the house which hides an obscure secret and she hopes to leave unharmed. REAL FEAR IN REAL TIME, this is the most remarkable underlying feature of the film which will not go unnoticed by all those who may be willing to experience this different and disturbing filming experience.


Stage: Movie theatre Vič, Festival Liffe
Preps: I just follow the recommendation list and notice which movies at the festival get more attention. However, I expect to see a horror movie up to some extent. I also think the movie might be a bit static, however I am not sure. Reading the synopsis doesn't give me much clues.


Reality: : It strikes you, how well the horror part of this movie is constructed. Nothing but imagination and music. A little of blood and static movements throughout the scenery. All the time you expect something to hit, especially after the first third (when the father of the girl is out of the picture). She spends whole amount of time exploring the house and none clues still what is happening. As her father dies, she doesn't really behave normally. How would someone behave? Don't really know, but there's something in her act that makes me suspicious. And I see in the last third that I am right. A wisely built horror turns out into a revenge movie, criminal movie, where all the elements of the horror dissappear. As you realize she is the one standing behind this, you start to wonder, why. In my mind, several scenes from "The Others", where the house holds a secret and the main cast explores it to its deepest dark soul.
It is a tragic reminder, to what it may lead, to molest a child, or to abuse a child. In this movie, the tragic secret is revealed in the final - at the last few minutes it is quite clear, what crime happened and revenge of a goddess appeared. Goddess? Maybe not really, not in full sense, because she has lost her mind because of the pain, caused by her father and his friend. The defilee (last minutes of the movie) reveals hideous photographies, where you just might want to nod your head and rest in silence. Devastating finish with the girl, walking around the forest, with her doll, simulating that she has her unborn child with her.



My personal rating: 8,0 (a smart reminder what not to do. Can leave you with your eyes and mouth wide open..)
La casa muda on IMDB
La casa muda official homepage