Prague-based movie reviews, news and other trash
Velvet Buzzsaw is the most peculiar film I have seen so far this year. It feels dated, predictable, tacky and occasionally trashy. In hindsight though, maybe it wasn’t trashy enough? It feels like a satire on the art community, albeit one that we’ve heard too many times before, but never actually plays up the horror enough to take into trash cinema territory.
The new Suspiria is more of a rebirth than a remake. A spellbinding ambitious art film that cleverly, albeit brutally, assaults the senses with its nightmarish imagery and explores unrelenting violence. The violence that occurs through abuses of power, both with politics and with women. It feels as timely today as it would have been confined within the wall of 1970s’ Berlin, which is where this very feminist horror epic takes place.
The new Lars von Trier film The House That Jack Built is packed to the brim with violence and controversy, as you may have already guessed. The director seems to be making a bold statement about the art world that starts off as intriguing but soon becomes an overexaggerated blunder that services no one but the director himself.
Phantom Thread is nothing short of a masterpiece and a phenomenal swan song for Daniel Day-Lewis in is supposedly final role.
Loving Vincent sets a new benchmark for film-making with its stunning and completely oil painted portrayal of the troubled artist’s final days.
Recently I was fortunate enough to sit down with Spanish illustrator Miki Montlló. Originally hailing from Terrassa, a small town outside of Barcelona, Miki was a guest judge and speaker at the RAW art wrestling illustration semi-finals in Prague last weekend, talking about his successful comic book series Warship Jolly Roger, his work with big shot animation studios like Cartoon Saloon and Laika, as well as his concept art for the new J.A. Bayona film, A Monster Calls, now showing in Czech cinemas.
Now in its second year, Weird Europe in Bio OKO is dedicated to the twisted and deranged films at the centre of Europe’s artistic heart. Presented by Aleš Stuchlý & Vít Schmarc, the festival boasts fresh titles that’ll strike a chord deep within your tortured soul, as well as accompanying introductions and talks.
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the most influential animators of our time. His films have inspired and entertained people all over the world, and his animation work is breathtaking and simply unmatched. In 2014 he was awarded an Honorary Academy Award for his impact on animation and cinema, and his films have grossed more than a billion dollars world wide.
The 6th Festival of Iranian Films starts in Prague this week on the 10th of January and it couldn’t be a more exciting and diverse year for the festival. On top of the exceptional selection of feature films, short films and documentaries, the festival welcomes additional speakers and performers from within the Iranian art and music industry. The festival, like the selection of films it boasts every year, is ready to transcend some controversial boundaries making it one of Prague’s best current film festivals… You really shouldn’t miss this one.
Jim Jarmusch, the king of indie film, returns with Paterson – a film about a bus driving poet named Paterson in the small poetic town of… Paterson, New Jersey. Jarmusch captures the monotony and charm of small town life, as well as the eccentric characters that make for some lovely poetry.
