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It could have been a pleasant evening in one of the housing estates in Zagreb, if it weren't for the fact that people who shouldn't have met each other came together, and emotions began to rise that no one could stop. On the ground was the body of the son of one of the most powerful crime bosses, and the four people who were lucky enough to survive soon understood that luck is a relative concept. HBO demonstrates its strength and advantages by giving opportunities to regional teams, and here we have the opportunity to see excellent Croatian actors and the work of a top director. However, unfortunately, the overall impression is undermined by the script, which, after a promising start to the story, increasingly reveals how much the screenwriter wants to push the story where it needs to go. In the real world, billionaires don't end up like this, and justice doesn't prevail. Overall impression: 60%.

My second encounter with Bruno Dumont also didn't go well. It was to such an extent that it was most likely the last. As a construct, I didn't accept his script at all. Slack Bay has at least decent poetics, great camera work, and excellent casting. It's just a pity that it's so shallow and goes nowhere. For about three-quarters of the film, I thought I was watching a 3-star film, but in the final part, I felt tired from the constant overacting and grimaces, and the ending that seemed to go nowhere decided about 40% of my overall impression. You can enjoy Slack Bay the more you don't take it seriously and give up on searching for any allegories and deeper meanings. It's actually a slapstick about how egalitarian France distributes degeneration democratically among elites and the proletariat. While Fabrice Luchini portrayed his degenerate with cuteness, Juliette Binoche played such a self-centered and affected bitch that you would hardly find an equal in the film world. I was impressed by the young Raph, I can see her potential, which would be a shame to waste. Slack Bay is one of those films where everyone certainly had a great time on set, but the reactions in the movie theater will, in my opinion, differ radically. This film will definitely divide the audience in a very significant way.

By placing the story in a West African French colonial possession on the eve of World War II and, above all, with the peculiar, twisted philosophy of Lucien Cordier as the main protagonist in the role of a policeman who has decided to adapt laws and ethics to his own needs, this could have been considered as essential a film as Taxi Driver or Fight Club. That did not happen because, even with the best intentions, Bertrand Tavernier cannot be regarded as a directorial genius capable of imprinting a sense of uniqueness and creating an atmosphere for the story. All of his films, with the sole exception which, however, was not related to directing, have so far earned three stars from me, and Coup de Torchon will be no exception. It is more so an interesting film rather than a truly good one, and even the presence of Noiret or Isabelle Huppert will not make me give it a better review. Overall impression: 65%.

An existential psychological drama infused with the essence of Franz Kafka and German expressionism, but at the same time, a dark noir with an almost perfectly captured atmosphere of Weimar Germany, plagued by the aftermath of a lost war, economic crisis, political instability, and the decadence of a cynical and sexually provocative cultural scene. For many viewers, The Serpent's Egg will represent a difficult-to-digest challenge. For fans of the genre, Bergman's cinematic language and ambiguous, almost hallucinogenic storytelling will pose a great obstacle. Admirers of Bergman will miss his typical signature style and, in addition, will tend to perceive The Serpent's Egg as an unacceptable commercial transgression by the Master. I admit without reservation that the artsy masturbation of Bergman's psychological dramas has never attracted me, except for rare exceptions, and I have actually been consistently avoiding his films for many years. However, here I felt that it perfectly matched my taste and mood. The film only missed earning a fifth star for two reasons. I don't mind David Carradine even though I typecast him as an action and kung fu movie star since I have never been a fan of that genre, so no association works for me. What bothers me is that he simply doesn't meet the demanding requirements of the role. He is more of a type actor, and when it comes to multidimensional character acting, he falls short. And secondly, Bergman sometimes exaggerates the expressiveness to the point of hysteria. However, the atmosphere of the film works flawlessly, and I thoroughly enjoyed the excellent camera work. In my opinion, the combination of Hollywood and Bergman turned out better than expected. Overall impression: 85%.

The works of Luis Buñuel are framed by two films. At the beginning of his career is the short experimental film, Un Chien Andalou, where he was still feeling out the terrain and exploring the possibilities of the genre and the medium of film. At the end of his creative journey stands an absurd and mischievous play on the illusion called freedom, composed of disconnected grotesque surrealist mini-stories. In it, Buñuel playfully toys with social conventions and human prejudices, mocking good manners and sarcastically striking his usual targets - conservatism and the prudishness of the church, as well as the arrogance and hypocrisy of bourgeois and bureaucratic layers. Buñuel looks skeptically upon the invoked freedom. We human beings are imprisoned by our surroundings, society, upbringing, emotions, instincts, and above all, our genes. Similarly to Lynch, Buñuel stopped taking external influences into account as he grew older and filmed for his own pleasure about what interests him the most. But while I find later Lynch films indigestible, Buñuel served me such a delicate film essence of the genre that I had to reevaluate a few other films in its light. Moreover, when it comes to the filmography of the Spanish surrealist, I have so far preferred the substantially more conventional The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. However, The Phantom of Liberty immediately catapulted to first place. Nevertheless, I would recommend not starting your contact with Buñuel with this film. If you prefer his more mainstream films, you will enjoy even more the brief appearances of his regular actors and the style based on sarcasm. I would save The Phantom of Liberty for the end, as it is too peculiar, deviating from what audiences are accustomed to and willing to accept. Overall impression: 95%.

Restless hormones, a defiant pose, first sexual experiences - essentially, a generational revolt. And mopeds everywhere you look. Welcome to Quadrophenia. Franc Roddam succeeded in embodying Mods, as described on Wikipedia, in concrete characters. When asked about knowledge of subcultures and movements, you will most likely think of hippies and punks, or perhaps hipsters. Unlike the aforementioned, Mods never managed to transform into an international mass movement. Locally and temporally conditioned, however, the Mods movement was influential, and as is customary with generational outbursts, the public considered it highly controversial from the beginning. At the time the film was made, its age restriction of 18 was justified, but today you would probably shrug it off as incomprehensible. I cannot fully appreciate the musical dimension of Quadrophenia, but as a drama and exploration into the corresponding cultural environment, the film functions just fine. Perhaps only the final 15 minutes exceed the main character's posture of provocation and helplessness, entering the realm of personal pathology. Nevertheless, I value authenticity and atmosphere the most in such projects, and with neither did I have the smallest problem. Overall impression: 80%.

The second season of the series, after it was discovered that a) Marty and Rust, as audience favorites, would not dominate the new case, and b) the atmosphere would be different, was met with reservations that quickly turned into categorical rejection. I consider it one of the greatest injustices of the television industry because, in my opinion, the sun-drenched and corruption-ridden California series was excellent and would have received a disproportionately warmer reception as a standalone project without being connected to the cult status of the first season. Nevertheless, it happened and Pizzolatto was faced with the demand to continue in the same style and atmosphere as the first season while also maintaining artistic uniqueness and not creating a mere copy. In terms of the screenplay, he can be satisfied. The emotional aspect works perfectly, and the typical characteristics of True Detective, focusing on the psychology of characters, an atmosphere of "uncertainty," darkness in human souls and actions, and the intertwining of timelines, have been preserved. The third season will appeal more to viewers who prefer a more intimate nature, rather than those who need it to be bloody and flashy. The series deviates from its gloomy and slow storytelling only in one brief segment; serial killers, diabolical psychopaths, and action scenes are nowhere to be found. What falls a bit short compared to previous seasons is the directing. After a promising start, it loses momentum and quickly falls into routine. The entire time, I had the feeling that this time I was watching a four-star series, but the cunning and manipulative Pizzolatto once again got me where he wanted me with the resolution. It may be subjectively weaker than the previous seasons, but considering the characters and their fate, I have to give the series an overall impression of 90%.

Much more than a crime story, you should prepare for a psychological drama about two inexorably aging - and therefore reflecting - men. Despite resisting it and standing on opposite sides of the barricade, they gradually find their way to each other and understanding, quietly giving birth to a special friendship. The film relies on the natural, unassuming acting of two greats of French cinema - Noiret and Serrault. The cinematography is also interesting, playing with everyday motifs such as life in housing estates or river transport, creating a melancholic atmosphere in places. If the film had managed to avoid some unfinished aspects in the construction of the supporting characters, it could have reached the highest level. Still, it deserves a strong 4 stars. Overall impression: 85%.

I have just watched a film from the category of those that must be viewed out of obligation, as they represent a genre foundation from which orientation in the field of cinema derives. I understand what Petersen was trying to do and what most viewers appreciate about the film. The life of sailors on a submarine is framed by duty, stress, routine, fear, and claustrophobia. However, some people say that the film's long duration is not at all an obstacle but based on my personal experience, I cannot agree with that. Regardless of how grand the spectacle may have appeared, it was tiresome for me, and I would be a hypocrite if I were to join the choir singing praises. I could not empathize with the characters of the crew, no character truly interested me, and I did not embrace any of them as my own. And for the third time, one must wonder how many opponents of Nazism were found in Germany during the wartime period and how casually they actually freely spoke aboard a warship. Three stars are a formal acknowledgment of Petersen's craftsmanship in the epic film, but The Boat was not a film that I loved and I will not revisit it in the future. Overall impression: 55%.

When it premiered, the critics received The Tin Drum with certain reservations. They claimed that the film is merely a literal adaptation of the novel to the screen, and director Schlöndorff allegedly didn't incorporate anything special or outstanding into the film. Nevertheless, the film was awarded several international accolades. Moreover, even if the film critics were right, it is still an adaptation of one of the most significant European novels, an undisputed classic with an exceptional and extreme protagonist, dealing with groundbreaking events in (not only) German history. The Tin Drum is not a pleasant or likable film. Its characters perform ugly acts and do not allow you to feel sympathy towards them. A conformist and a Nazi in one, a stunted weirdo, a voracious bitch – that's not exactly the company you'd want to spend tea time with. The sexuality served by Schlöndorff can unsettle not only a staunch puritan. Oskar's peculiar position between a child's perception of the world and an adult's rational thinking constantly confuses the audience. Several scenes are disturbing to the point that they unsettle you, and if nothing else, the performance of the actor portraying Oskar is so suggestive that you will probably not forget it. As a bonus, you will witness the depiction of one of the most important and symbolic events of the German-Polish war - the bloody siege of the Gdansk post office. The Tin Drum is a unique and indescribable work that no film enthusiast should miss. Overall impression: 90%.