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It doesn't often happen that I feel excited from the first shots of an opening and the initial tones of a ballad song accompanying intertwining images. With a series that rewrites the idea of what the detective genre and its protagonists should be and how they should function. The prevailing feeling while watching the series is uncertainty. It is felt not only by the confused detectives, who let the case slip through their fingers but also by the viewers, who are deprived of the usual support. What and who to believe when one of the investigators has a colorful drug past and an equally colorful alcoholic present, and the other is a testosterone-filled macho man who is never far from violence and has no problem hurting even his loved ones? Additionally, both are saturated with dirty pragmatism, which can only sprout in the destructive environment of the underworld of crime. The viewer sees too many contradictions between the depiction of the former policemen and the flashbacks that reveal their professional failures as former legends of the police force. True Detective is characterized by a sinister atmosphere supported by shots of gloomy swampy landscapes around the Mississippi. The series represents top craftsmanship in every aspect, starting with excellent camera work, through meticulous direction, to the animalistic acting of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. The series is not valuable for its plot, but for its sophisticated storytelling, playing with form, winking at the viewer, and openly playing with jokes in the seriousness of the situation, straddling genres - ultimately, it is more of an existential psychological drama than a crime story. Last but not least, the excellent portrayal of well-written characters - the cynical glosses of bitter Cole have the attractiveness of a black hole and the power of a supernova explosion. The series has an ideal length - it does not get lost in the narrative fog and does not lose its momentum in side plots like many genre-related projects do. Although it has a slow pace, it is able to incredibly intensify the tension. Perhaps only in the last two episodes, when evil begins to materialize and takes on a specific human face, does the overwhelming feeling disappear a bit. True Detective seemingly resembles the successful Scandinavian series, but those usually allow fo a certain scriptural construct. They take place in stabilized countries with functioning institutions and minimal crime rates. The clash of American detectives with human misery, the brutality of motorcycle gangs, and the slimy manipulativeness of sellers of religious phrases look uncomfortably realistic. I consider True Detective to be an absolute pinnacle in its genre category, a benchmark that Pizzolatto's followers and challengers will find very difficult to surpass. Overall impression: 95%. //// Season 2: When reviewing the first series, I wrote that it would be difficult for others, including Pizzolatto himself, to surpass it, and it doesn't make much sense to argue about which of the two previous seasons is better. The second one is completely different. Different protagonists, different crimes, different locations, and a different atmosphere. However, there are characteristics that connect both series and will likely be typical for future continuations, which we will undoubtedly see. We have the complicated psychology of the investigators, who are sometimes more preoccupied with battling their own demons than with fighting crime, and the intricately structured storytelling, in which the first season used different timeframes more, whereas this one focuses on different perspectives of multiple characters, who doubt and don't trust each other. Very interesting is the setting of the atmosphere, where the second season is dominated by sun-drenched California, where one can easily get lost in the desert and come to harm in the jungle of Los Angeles. Even the thousand-year-old sequoias play their role in the end. This change in atmosphere is best characterized by the opening scene, which is colorful, and sunny, and Cohen's rendition creates an atmosphere reminiscent of a city's erotic club. The most important thing is that the second season is just as good for me as the first one, and those who want to see a continuation of the first season with its protagonists and the Louisiana swamps may have a problem with it. Like in the first case, I feel like I'm watching one of the absolute peaks of genre television series creation. The performances are luxurious, and the actors are clearly happy to exceed the limits of the roles they have been cast in by casting agencies. Pizzolatto, just like the directors, clearly drew inspiration from the classic noir genre and did an excellent job. The central theme is ubiquitous corruption, the penetration of crime into government administration, and the tricky game with one's own conscience and coming to terms with one's own failures. The opening scene is one of the best ever created as an intro. Personally, I prefer it over the opening of the first season, although this is a matter of personal taste and choice. I don't need to change my overall impression. Keep up the good work, I'm looking forward to the third season.

Have you ever had the feeling of déjà vu? Something previously seen or experienced? This inconspicuous film quickly reminded me of one of the masterpieces of the American independent scene - The Station Agent by Thomas McCarthy. Two men, one woman, the search for a way to each other, and comedic and dramatic elements in one. However, there is a crucial difference. Both films are about friendship, but The Station Agent is a positive film that feels like an uncritical tribute to pure friendship devoid of any ulterior motives or sexual sparks, whereas Bicycling with Molière gradually takes on a darker tone and eventually comes across as an example of selfish behavior that kills true friendship. Friendship requires generosity and tolerance, which the protagonists of the French film are unable to show in decisive moments. The male ego is great and artistic vanity is immense... Bicycling with Molière is a small, intimate, and civically conceived film about one meeting, from which something great could have been born if its protagonists were able to suppress their pettiness. Overall impression: 70%.

The Killing already had an excellent reputation, but watching - as usually happens when you have high expectations - did not live up to my expectations. I disliked a certain fatigue of the series with its multitude of characters, motives, settings, detours, and dead ends. Twenty episodes of investigating one case were simply too much for my taste. Alignment did not come with the second season either, but the third season hit the spot for me. I appreciated its significantly more intense pace. Unlike its older siblings, the third season did not tire me but instead kept me on the edge. In this season, it is worth paying attention to the dialogues, relationships, and facial expressions; everything is well thought out and has its (temporarily hidden) meaning. The script evenly divides attention among several environments and realistically depicts the growing conflict between Danish business and political elites, facing a shocking crime, as well as the rivalry and maneuvering within stumbling security forces. The individual storylines do not mix aimlessly as in the first season. The twists in the investigation do not look like a divine intervention from above, the action elements are portrayed realistically, and the characters do not act in black and white, quite the opposite in fact. Each carries a scar, whether it is a partial or fundamental professional or human failure. Even the emotionally intense scenes of searching for a kidnapped girl whose time is running out do not lead to cheap sentimentality or manipulation of the viewer. As a warning that even the wealthiest societies are not without flaws, season 3 works excellently, and it also represents evidence that even small European productions can achieve great things. Overall impression: 85%.

Do you like clarity in everything? Order in things and in relationships? Do you prefer epic stories with clearly defined heroes and readable messages? Well, you've got the wrong address and there's nothing left but to turn elsewhere. Carnivále, without exaggeration, represents the essence of mysterious dramatic creation. Its characters are ambiguous, bizarre, and perfectly fitting the idea of a collection of freaks from Barnum's sleazy show. The destinies of the circus company employees, controlled by the invisible "management," unfold in the 1930s, and from this perspective, it is refined retro from the times of the peak of the economic crisis, where you can directly feel the weight of the fate of unemployed inhabitants of impoverished American Midwestern towns and farmers crushed by poor harvests and loan repayments. The series skillfully balances between mysterious perversity and serious social drama. The storytelling is not rushed, and soon you will realize that, in the case of Carnivále, it is much more about mood and style, about playing with the viewer, about touches with the world beyond consciousness, about constant grappling with paranormal phenomena, about discovering one's own and others' past through fragments of dreams, about flashes of a disturbing future, and about asking burning questions that still lack answers. Carnivále is a labyrinth of mysteries in which you can easily lose direction and purpose. The camera finds beauty in ugliness, the community of worldly individuals finds freedom in shared poverty, the director cleverly plays with details, the screenwriter juggles with words and characters, and all together they contribute to building a peculiar mystical atmosphere. If you surrender to it, you probably won't mind that the plot is not actually essential and at the end of each episode, you don't know much more than at the beginning. The panopticon of characters from caravans with unclear origins and very uncertain futures is worth watching precisely because even in the age of the current boom in quality series, it represents something very exclusive, something for true connoisseurs. Carnivále is not comparable to anything, as it is unique and very impressive. I would gladly take that journey across the United States in those trucks with that gang one more time. Overall impression: 90%.

Whoever wants to see a big colorful and artistically ambitious film about the formation of the Irish Republic, the history of the struggle for independence, the events surrounding its creation, and the most famous moments in the history of the Irish Republican Army, should watch Neil Jordan's Michael Collins. The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a typically small production that looks like it's made for TV, and if the viewer wants to compare it with epic blockbusters, they will inevitably be disappointed. To be honest, I don't really understand its victory at prestigious film festivals because, from an artistic point of view, it is not possible to consider this film a festival peak. Its value lies in something else. I see it as a quality historically analytical film that provides today's viewer with relatively distant historical events. It is, in a way, an acted documentary filmed from the position of a protagonist who stands on left-radical positions in the historical dispute over the nature of the newly emerging Irish state. I have nothing against that, as many so-called historical films prefer an impressive story over a sober and factually presented historical truth. In the case of this film, it doesn't make sense to assess the film in terms of entertainment or artistic catharsis. However, it accurately describes the mechanism of the political crisis, guerrilla warfare for independence, and the subsequent conflict between radical supporters of violent solutions and those who are able to understand reality and negotiate compromises. For me, it deserves 3.5 stars, which I am elevating to four after a short consideration. Overall impression: 70%.

In one of the comments, the protagonist of the film, Sally, is compared to Forrest Gump, who makes short-sighted decisions and gets everything wrong. Personally, I believe that if he made bad decisions, his life would take much darker paths and would end soon. I remember the series of documentary films Forgotten Transports to..., which portrayed the fates of a handful of surviving Jews from concentration camps. Practically each of them lived a story that was worth filming and is hardly believable - if it weren't true. Movies simply aren't made about the millions who were unlucky and couldn't decide in a fraction of a second which line to join or when to raise their hand. Sally showed a great deal of presence of mind and courage, but he also had to have immense luck. I remember the story of a German Jewish immigrant from Paris, where the victorious German army entered. The first selections began, and that young man, under the motto "under the candelabrum it is darkest," boldly signed up for the SS units at the recruitment office. Unlike millions of other members of his church, he survived the war when he spent a few years in elite SS units in Norway. I have experience with Agnieszka Holland's works in that her direction will never take me to any heavenly heights, but on the other hand, she films reliably and, moreover, her greatest advantage is that she has a sense for selecting attractive material. Of course, even though the film is based on the real hero's experiences, the screenwriter could have embellished his experiences a bit to make the film's narrative more attractive. Even so, it is an exceptionally interesting work that speaks a lot about the crazy times and anti-Semitism in (not only) German society. Overall impression: 75%.

At first glance, The Class appears to be a controversial film. In reality, it is a film that presents its message so directly and unequivocally that I can hardly imagine a viewer who would not understand those two unfortunate individuals and their desperate act (to understand, of course, does not automatically mean to agree). I believe that many would willingly bring ammunition to both of them and reload the empty magazines of their arsenal after that week of hell. The Class is an unpleasant film, and undoubtedly impactful in a certain respect. However, it plays it safe to such an extent that it dulls its emotional impact. In fact, even those who themselves engaged in or continue to engage in bullying or harassment can easily agree with the condemnation of such brutal violence. In the popular sitcom The Big Bang Theory, the sympathetic Penny fondly remembers how she cleverly humiliated and tormented the class nerd in high school. The shocked society of young intellectuals subsequently recalls how their less talented classmates managed to make their lives miserable. When asked if Penny realizes that she actually committed a crime, the girl replies that everyone had a great time and enjoyed it like never before, and never since. And that's what it's all about. Many things we did in school weren't exactly fair and could make life quite unpleasant for those less popular, less successful, or weaker, and many of us somehow manage to make our colleagues' lives unpleasant with subtle bullying without even acknowledging that it is actually bullying. That's what sadistic prisoners in prison engage in, or what happens to rookies in the military. After all, it doesn't concern us at all, right... From my perspective, The Class is an average film with a strong theme. Nothing more, nothing less. Overall impression: 60%.

Dark Blue World was a film that cost Jan Svěrák a lot of effort, and it can be said that he sacrificed offers from overseas that came after winning the Oscar, and this drama was supposed to become a showcase of his work. I avoided watching this film for a long time, or maybe it avoided me because I somehow instinctively felt that it wouldn't be my cup of tea. Today, I can say that the true showcase of Svěrák's work remains The Elementary School, or alternatively the beautifully emotional Kolja, but Dark Blue World, considering how much energy and effort the director put into it and how expensive of a project it was, can be considered more of a failure. It's not a disaster, because Svěrák is too experienced and talented of a creator for that, and so many good actors were involved in his project that it is not possible to label Dark Blue World a mistake. However, I get the feeling that stars are being added to the film to a certain extent for the topic and out of a sense of obligation rather than for the actual emotions that the film evokes. Svěrák once stated that he didn't have the prerequisites for certain genres, that he would never be able to make a horror film, no matter how good of a script he had at his disposal, and that is why he could never become a director who makes films on demand. Unfortunately, he can easily include war films among those genres he has no affinity for. Dark Blue World is much more of a love story set against the backdrop of World War II than a war film. The battle scenes were not interesting to me, and if I were to compare it with its genre companions, then Riders in the Sky or Memphis Belle leave Dark Blue World far behind. The film simply doesn't work as it should. Overall impression: 60%.

The genre classification is a bit misleading because much more than a crime story, The Secret in Their Eyes is a love story set in a country with a complicated political situation and dealing with years of military dictatorship. I didn't consider giving it five stars for even a second, but I had a tough time deciding between three and four. The screenplay has something to it and several scenes have a huge emotional impact, on the other hand, the film drags quite a bit, it's too lyrical for its genre, and it needed at least bolder editing. Overall impression: 75%. Addendum: I usually deduct a star from most movies in hindsight, but in this case, I state that I hurt it the first time because as the weeks went by, I kept coming back to it in my thoughts and I retrospectively appreciated its qualities. This film is more intimate and takes the story in different directions than its North American or European competition. It is its own - Latin American - and that is its added value. Moreover, the motif of relentless revenge over time is incomparably more cultivated and impressive than the tragicomic tale from the South Korean film Oldboy.

Brighton Rock is receiving mixed comments and low ratings, which is to some extent due to the absence of characters with whom the viewer can identify and cheer for. But only to some extent, because the strangest feeling of anachronism has the biggest influence. The screenplay is strangely stuck deep in the past. The film realistically takes place in the early 1960s during the era of mods, but it feels like a movie filmed in the mid-1940s based on a screenplay that had been sitting in a drawer for a few years and portrays a society a decade older. Above all, the main character Rose with her boundless naivety does not fit into the 60s, but rather into the pre-war era. The brutality and malevolence of the main villain could have shocked audiences in the 40s, but today we are used to much more radical personalities and actions. Even the pace of the film's storytelling is different now. I'm just speculating, but it seems quite logical to me that the creators adhered too slavishly to the original film from 1947 (which I have not had the opportunity to see yet) and the book on which the film is based. We have moved on and the thinking of these characters is now too distant for us. If this had been directed by, say, Hitchcock in the 40s, it would be a respected classic in the same form, but like this, most viewers just will just shrug and move on. Personally, I can say that Rowan Joffe, as the director, earned a weak 3 stars from me, but just barely. Overall impression: 50%.