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vmilenkovic2005
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Mustang (2015)
A great film but a bit overrated
Even though i assume not many people will read this i'm going to put a disclaimer first. I honestly don't mind if this is a 100% real representation of Turkish culture or not, and it doesn't need to be, no live action film does, this isn't a documentary. Simply put, if it successfully tells a good story then the film did its job and i'm happy with it. Also, i heard many people online hated the movie only because it had some direct feminist themes, the hate is highly undeserved,not only because that isn't a valid enough reason, but because the film doesn't bang you over the head with its messages, and there are many more universal themes weaved in the narrative structure of the film. Now that thats out of the way lets get into the review.
The film tells the tale about five young free spirited sisters living in a conservative Turkish household, and the friction regarding the relationship between them and their uncle and grandmother. it's a touching story about the generational gap that exists between them, and the need for the sisters to find their place in life that isn't determined by their family. Technical aspects of the film are quite superb, to my eye the editing was professional, and the cinematography beautiful, the sombre soundtrack goes hand in hand with the story of the film, and the acting was at least as far ass i could tell very good, although i cant be sure since i don't speak Turkish. One of the first things i noticed when i watched the film is that the family relations depicted in the film bear a striking resemblance to an old conservative Serbian family, which doesn't come as a big surprise since the Turks practically ruled our lands for five centuries, and that is one of the main reasons i would recommend this to anyone who was raised in a Balkan country which was occupied by the Turks, because i think they will find some interesting parallels.
What bothered me the most about the film was the fact that certain characters weren't very developed, specifically the teacher, and the driver that frequently helps the younger sister, i simply wished that the script devoted more time to explaining their motivation. Also the ending seamed very unexpected, and not in a good way, it simply wasn't foreshadowed enough for it to be satisfying.
All in all i think this is a worthy contender for the academy award, and it made me very interested in the future career of Deniz Gamze Ergüven, the director of the film, she is a talented woman with a bright future regarding the world of cinema, i wish her the best of luck.
Pored mene (2015)
Well this surprised me! It's actually not that bad
I reluctantly agreed to go watch this film with my friend, because i personally don't have a really good track record with recent Serbian films,and I'm not gonna lie i was ready to hate it. But to my surprise the film was generally very good. One of the positive things about the movie is the acting, i thought that Serbia had no good young actor until i've seen this film, there were no cringe worthy performances, virtually everyone was splendid. Also the dialog felt very natural, you really did believe that does were high schoolers talking, which i was really glad to see, in that aspect the script was really good. The cinematography and editing was really professional and effective, you knew what was going on and you knew who was doing what, which is very commendable. Main themes in the film revolve around the social structure in an average Serbian high school, it also touches on peer pressure, and a need for close friends, and general acceptance from society for who you really are. It also focuses on the generational gap in not just Serbian but western society in general, which is well demonstrated in some scenes like the teachers monologue in the beginning of the movie, and with the older principals confusion with her cellphone. The film surprised me how it dealt with a homosexual relationship, it was treated in a very respectful and believable manner which i applaud.
Those are all great things but the film does have it's share of problems. I personally felt that the cast was to big, because of that some characters were underdeveloped (like some jocks or the class nerd,which didn't really have any obvious character arc, in other words they stayed the same throughout the film and you really didn't get to know them). I am assuming that's because if it had a smaller cast then it would look to similar to "Breakfast club", although i could be wrong on that one. And i think that the teacher should have been more prominent in the film, she only shows up in the beginning of the film to instigate the plot of the movie, and I think it was important for her to be more present so that the generational gap would be a little more obvious. I also don't believe that they should have shown us who was responsible for the attack on the teacher at the beginning, simply because that didn't really lead anywhere important regarding the plot of the film, it didn't lead to the confrontation between them and the other students or the teacher. The last thing i want to mention is that the general circumstance in which the students got themselves involved in didn't seem very believable. Basically the main flaws about the film revolve around the script, which is a shame because it could have been one of the best Serbian films in recent memory for me if it weren't for those negative elements regarding the writing.
All in all this is a wonderful refreshment for me regarding Serbian cinema in recent years, and I really wish more people would go see it in the theaters.
Snowpiercer (2013)
it's not for everybody, but good a movie nonetheless
I have heard and read very polarising reviews about this movie, the negative reviews usually revolve around so-called plot holes and to many far-fetched elements in the story. And i can understand where they are coming from, but to me at least the messages that this movie is trying to send and the way they are presented in the film justify the so called "wtf moments". Some of the themes that are present in the film are based on modern days political and economic systems,and the impact of religion and our schooling system on society, the film expresses these themes in a really marvelous and suspenseful way.
The viewers just need to know what are they in for before they walk in to the theater, because if they come in to this movie expecting to see some cheap pop corn flick with just mindless violence and gore, the movie might fly over them, and potentially surprise them in a bad way.
One of the things in this movie that bothered me a little was the casting of Chris Evans, not because i think he is a bad actor far from it, but because whenever i look at him i see Captain America, thats why i think they should have casted someone who is less known, but other than that i can honestly say that the overall acting, directing, and writing is really good, with some awesome stunt work and suspenseful action scenes as well. I highly recommend them to people who want to try something new, because it tells a good original story in an original way.