brixtonbathtub

For many non-Romanians this film will be quite difficult to follow because the high speech content means subtitling is only briefly on screen and has to be read very rapidly, all the more difficult when it is on a lower off-screen subtitler as at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival just now. Sometimes I had to choose between reading text or viewing the image. Nevertheless, I found the portrayal of the self-obsessed control freak mother trying to get her somewhat pathetic son off the hook rather laboured. When two characters were conversing the hand held camera swinging from one to the other made me feel like a linesman sitting by the net watching the ball at a Wimbledon tennis match. This was either an intended 'artistic' device or they couldn't afford two cameras. If the former, it failed, and if the latter they should have considered old fashioned cutting and editing. I came to this film predisposed to Romanian cinema having seen the remarkable Somewhere in Palilula last year. I wouldn't describe Child's Pose as a boring European film, as one reviewer put it, but simply as a boring film, with the proviso that I may have missed its finer points due to the language barrier. How it won a Golden Bear at Berlin is one of those intrigues whose story may still be waiting to be told... Anyone care to find out and make a film out of it?

Somewhere in Palilula is apparently a film! Or is it theatre, an allegory, or just one enormous piece of installation artwork? I consider it a brilliant mixture of all of these, and the director's theatrical background is used to great effect. Whether you like it will depend on your sense of humour. I liked Little Britain and Delicatessen - a black sense of humour is definitely required, and a very basic awareness of what the Ceaucescu period meant in Romania would add to your appreciation, but isn't a prerequisite. I have to agree with the person who wrote "It reminded me a bit of Emil Kusturitza, by its strong Balkan flavor." It has the same drive and energy which sweeps one along. See also Nicola Woodham's review which is more comprehensive than mine.

I saw it at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival 2012 and hats off to them for showing it, but it didn't win any prizes, sadly in my view. I think cinema goers in the UK with a black or off-the-wall sense of humour would love it, while mainstream US audiences probably wouldn't. The ending will have you thinking. Overall rating: wonderful.

With some films black and white photography is used as a cheap device to supposedly convey the mood of the past despite editing techniques and lighting that could only belong to the 21st century. Not so this film. The black and white photography reminded me of such classics as the Third Man, with deep black shadows and superb lighting, skills that I thought were lost decades ago. The cinematography and editing are unapologetically European, rather than American.

The mood of Warsaw in the period shortly after the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising is chillingly portrayed, while scenes in the present, shot in colour, are intriguing short episodes rather than annoying tricks, which such flashbacks/flashes forward often can be. Because the less you know in advance about the plot and events the better, all I will say is that while it it has humour in places, it is mostly of the noir variety. This well-paced intriguing thriller makes you want to know what will happen next, gives you some surprises and doesn't reveal the full story until near the ending, which was moving, funny, and probably could relate to many women deeply affected by world events over which they have no control.

All round excellent casting and acting, with Agata Buzek conveying Sabina beautifully. It's a relief to find a film where production values come first. It certainly made me think, and still does, one month after I saw it at the Karlovy Vary film festival. See it if you like the best of European cinema.