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Des Teufels Bad (2024)
Subversive examination of mental illness that translates well into the current time
I've just seen this movie at the Viennese Gartenbaukino. Going into this, I was expecting some sort of throwback mythical horror movie a la The Witch, instead I was surprised by the choices in storytelling and direction. This is definitely not a film for the faint of heart but I applaud the filmmakers for making very bold decisions in their depictions of female depression in a strictly catholic rural setting. This film might feel slow to some audiences but it absolutely pays off in the final third. What makes this movie even more engaging besides historical accuracy and the attention for detail is the fact that it was researched and has a firm historical background. The rural setting intensifies the main character's feeling of isolation and despair and adds emotional heaviness to the viewer's experience. If you have enjoyed tge filmmakers' previous works and are not too squeamish I heavily recommend this movie.
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)
Misunderstood and very important masterpiece
With The Killing of a Sacred Deer Yorgos Lanthimos has truly made a movie that challenges audiences and shows once more that audiences, too, have a great deal of responsibilty when it comes to movie-going.
Most of the negative reviews are complaining about obtuseness and the lack of explanation given in the film. Just because those people don't understand a movie. it makes them feel stupid which in turn leads to their negative opinions.
To be honest, I too am not quite sure what this film is trying to say but that is exactly the beauty of it. It respects me as a serious audience member by acknowledging my intelligence and challenging my mind to its utmost extremes.
It's a film that you should definitely check out even if you anticipate to be in some way disappointed. The reason for that is that The Killing of a Sacred Deer is going to mess with your head, it is going to stay with you and it is going to ducate you by eliciting a response. The response may be frustration but it will not be due to the movie being bad but due to its making you feel uncomfortable, which good directors are always aiming at.
Under the Shadow (2016)
Really good, especially if you are a Muslim
As I am writing this review, few minutes have passed since I have watched Under the Shadow. I will not exaggerate like some other people do in praising this movie by calling it a masterpiece. It is not! If this is a masterpiece to you, you're setting the bar very low. But I have to admit that for a horror film, this thing is damn good and refreshing. Everything about this film works very well: the development of the story, the taut direction and especially the pacing. The movie is 1h24min which is the ideal run time since no time is wasted on unnecessary scenes or plot-lines. The thing I liked most beside the direction was the story, especially the involvement of Djinn. Since I am of the Muslim confession, it made me glad that somebody finally explored this theme in a movie. Basically Djinn are nothing else than demons and seen though I have seen a lot of demon-themed horror flicks, Under the Shadow gave me genuine sense of terror which is partly due to my small familiarity with the Djinn-theme. If you are a Muslim or you know a thing or two about the mythology of Djinn and how it affects the minds of lots of Muslims, you will understand how it managed to scare me. And before I forget to mention it, the subtext in this movie regarding the political and social situation in Iran is very well delivered. A lot of the difficulties that the main character faces are present to this day and it was really refreshing to see a movie that tackles such delicate themes without bashing your head in with political statements.
If you are a fan of the conventional Hollywood horror film chances are you won't enjoy it much. But if you like seeing foreign films that swerve from conventions you will probably like it.
There Will Be Blood (2007)
It may have no point, but that doesn't make it pointless!
There Will Be Blood is a difficult movie and one that managed to do something that only few movies are able to: it crawled into my head and made me think about it. At first I was trying to understand it before I realized that there was nothing to be understood, only observed. And that is exactly why people complain about it: they say this movie is pointless because it has no deeper meaning, no message and no unexpected twist. If you judge it from that point of view, you are right. However, There Will Be Blood should not be assessed that way. Paul Thomas Anderson is not trying to shove us down some kind of message that we ought to try to understand. He's just giving us the story of a man, who finds oil and consequently becomes wealthy. We, the audience, are supposed to observe and to make up our minds about this on our own. There is nothing subjective to the movie, it simply and merely documents a part of a man's life. By not being subjective or judge-mental, it makes people feel stupid because they think that they didn't get what it was all about even though there is nothing to be understood. And in that way, people are stupid as they believe that everything has to have some kind of message or moral subtext. It forces the audience to dwell on this movie and use their brains but apparently not many people are fond of thinking. There Will Be Blood is avoiding all of that which makes it a great piece of art since it accomplishes to remain compelling through the entire run-time even though there is not much happening and therefore I think people are right if they believe that this movie will be looked upon as a classic in a couple of decades.