pauluswiggus

This short documentary tells the story of young girl whose father is incarcerated. The father aspires to be a musician and spends his time writing songs about his daughter, which he sings to her on visits and over the phone. He denies he is a genuine criminal, but evidence suggests otherwise. The daughter shares his love of music and admires her father (despite being aware of his problems) but over the course of the film they are clearly drifting apart.

The film is sensitively and quite poignantly handled, not passing judgment, nor hiding harsh realities. The wider systemic problems of the justice system are alluded to but not directly addressed. The human story remains in the foreground in what is ultimately a quite heartbreaking film.

In this simple animated short, a composer is trying to write a piano piece, but is suffering from tinnitus. The high pitch ringing in her ears (visualised as fluorescent notes in the air) makes composing impossible, so she tries to chase them from her apartment, to no avail.

The idea here is simple, but fairly unique, and the execution is fine. The animation is of the hand drawn kind, but not spectacular. All very reminiscent of Disney's more artistic efforts from the 1930s-40s (like the sequences in Make Mine Music or Melody Time).

An okay short at only 7 minutes, worth a quick look for animation fans.

This film, made during the Soviet era, tells the story of a wealthy former beauty who begins an affair with a much younger man who has recently arrived in her provincial area. The man is something of a rabble-rouser, and his presence at the wealthy estate creates upheaval amongst the locals.

Being set in the 1800s, you might expect this to be a gentle comedy of manners, like a Jane Austen adaptation. In fact, it's quite a raucous, irreverent film, more reminiscent of contemporary period comedies like The Favourite or the TV series, The Great. The quality of the performances and cinematography are incredibly high, it a surprisingly beautiful film to look at, again unusual for a comedy.

That said, for a non-Russian viewer, a lot of the comedy is lost, with a strong focus on Russian class hierarchy (the director had previously been sanctioned for a perceived critique of the government in an earlier film).

Overall, lots the appreciate, even if the story and jokes don't always engage. A film that deserves more attention.