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Black Mirror: Arkangel 2017 ★★★½
Helicopter parents end up having the helicopter blow up in their face and the rotor cut off their head. With a feminin spin of Oedipus to boot.
This can stand on its own and be a powerful social drama. Now it does not blow you away the same way some of the other BM episodes did, amongst others because - from a storytelling point of view - it's pretty staightforward and fairly predictable. Does that make it any less well executed, acted,...? Of course not.
El Conde 2023 ★½
Not sure why, but I totally was not on board with this one.
All I saw was a poorly done Spanish Wes Anderson-pastiche with neither the esthetics nor the charm of the quirky characters. I did not get a single laugh out of this one and the vampires often seemed like an aftertought.
The Teachers’ Lounge 2023 ★★★★
The teacher's lounge (aka Das Lehrers Zimmer) is a tought provoking movie on themes like prejudice, racism and jumping to conclusions.
We follow Carla Novak, a math teacher who seems like what we nowadays consider an old school liberal. Standing up for what she believes is right. When a thief is going around stealing things, she makes the bold decision to try and set up a trap. She then tries to work things out with the supposed suspect, but then of course things really go south.
This story is mostly carried by the actors and they all do a great job. Leonie Benesch as Carla, caught and torn between her ideals and principles and her professional surroundings. Tormented by the idea by whatever she does in good intentions only seems to make things worse. I wonder how much of a conscious choice it was to give this character a Polish background. Both actors in the Kuhn family. Both reacting so fiercely that the suggestion something deeper is involved also surfaces.
It also never really takes a side and it does not have a clear cut ending. In fact, the ending switches between different emotions. How the final confrontation between Miss Novak and Oskar switches between harsh and a beautiful shared moment with the Rubik's cube. Even the final shot of Oskar and the policemen can either be seen as sad and grand. While he will probably get in deeper trouble now, he is still carried out on a throne of sorts. Highlighting different emotions. How those who want to can find common ground. And also how well meant actions can inadvertently lead to far reaching consequences.
It's not the most comfortable watch, but recommended for people open to thought provoking movies. And to subtitles.
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