Floating Skyscrapers (2013)

Floating Skyscrapers (2013)
Plynace wiezowce (original title)



Director: Tomasz Wasilewski
Writer: Tomasz WasilewskiGenre: DramaCountry: Poland
Language: PolishDuration: 93 min
Year: 2013



Stars: Mateusz Banasiuk, Marta Nieradkiewicz, Bartosz Gelner, Katarzyna Herman, Mariusz Drezek

Priča o momku koji otkriva sopstvenu homoseksualnost zaljubljujući se u najboljeg prijatelja dok se njegova dijevojka bori da ga zadrži.

Tomasz Wasilewski nam kroz ovu filmsku priču otkriva i drugu stranu konzervativne katoličke Poljske. Kroz brojne vijesti o prebijanju gay osoba, pokušaja da se spriječe gej parade i djelovanja antigay organizacija koje se često povezuju sa neonacističkim idejama stiče se dojam o Poljskoj koja nije baš pogodna za život gay ljudi.
Uprkos tome kao i svugdje ljudi se susreću sa gay osobama i uče da žive jedni pored drugih. Razvijanje macho kulture ne rezultira manjim brojem gejeva već nasuprot tome većim brojem macho gejeva. Primjer tome je Kuba, mladi sortista koji živi sa djevojkom i kroz druženje sa Michaelom otkriva svoju homoseksualnu stranu, ne toliko kroz fizički dodir sa njim, već kroz emocionalnu vezu.

U ovoj priči vidjećemo kako se bez mnogo priće odvija unutrašnja borba koju Kuba vodi sam protiv sebe dok iz nje ne izađe sa čvrstom željom da voli i bude sa Michaelom.
Nasuprot svemu tome stoje majka i djevojka koja osjeća da Kuba odlazi iz njenog života.
Zasmetao mi je pomalo balkanski završetak ove priče, ali sve u svemu prepoznaćemo coming out koji je češći na konzervativnom balkanu nego u naprednijim evropskim zemljama.

Film me je podsjetio na jednog prijatelja koji bi nakon strastvenog seksa samnom osjećao stid da bi se jedva usudio da me pogleda. Nazvao bi curu na mob i otišao kod nje. Medjutim već za dva dana bi se vraćao kod mene sa željom da mu razvalim pičku i izjebem ga kao drolju.
Macho na ulici, pička u krevetu, ali na žalost i pička po karakteru.

Alissa Simon on VARYETY.COM

In today’s conservative, predominantly Catholic Poland, an open homosexual relationship is more likely to trigger gay bashing than gay pride; so it is in Tomasz Wasilewski’s sophomore feature, the feel-bad coming-out drama “Floating Skyscrapers.” Although the lead character is something of a lout as well as an emotional and intellectual cipher, this artfully shot, sexually provocative feature nabbed the Karlovy Vary fest’s East of the West competish kudo and is making the festival rounds.

Buff, macho, bantam-sized, twentysomething Kuba (Mateusz Banasiuk) has been training as an elite swimmer for the past 15 years. He spends most of his time working out and having hot sex with his pretty blonde girlfriend, Sylwia (standout Marta Nieradkiewicz), who lives with him and his attractive, controlling mother, Ewa (Katarzyna Herman, star of Wasilewski’s first film, “In a Bedroom”). The relationship between the two women is tense, exacerbated by Sylwia’s inconsiderate behavior and Ewa’s calls for her son to rub her back while she’s in the bathtub.

Otherwise, Kuba seems to have few responsibilities or interests, apart from being a dab hand in the kitchen and indulging in wordless sexual encounters with men in bathroom stalls at the gym. When Sylwia drags Kuba to an art opening, he ungraciously decamps to a balcony, where he shares a joint and a long conversation with effeminate-looking college student Michal (Bartosz Gelner). Glimpsing the two men from across the room, Sylwia glowers at the way they seem to be really into each other. She soon has a lot more to scowl about, as Kuba abandons her and their plans every time Michal calls.

A subplot addresses Michal’s relationship with his parents. His mother (Iza Kuna) sympathizes with his sexual preference, yet still encourages him to date girls. His father (Miroslaw Zbrojewicz), however, plays deaf when Michal tries to come out publicly during a family dinner.

One of the weaknesses of the film is that while Kuba convincingly comes across as a closeted, self-loathing gay man, his sudden declaration of love for Michal at the one-hour mark seems out of character. Indeed, their relationship is shown to revolve around physical desire; we never get to hear their conversations or find out what makes the not particularly likable Kuba tick.

As evidenced by his debut feature, Wasilewski is interested in provocative sexual behavior and has no problem getting his thesps to play intimate, graphic scenes. However, he’s less successful when it comes to creating appealing characters in which the audience can take a rooting interest. Nevertheless, “Skyscrapers” marks a big step up from the low-budget “Bedroom” and showcases the helmer’s flair for composition and intelligent use of sound.

Thesping is strong, with the actresses managing to suggest more about their characters than their male counterparts do with theirs. Eye-catching widescreen production design makes interesting use of water motifs, while sophisticated soundscapes leave some sexual activity to the imagination.

Drowsiness (2008)

Drowsiness (2008)
"Sennosc" (original title)

 

Director: Magdalena Piekorz
Writer: Wojciech Kuczok
Genre: Drama
Country: Poland
Language: Polish
Duration: 105 min
Year: 2008

 

Stars: Malgorzata Kozuchowska, Michal Zebrowski, Rafal Mackowiak, Bartosz Obuchowicz, Krzysztof Zawadzki, Joanna Orleanska, Dorota Pomykala, Andrzej Grabowski

 

 

Drowsiness ( Nesanica) je film o ljudima koji u jednom trenutku svog života shvaćaju da ne žive na način na koji bi to željeli i da sebe predstavljaju drugačijim nego što jesu.
Suočeni sa krajem, koji za neke od njih i konačan, odluče da ostatak života iz korjena promjene.
U filmu se susrećemo sa tri glavna karaktera. Roza koja bolje od narkolepsije i koja sumlja da je muž vara, nezadovoljna životom u zlatnom kavezu pokušava da nađe izlaz iz njega. Drugi lik je Robert, pisac koji shvata da živi sa osobom koja je sasvim drugačija od njega i sa kojom se osjeća kao da je u nečijoj tuđoj koži. Osim toga suočava se za bolešću koja čini da je njegov životni put pri kraju.
Adam je mladi doktor koji upoznaje nesređenog momka, uličnog huligana i sa njim stvara vezu koja će obilježiti njegov život. Najveća dilema mu je kako saopštiti roditeljima da neće živjeti život koji su mu oni predodredili.

Iako je film na momente nekako spor i težak za gledanje gledaocima koji nemaju skolonosti da se sažive sa glavnim junacima. Medjutim vjerujem da će mnoge ostaviti u razmišljanju kako da odgovore na jednostavno pitanje: Da li ste zadovoljni načinom na koji živite i da li sebe predstavljate onakvim kakvi jeste?

Podsjetio me je na jednog mog prijatelja koji još uvjek pati od raskida sa momkom sa kojim je godinama djelio dobro i zlo. U jednom trenutku obadvojica su shvatila da žive u lažima koje su ispleli oko sebe. Lagali su jedan drugog, lagali su prijatelje, roditelje i na kraju sami sebe.

Jedan od njih odluči da raskine i krene iz početka.  Pokušava da nađe djevojku sa kojom će se oženiti i imati djecu. Ubjeđen je da će na taj način poboljšati svoj status i svoj život i živjeti onako kako zaista želi.
Drugi je ovaj moj prijatelj koji pati i luta. Duboko negdje u sebi zna ukoliko krene istim putem kao i njegova dugogodišnja ljubav biće nesrećan i živjeće nekim tuđim životom , a ne svojim. Ali kako izaći iz tog začaranog usuda?

Senność / Drowsiness is the second feature in the young director's output. We waited four years; does it come up to expectations? Has Magdalena Piekorz successfully cleared the "second film threshold", allegedly the most difficult in any director's career? The audience's reaction at the Gdynia festival left no room for doubt; Piekorz's film was applauded the longest of all the films in the competition - Drowsiness won the Golden Claqueur.

This is how Magdalena Piekorz presents her film in an interview (available in the distributor's materials):

'Drowsiness' is a story about people who realize at some point in their lives that they are shouldering a burden, a cross, which is weighing down on them too much. They feel at a dead end, but meeting others with similar problems makes them look differently at reality and decide to change something. The film has three main characters - Róża who suffers from narcolepsy and suspects her husband of cheating on her, Robert who is a writer and realizes that the relationship he's been in for many years is an unfulfilling one, and the family into which he has married is completely different mentally from him - they are hard to live with and oppressive. There's also the story of Adam who, though he has very good relations with his parents - simple people - decides to leave his family home and move to the city. First and foremost, though, he discovers his identity, his real self, and takes the first serious step towards being true to himself. And this is what the film is about - that it's worth being true to yourself in life. The sooner you start acting in accordance with your own conscience and morals, instead of acting against them, the easier it becomes to achieve genuine happiness."

Piekorz's film can be seen as three intertwined stories about contemporary thirty-year-olds at a crossroads in their lives: each of them faces overwhelming challenges. You can also see the film as a metaphor of a generation entangled in the rat race: the world belongs to the winners. But, the winners are few - what about the rest? Perhaps we need to admit openly that not everyone is suited for the rat race, but everyone is entitled to happiness. How can it be achieved? The first - most difficult - step is to be honest with yourself; to make a gesture of honesty which will become the key to your inner self, to liberation in a broad sense.

 

Audiences gave Drowsiness a good reception, seeing it as a useful reminder of a few familiar truths that we tend to forget in the heat of the rat race. Critics, on the other hand, were put off by the work's excessively literary character, which shouldn't come as a surprise given the strong creative personality of writer Wojciech Kuczok, the screenplay's author. It's worth highlighting the film's "Altmanesque" structure and the division into three parts marked by the work of Marcin Koszałka's camera - the story of Róża the actress is told in the mood of a nightmare, the tale of Robert seems grotesque, while the story of Adam, the doctor who musters the courage to admit he is different, breathes realism. Drowsiness is one of those projects we could call a "generation film": portraying a specific generation and providing it with food for thought.