Every murder raises questions concerning the nature of the crime and the motif. But if there is a sequence of murders, these questions seem to be even more nagging. What if the legends are true and there is a demon who can kill innocent souls in the blink of an eye? Who can you trust and who keeps secrets, desperately hiding a darker past? What really connects people from one little gloomy village? What hides behind the legend of a Sleepy Hollow? Hilarious Johnny Depp against one scary headless ghost. Sleepy Hollow.
It was over twenty years ago when one book revolutionized the lives of young all over the world. Soon there were others; longer, darker, and more serious volumes caught our attention - the readers hungry for the exciting world of magic. Harry Potter has become the most famous wizard in the world. Equally famous were all his friends, enemies, actors portraying the main roles, and twists of plot. Equally popular were the spells, which workers and school children repeated over and over again, the Hogwarts letters, mentioned when frustrated at the current career path or triggered by one bad mark at maths. Exciting was the wait for publications and premieres, fisty were discussions and Halloween parties where witches' hats were crowding the room. We have been under a spell of J.K. Rowling's magic for decades now and you are never too old to reread and rewatch her legacy. One unfortunate day Voldemort almost killed a little boy, leaving him with a forehead scar. One fortunate day we, the world, gained companions to grow up and believe in the fantasy and the power of good. Seven book volumes, eight adventurous film adaptations, weeks of entertainment. Enjoy.
We all are aware of it now. More relationships break up than last until the time when our wrinkled bodies and grey hair announce the arrival of old age. But once you have been in a relationship for some time it's not that easy to separate, even though you definitely grew apart. And if there are children that connect both of you it seems to be a never-ending battle with coordination, logistics, compromises, and lawyers. How does it look like to get a divorce? Why is it one of the most traumatizing experiences of modern life? How humiliated can you be and how unscrupulous you can get to achieve your goals? And finally, weren't divorces created to get us out of the hell of marriage and is there a chance for a happy ending? Marriage Story.
In the beginning, everybody has good intentions, high hopes for the future, the certainty of success. But some of us fail in the middle of the way, with a smaller or bigger bang. Some of us don't have to fail, there are others who do this for us, making our marriages break up, our whole lives turn upside down, and the sense of safety shattered completely. There is nothing extraordinary in falling down and one has to get up sooner or later. But maybe in the greatest downfalls, there is light at the end of the tunnel and there is luck in every misfortune. How two women decided to get the advantage of the beauty of the world and build their lives from scratch? Why every end is a new beginning and it's definitely worth getting back on your feet and finding meaning in new and unexplored? Two mood boosters and travel bug injections: Eat Pray Love and Under the Tuscan Sun.
Do you believe in coincidences? Do we meet each other for a reason? Is there anything like fate, predestined and prewritten for each and everyone, which makes it impossible to change it and act on your own? Or can we be masters of our own destiny? Do tragedies happen for a reason? Can heartbreaking losses be the ground for happiness in the future? How connected are we to each other in the smallness of the world and how easily worlds are broken apart and miraculously started anew? A few people connected by one tragedy. Life Itself. Enjoy.
You're really lucky when from day one everything was clear. Your sex, your body, your sexual orientation. But many of us question it every single day, which in the clouds of doubts, makes us even more human. But how difficult is the journey of self-acceptance in a competitive female environment when you were born a boy? What challenges face parents and families of transsexual children? How hurtful are the words of peers who know little about changing sex? How tricky is to transform one's body and build sexual relations, not being afraid of rejection? Educational and eye-opening, Girl.
Aren't you tired of the stories of pedophilia, corruption, and sexual exploitation? We all know that in any organization, especially based on abstinence and complete devotion to religion, some nasty scandals will pop up now and again. But aren't we all somehow connected to religion? Weren't we all praying to God in times of trouble? Don't we need some sense of community and belonging? This is what the Church should stand for. Sometimes vocation finds itself in the most unlikely individuals. What if a troubled boy deceived everybody and pretended to be a priest? Can he save a small town sunk in grief and hypocrisy? Can he be a better human than those given the privilege and respect? Very true, Boże Ciało.
Power. At times it's a well-deserved prize for years-long process and achievements. At other times it's the outcome of circumstances, sudden deaths, unexpected coincidences, and hidden decisions. It comes out of the blue and to the young, it might be equally burdensome and unwanted. Can wisdom and good intentions make you a great ruler? Can other people's decisions evoke true love and true wisdom in those at first unwilling to accept them? Is there a just cause for death and war? And is there really something like a good rule or everything is a cover for greed, individual gain, and national and religious prejudice? Two films thirty years apart, two young people by circumstances forced to be the head of the country. Enjoy.
Is it possible to create a machine that will perform everything that a living human being is able to? Can it replace us, be everything we are, with the amazement of our skills, character traits, fears, and flaws? Can it become a part of our everyday lives, our reality, our family? What if we equip it with the ability to love, desire, and dream? What moral dilemmas will be connected with such creatures? Can you make someone love you and then abandon it as many dogs are abandoned by their owners? Can you destroy it once it's aged or broken?
In the infinity of technology limits and time, is there a chance for a happy ending for people and their creations? Or will humanity's flaws: intolerance, prejudice, and fear of the unknown make idealism impossible? A story about a robot who wanted to become a boy, a modern-age Pinocchio; still amazes, A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
Behind every evil, there's a reason. Behind every broken man is a multitude of cracks, little offenses, smaller and bigger wounds. But what hides behind a maniac who has no mercy for anyone? What triggers the bullets of unscrupulous outbursts of madness and grotesque revenge? Why should you pay attention to how you treat people, as you never know how they would react? Why our parents tend to cause our greatest misfortunes and how the biggest evil of the DC world was brought to the world? Can you really justify wickedness and is there a drop of white in the darkest of black? Great Joaquin Phoenix in Joker.
There are events in everybody's professional life that change. Which push towards better, bolder, braver. Which build the understanding of the world and compassion. Stumbling blocks, adventures breaking the limits. Personal tragedies only understood by participants. For Ryszard Kapuściński it was the witnessing of the Angolan Civil War, people met there and terrible sights of desperate opposition, national hatred, bravery, and division. This is a film based on such events and a tribute to a writer who influenced and still influences those in love with the Dark Continent. Another Day of Life.
Is one sin committed in youth a guarantee that your life will be paved with sins? Can you be kept caged for years and suppress your real desires and emotions? Or will you break free and let yourself fly in the cloud of love and endorphins? Is everyone you meet by chance to be trusted? Will your family and friends disable you from being happy? Who's the bad guy in this fairy tale about an unhappy naive girl and her prince, and why birds of a feather flock together, in spite of their drives and intentions? Beast.
Isn't it frustrating when there's somebody who has everything you don't? It seems to be a mischevious giggle of fate when you are born in poverty, with no chances for education and career and there are those who, having it all, squander their parents' wealth, cheat their beautiful woman, and waste their life away. Nothing is yet lost. Having a bit of luck and talent for impersonating others can help you jump a few steps of the social career ladder and enjoy the life of privilege. But can your obsession with the bold, beautiful and well-to-do turn into an avalanche of irreversible deeds and a paranoid escape from being caught? Can you love someone so much that you can literally take their place in the world? Italy in the background, The Talented Mr. Ripley.
In a lunatic asylum, nothing is what it seems to be. Friends could be your enemies, dangerous patients turn out to be your support and most reliable doctors end up being your biggest threat. Can you trust those who cannot rely on themselves? Are you to be trusted? Can you solve a mystery among dangerous maniacs and criminals? Can you deal with your own trauma and past which haunts you and painfully disturbs your professional life? And finally, can you unwillingly be a part of a bigger plot? Nothing is entirely clear on Shutter Island, enjoy.
Life puts us in situations which measure the strength of our relationships. What a better way to test yourself than to change the safe environment and try something new to break a routine? Maybe this way you will realize that your bonds bind you to the wrong people and the causes of your frustrations are in reality more understanding and closer to heart. Leave the university coziness and jump to weekend adventure! Can a day in a big city be a realization of more than one living lie? A Rainy Day in New York.
There are few things you cannot buy, among them youth, love, and talent. The last one is rare, it happens once in hundreds of thousands. You cannot learn it, attend courses of creativity, singing classes, painting workshops. You can delude yourself that you will surpass your masters, but only those who have it have a chance for a career. The world, however, is paved with bad intentions and people borrow what does not belong to them. What if the person whom you trusted the most happened to use your talent to their advantage? Is it easy to break the circle of lies and find your own voice? Why is it so difficult for a sensitive soul to stand by her art and why so many obedient wives are easily deceived? Based on facts, a story about a marriage. Big Eyes.
You can laugh at the unfairness of the world, but it's no laughing matter. The gap between the rich and the poor widens at the galloping pace of increasing world population. Some have everything: expensive education possibilities, private tutors, career prospects, luxury houses, fashion items, and servants to carry out the most mundane chores. Others have literally nothing with no food to put on the table and nothing to make them survive until the next day. But luck shifts and when one door closes another door opens, so when you get your foot in the door, you can make others enjoy your chance for the privilege. What if one impoverished family managed to deceive the rich and naive one and reap some of their harvests? Bittersweet, funny, and unbelievably good on the most humane level. Parasite.
Not everyone is about to make it, reach the finish of ripe old age. There are some who will never celebrate the fall's birthdays surrounded by grandchildren and aging friends. The world is unfair in giving richness and life in years. Some have many, others have very few. There is something heartbreaking in capturing young love which has no chances in the world to hit happy ever after. Is the hospital surrounding a good place for a love story? Can the disease change you and can you be mature enough to love and be loved in return? And why young love is just like any love, and it's not the years that count but fleeting moments? Moving and eye-watering, three stories, one love in spite of the disease.
What a better way to get away from the routine of a small monotonous town where everybody knows who's who and every corner has been depressingly the same for years? What if the shift of the globe makes something go wrong and changes the order of things? Can the dead suddenly rise from their graves and disturb the overwhelming peace? Small-town people have their gimmicks even after their death. How to survive a local Zombie apocalypse? Jim Jarmusch's The Dead Don't Die.
Almost all of us fell for it. The magic of Hollywood, the purchase of the illusion, the dream. I used to kiss farewell the screen of a TV set after each memorable film ended, hoping to see it again, a five-year-old's tribute to the hard work of fantasy makers. But the film is not just the 2-hour story cut by advertisements for us to watch, devouring on popcorn. It's the outcome of hundreds of hours of work, rehearsals, break-downs, tabloid registered ups and downs, scandals, the pain of being forgotten and a whole lot of personal drama going on in the meantime.
In 1969 the wife of our Polish Roman Polanski, the actress Sharon Tate, and her friends were murdered by Charles Manson's gang, creating for eternity a trauma in Hollywood's history, a myth equaled with Marylin Monroe's death. This is the compilation of events that led to this tragedy. Or is it? Hilarious, action-filled, and entertaining on so many levels. Can it get any better? Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The lifeline on the palm of your hand can have its breaks, forks or sudden dead ends. You can never tell whether your life will be long or surprisingly short due to disease, accident, or tragedy. Sudden death is something which no one wishes for themselves, but it happens despite the wishful thinking and hopes for the best. Do you believe in life after death? Or is it the end of your journey, blank darkness without sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings? But what if your out-of-the-blue departure was a part of a bigger plot and you remained among the living to finish one more unfinished business? One of a kind Patrick Swayze as Ghost. Enjoy.
The treatment of mental diseases varied throughout centuries, from remotely built asylums to psychoanalysis visits on the couch and multiple drug prescriptions. The past bears a heavy burden of responsibility for inhumane methods and suffering patients. It's difficult to control the crowd of people who can be a threat not only to themselves but to others, let alone keep them safe in one closed space. But what if matters get out of control and those who need the treatment will usurp the power of their guardians? Who is who in a crazy game of love and mystery? Stonehearst Asylum. Enjoy.
The band which sold the biggest number of records in the history of humankind is undoubtedly The Beatles. It inspired millions, billions even, to invest in love, friendship, and peace. It showed that true love lasts despite racial differences and assassinations, it taught us about lasting careers and universal truths which are still adequate despite the passing of time. No wonder that music and lyrics by John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and George Harrison enchanted millions and were an inspiration for many movie makers. Fancy a love story with difficult history and politics in the background or do you have a craving for big laughs and contemporary romantic comedy with a pinch of the modern music scene? Cool and cult for music fans of all ages and a decent tribute to the greatest music ever written. There's no accounting for tastes, but, let's admit, the Beatles won the hearts of us all. Across the Universe and Yesterday. Enjoy.
Every day thousands of women receive an unwanted diagnosis. From the problems of weight gain, the lack of money, relationship break-down or job loss, they are hit with something which requires all their strength and resistance. They begin the fight for lives, surrounded by medical equipment, constant tests, and doctor's visits. Statistics chase them unscrupulously reminding that not all are going to make it and some will leave their partners, children, and friends behind. A portrait of a woman suffering from a disease, whispering to us that none is immune to the threats of our seemingly developed civilization. Penelope Cruz in Ma Ma.
Aren't we fascinated with the people whose priceless gift changed our culture for centuries? It's rare to find an artist, whose style is known to literally everybody despite the lack of interest in fine arts and no classical education. What was so special about the man who created one of the most famous paintings in the history of the world? What was the reason for his untimely death? Why millions still storm the gates of Amsterdam's museum? And, finally, why an extraordinary talent requires an extraordinary film? Living painting and last days of Vincent van Gogh, Loving Vincent.
Imagine a distant Swedish village, which in full light celebrates one of the most famous Scandinavian traditions. Imagine white robes, friendly people, the beauty and cleanliness of the Swedish north. Picture life without technology, immune to the threats of the contemporary world, unspoiled by the sins of the modern lifestyle. To this ad a group of fascinated youths who have their own issues to figure out and need a journey to forget and distance themselves from the world. What can possibly go wrong? Nothing like this so far, Midsommar.
One man's talents are easily used for big purposes. Head-hunters seek for hidden treasures to make them join the forces of big corporations. Huge labels look for young designers to replace the aging ones or those who died leaving the empires behind. Food and clothes companies use the faces of successful sportsmen and artists to market their products and earn billions. These people have something which companies lack: talent and it factor, bringing the extraordinary out of the ordinary. Extracting the godlike out of hair shampoos and baked beans. Sometimes the whole purpose of entrepreneurship depends on one single talented individual. What if one such boy was hired for criminal activity? What if he tried to get away from the shady business and live a life of his own? Filled with action, Baby Driver.
Everybody has his or her path toward self-acceptance. One day you happily fit in the society's norm, just as everybody else finishing schools, passing exams, partying and worrying about your acne. The next day you realize that you might be a part of a minority not necessarily tolerated by your family circle and friends. Worse yet, at times the whole world is against you and you are thrown into an institution which is designed to straighten your wicked ways and improve your morale. Everybody wants to be accepted but not everybody is lucky enough to have it the easy way. Is being attracted to your best friend the worst crime? The Miseducation of Cameron Post.
Behind every strong man stands a woman of double strength. It is her role to take care of the family and her husband's success. She stands politely in the shadow when her partner gets standing ovations, receives awards, and puts a mark behind his name in the pages of history. Doesn't she have the right to be a little bit frustrated, being omitted in this praising process and pushed into the insignificance? Or maybe her devotion reaches way further than ironing shirts and laying the table? And what if her husband receives The Nobel Prize for the lifetime work and her only role is to be there and watch? The Wife.
We have crushes on various people. Some traits, either of the character or appearance we find attractive and others don't fit in our scenario for a happy relationship. But is being overly too romantic good for this hard materialistic world and doesn't it lead to way too many broken hearts? On the other hand, can you consciously resign from love on the grounds of money and family acceptance? Can you rationally weigh the pros and cons of your feeling and give up your own happiness for someone else's benefit? Two completely different women and two equally strong love affairs, Jane Austen's heritage: Sense and Sensibility.
It's impossible to resist the temptation of love. Everybody wants to be loved and admired, and everybody craves physical fulfillment. The question of the latter comes down to consent. What if your profession is to defend victims of domestic and sexual abuse and your personal life is filled with tragic experiences you want to overcome and choices which make you a villain? What if you use your expertise and education to avoid punishment for your own crime? Why there's rarely something like altruistic heroism and those admired often commit the same crimes as common criminals? Can you escape a vicious circle of dependence and what can be the consequences of one brief love affair? Dronningen.
For a lot of men, the fact that women can derive pleasure from sex is unthinkable. This is why, due to the fear of humiliation, insecurity, and loss of their face and possessions, they closed the beautiful sex in the box of child-rearing, meals-preparing, and thoughtless. Throughout the continents, cultures, and traditions, we, women, have been mistreated and discriminated. Let's pose some questions. Why millions of girls are circumcised each year without their consent and left with a life-long trauma while men enjoy the life of privilege and can have many wives? Why in India women are raped on an everyday basis and blamed for someone else's sins? Why the Church represents something deeply unholy, not helping thousands of nuns abused by thousands of priests? Why in Japan, enjoying the tradition of penis celebration, the sculpture of a female vagina raises so much controversy and can put you in a prison? And why so many girls are thrown into the trap of marriage and child-bearing by their orthodox families, having to choose between being rejected by their community and their own happiness? What does it mean to be a woman nowadays and why years of injustice are not so easy to erase? #Female Pleasure.
In Jane Austen's times the fate of a woman was pretty direct: either to get married to a man with a suitable income or "enjoy" the pleasures of spinsterhood, being a burden for parents. Nowadays options are pretty infinite. You can be a business mogul, a wife, and a mother, a lover, or someone who finally discovered their true desires and has the guts to turn passion into a reality. It's also a great time to question choices made, relationships entered into, and despite the age and life stage, start something new. And which women to admire when it comes to sexual liberation and self-fulfillment? French Women. Enjoy.
You can be besotted by many things: by a woman, who charms your worn heart and clicks all the right buttons, by music or a voice, which drive you to happiness, tears or madness. You can also become besotted with a story, which we all have done at some point in our lives. But being subjected to the fantasy that comprises generations of fans, doesn't mean that we are content with the superficial and don't want to meet the creator. What triggers a young mind to enter the world of legends and languages? How important is a passion as opposed to education, hard work, and money making in order to gain material possessions? Why genuine friendship doesn't care about status and background? Can you still love one person throughout a lifetime and why the answer to the most complicated stories is surprisingly simple? A play on biography and one more step towards getting to know one of the most influential writers of his and a few more generations. Tolkien.
It's fun to have all sorts of heroes. Heroes with whom we can identify, heroes whom we admire and aspire to become, and heroes with whom in these uncertain times we can feel secure. But heroism has different sides. Sometimes having super extra powers doesn't mean that you are ultimately on the side of good. Sometimes it is a matter of choices. What if your father was the epitome of evil? Should you obey your adoptive parent despite a strong desire for independence? Can you, while being a middle-aged monster slightly insecure in appearance and relationship-messed to an entirely different level, enter the path towards settling down and self-acceptance? Or identity crisis is experienced by everybody, including the once found, abandoned by fate, fiery, and funny Hellboy? 2004, 2008, and 2019 films based on Mike Migola's comic book character prove that there is always some desire for evil. Enjoy.
You know these female friendships, they can last for years. They are full of support, understanding, parties danced to, evenings drown in glasses of wine, sobs over broken-hearts and loads of laughter. But friendships easily border on relationships, and every love can just as easily turn into hatred. What if years-long fondness and passion are a trigger for lobbying injust political decisions? Is it possible to escape from toxic manipulation and decades of caliper-like dependence? How much can you win when you establish the right relations, know who to talk to and how to use the right moment for your own benefit? And is every best friend forever or can you be easily replaced by a better version and lose once cherished life of privilege? The Favourite.
In the man-dominated world, we appreciate the story of the success of those who spread their wings and won a sense of independence. Among the few company owners who boast to be of beautiful sex, there was one woman who changed the fashion and perception of women for years. But is creating a fashion empire devoid of pain and heartbreak? What hides behind the cover of success and is this success a hard path to follow? Is it better to be in a loveless marriage with all privileges or feel loved without any recognition at all? What stands behind every woman's decision and is there a chance for no regrets? A woman's road to financial independence and success. Audrey Tautou in Coco Before Chanel.
The greatest decisions in our lives are made when we lose all sense of security. When the monsters that we are so deeply afraid of come into fruition from gossips overheard and other people's calamities, and happen to us, we lose balance and hope. We can give up, swimming in the pool of misery. But occasionally, having nothing else to keep us is in the cage of blissful idleness, we are ready to spread our wings and start anew.
Is being fired from a seemingly profitable job that made you run for years the end of the world? Is discovering that your long-lasting marriage is an ultimate fail and a lie the worst tragedy that could happen to a mature woman with a grown-up kid? Should we devote our lives to people and institutions who don't seem to devote themselves to us? Is it ever too late for love, friendship, passion, and education? When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. It can be the greatest drink of your life, indeed. Larry Crowne and Life of the Party, two perspectives on how to back to square one.
Reminding ourselves one of Michael Jackson's songs, be careful who you love, because the ones we fall for rarely fill our dreamy expectations. Some of them manage to surpass them in the most extravagant and unexpected ways. Some of them, from the scenario of bliss and family peace, turn our lives into a never-ending nightmare. You never entirely know a human being, whether you have lived with this person for years; whether it is your child, parent, or partner. But would you suspect someone you love of the worst crimes? Would you believe the whole world when it knows it all against your better judgment? What if the object of your affection turned out to be the worst murderer of his generation? Based on facts, an entertaining outlook on Ted Bundy's trial and one hell of a broken heart, proving that bad luck in love can have disastrous consequences. Enjoy.
There are phenomena of the contemporary world that seem stronger than religion. They connect despite the continent, age, and race. They unite, making people with no similarities, the part of a bigger whole. Maybe as a child you became besotted with the concept of a superhero, possibly you have been driven to the formula of a good science fiction movie. It could be so that, discouraged by the fantasy (childlike in your opinion), you had to appreciate the human nature and the complexity of the plot, following like a naive and helpless youngster someone bigger and stronger, but equally hurt and fragile as you. Maybe in time, you fell in love with the story so hard that it helped to make your personality what it was supposed to be, it witnessed your growth and maturation. Maybe, like so many stories, it helped you forget when life troubles made it impossible to relieve the pain.
It's impossible to ignore the impact of so many movies, so many characters, so many acts, adventures, and history in the background. It's our history and our heroes and our world. There are phenomena which make grown men cry and behave like little boys, there are stories which have and will connect generations, help marriages survive, children dream, and us believe in the power of justice, love, friendship, and humanity. This is such a phenomenon. Unbelievably powerful, Marvel's Miracle: Avengers.
Some great stories are based on facts, others occupy our minds to the extent of making us believe, trust and fall in love with the characters. At times novels and films are our greatest inspiration and a trigger that makes us act and change our ways. Some books have the power to influence and turn our mindset upside down. But there are also stories which dwell on condemnable acts such as murder. If they are dangerously close to reality you tend to be suspicious. Is the talent for writing a cover for another sort of fascination? How to tell whether a book is actually a testimony of a real crime? Based on a real event and real murder which was turned into fiction. Amok.
It's one thing when all your life you have been a supporter of LGBT rights, having pinned rainbows on the parts of your outfits, surviving countless parent conversations advocating for the right to love or sobbing watching Ellen DeGeneres' biography. But when your life is a perfect standard conservative scenario, your focus is entirely on heterosexual procreation and all of a sudden you fall in love with a woman, you might be surprised. To make matters worse, it's a rollercoaster for your sense of security, when you fall for someone who looks like a potential surrogate mother of your child. A fight with stereotypes, a love story by a woman, for women, and about women. Life is unpredictable and sometimes it gives you oranges. Nina.