Stanislaus

Just Friends offers nothing new within its genre, but it's a nicely written and believably acted film, so I didn't mind the generic premise. The film addresses interpersonal relationships (both partner and family) and dealing with the death of loved ones, so it has a pretty broad scope and, thanks to the short running time, doesn't even have time to get boring. I was supremely entertained by the character of the bubbly and funny grandmother, and I must admit that there were a couple of scenes in the second half that made me a little soft (especially the one with the mother and the ashes). An enjoyable TV outing that effectively combines romance, drama and humour.

Of Wolves and Men offers an interesting insight into the slowly growing population of wolves in our territory, which have started to return to us after more than a hundred years. For ecologists this is a small miracle, but for private animal keepers and people in the borderlands it is a rather unpleasant fact. Can humans and wolves coexist in harmony? This is not the only question that the film addresses, and in addition to outlining the wolf situation in Czechia, it also tries to raise awareness among people. After all, wolves have been an integral part of our nature for many years and as apex predators they are an important link in the food chain in the wild, so it is in our interest to try to coexist with them in a non-violent way.

The fates of animals are as dramatic and interesting as those of humans – if not more so – and Frost the bear and her cubs are proof of that. Asgeir Helgestad offers a privileged insight into the lives of (not only) polar bears inhabiting Svalbard, which is being negatively affected by climate change. Although the ice cover there is diminishing, it is still a freezing and unforgiving landscape in which its inhabitants must fight for their bare lives. I hope that the future of the local fauna will be more positive and cheerful than in the case of Frosty's cubs, aptly named Light and Lucky.

I recently saw Matteo Garrone's Tale of Tales, and I really liked it, so I decided to go to the cinema to see Pinocchio, which I expected to be a similar experience, as the source material is indeed a dark fairy tale. It's definitely a raw version that doesn't shy away from depicting violence, animal abuse and overall bad (not only) human traits. Some of the scenes are spellbinding and horrifying (the hanging Pinocchio or the transformation into a donkey). Story-wise, the film doesn't have much to surprise as it is relatively familiar material. I appreciate the work of the make-up artists, who managed to create several (more or less) scary characters alongside Pinocchio. Despite these attributes, I still felt that a little more could have been made of it. Visually it's beautiful, bizarre and scary, but the story didn't hit me that much.

The Mudge Boy benefits mainly from a breathtaking performance by Emil Hirsch, whose Duncan has a hard time in life trying to find human contact or the love of his fellow man, without much success, which is why he fixates on his chicken "Chicken" and others think he's a weirdo. Even though the film has a strong theme and some noteworthy scenes, I found it rather strangely aloof except for the last and very dense ten minutes. I don't know how to describe the feeling myself. It was well acted, but for the most part (well, except for the ending) it struck me as an average father-son drama.

"...to continue we require more than inteligence – we require wisdom." David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet is a breathtaking homage to a man who, even at such an advanced age, is brimming with incredible determination to tell us humans what stage Mother Earth is in, and how we might modify our relationship with the omnipresent nature we have so selfishly appropriated. David Attenborough has had a long life, and when he looks back, he certainly has a lot to look back on, both the good experiences and the sad realities that have occurred over the last century through our collective fault. From a technical point of view, this is a classically excellent experience that offers, alongside beautiful shots from different parts of the world, some frightening scenes of the possible future that may befall us. The film has many interesting ideas and much wisdom from the mouth of the king of animal documentaries that should be set in stone. "If we take care of nature, nature will take care of us."

Guassa, on the one hand, offers a glimpse of the daily routine work of primatologists, and on the other, it tries to highlight the problem of human activities that have a negative impact on the local nature reserve. As far as the work of primatologists is concerned, the beginning must be really hard if need to be able to recognize every individual in order to do research at all. As for the ecological aspect of the film, the concerns expressed are certainly valid.

Ancient Caves offers an exclusive glimpse into places most mortals never get to see, and even for dedicated professionals it is a great and dangerous challenge. Giant "halls" filled with magnificent stalactites, endless depth and impenetrable darkness – images that are both amazing and terrifying at the same time. It's interesting how one can gain information about times long past – in addition to the beautiful imagery, this documentary is also very informative, and although the scientists focus mostly on the past, the knowledge given can help us understand what may await us in the future.

A Rare Breed is not only a story about chicken breeding, but also about Rob Wilson, who is himself a kind of genetic rarity, to which the title of the film lightly refers. On the one hand there are the efforts of one man in the field of "chicken genetics", on the other hand there is his personal confession in which Rob comments on his own identity and life journey. An interesting blending of two issues!

The comparison to a documentary thriller is really appropriate in the case of Sea of Shadows. The documentary follows the intense struggle of activists and agents against the illegal trade in meagre air bladders that threatens the lives of other species in the Gulf of California. At times the documentary has a truly dark, almost thriller-like atmosphere, and all involved deserve high praise for the courage with which they went about filming to draw attention to an issue that is overlooked by many. Illegal fishing linked to organised crime and Asian traffickers seems to be a really complex problem and it makes you shudder to see what people are capable of for money. I was intrigued by the work to rescue the porpoises, the implementation of which ran into all sorts of obstacles. On the one hand, the film points an erect index finger at human greed, recklessness and callousness, but on the other, it highlights the efforts of a group of people to make the world a better, more considerate and safer place.