POMO

The Danish Braveheart, or everything that we could have hoped for from a historical drama starring Mads Mikkelsen. A principled protagonist with good intentions, whom we identify with and understand, even with his faulty decision-making; the two women who love him (one platonically); an adopted vagabond girl who brings family values into the story; a villain whom we would gladly disembowel even at the risk of losing our own freedom. Most of the film’s runtime is filled with safe, predictable clichés, but the inner motivations and fortunes of all of the characters ultimately and meaningfully intersect in the cathartic and emotional climax with a nice intellectual reach. The Promised Land is a powerful film that’s worthy of the big screen. [San Sebastian IFF]

An endearing though somewhat whiny and not very distinctive melancholic comedy about three New Yorkers – a father and his two sons – who are bumbling around in solitude, a disintegrating relationship and a marriage, respectively. Ex-Husbands offers hints of Woody Allen’s dark humor and the human warmth of James L. Brooks, but without any scenes or acting performances that would give it flair and make it more memorable. [San Sebastian IFF]

Shot in 4:3 format, this austerely staged drama is set in the inhospitable environment of Tierra del Fuego in the historical period of its cruel colonization. The Settlers is minimalist in terms of its imagery and acting, and raw in the brutality of its violence and sexual deviancy. The character of the Scottish lieutenant, with Sam Spruell aptly cast in the role, is the satisfying highlight of the film’s gloomy and depraved spirit. The rousing applause from the Iberophone audience at the festival screening indicated how important such reflection on the darker sides of South American history is for them. All nations must deal with their past to some extent. [San Sebastian International Film Festival]

A subtle narrative covering two social themes – the absurd situation of a school system in which children have more rights than teachers, and queer issues in the form of a frightened child starting to become aware of his own sexuality. And all of this in observing several key moments in the academic setting from the multiple perspectives of those involved, whose personal and professional lives are affected the events depicted. Monster is a superbly written dialogue film with quiet, powerful moments. [San Sebastian International Film Festival]

An intimately off-kilter but likeably original idea rendered into a rather traditional melodramatic cliché about society’s inability to accept otherness in its ranks. And about a couple who find kinship as they struggle with provincial obtuseness. The French are not afraid of anything. If the courage of the director/screenwriter had been applied also to the unexpected and appropriately shocking conclusion of the story, the film would have left a more substantial mark on the festival scene. [San Sebastian International Film Festival]

This dark pathological thriller descends into horror not through scares or a sense of dread, but through a chillingly realistic rendering of a disturbing subject. With its atmospherically appropriate setting in gloomy New York, the film features a creepy lead character superbly stylised by Marin Ireland. The film is psychologically balanced, as the motivations of the two doctor characters are understandable despite the definite crossing of ethical boundaries. Only the directorial guidance of the child actress is weak, and the film’s conclusion lazily avoids the escalation of tension that the viewer expected.

Maika Monroe is the only one who sort of holds together this pretty dysfunctional drama about the search for an abducted daughter / thriller about a struggle between mortals and a gang of crackpot goons / unexpected romance between two emotional castaways. God Is a Bullet is quite inept in terms of its use of emotion and suspense, not to mention the comically inappropriate brutality and unsuccessful effort to shock with eccentric bad guys, among which only Karl Glusman hands in an impressive performance. And Jamie Foxx is surprising in a supporting role. Otherwise, there’s not much of value here. The dialogue is superficial, the directing is disjointed and the main character played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is lifeless.

A DreamWorks/Universal cinema release at the same level of quality as a below-average Netflix B-movie. The film starts promisingly with nice production design and the well-rendered and well-lighted gloomy interiors of the ship. Dracula’s first appearance and the atmospheric murders of the initial victims are spectacular. However, the film starts to fall apart in the second half, as the escalating tension is replaced by badly edited dramatic scenes, the nice CGI is supplanted by tacky dawn combustion and, thanks to the hopelessly deteriorating screenplay, the characters lose the contours of meaning that they possessed at the beginning. The self-assured Van Helsing-esque epilogue is then nothing more than laughable.

It’s a shame that The Equalizer 3 has less action and, in particular, a formalistically sloppy settling of accounts with the main bad guy. Denzel Washington’s charisma and the excellent stylisation of his character as the alpha purveyor of justice from the conflict with the Italian Camorra offered a bigger and longer slaughter with a higher body count. We have been spoiled by John Wick... That said, The Equalizer 3 is still entertaining even in the quiet passages with its fine characters, Italian atmosphere and, mainly, escalating tension leading up to the clash between the brutal local underworld and the ultimate American hero. The epilogue is needlessly theatrical (Italy) and naïve (San Francisco).

With its original story and characters, Pacification is an alternative, interestingly atmospheric “quiet drama” in the attractive tropical setting of the rainy Tahitian islands. Only the filmmaker’s need to make political statements can come across as annoying. And the slow pace of the nearly three-hour plot with occasionally insipid dialogue can be yawn-inducing. This casualness, however, reflects the lifestyle of the characters and complements the film's unique island nature. The surprising scenes with mega-wave surfing and great sound are nicely refreshing.