Autor: hagados

Kislota – Confusing just like being young

am von hagadosin Allgemein

Once a friend told me that I just need to survive my 20s and then it will get better. I wasn’t sure what exactly will get better: me or life. But after watching „Kislota“ (Section Panorama) from a 26 year old Alexander Gorchilin I might know the answer.

„Kislota“ means acid, and if there are drugs at the beginning of the movie, they have to „shoot“. I guess the ambiguity of youth could be partially described by the first scene: LSD trip, two people on a balcony, one of them hangs from it, another one looks carelessly and says: if you want to jump, do it. And so he jumps. It’s absurd but it’s also an honest scene: when you’re young you don’t have to be responsible about anything. You don’t have to care yet.

I liked that the director didn’t pretend to „know it all“, he showed young people as they are: constantly looking for something, but not sure where to look, or how long it is going to take, or if they can even see. The plot is also „young“, it doesn’t always make sense, it drifts away, and confuses the audience. But as a young person, I could relate – I also have no idea what’s going on, but with every new day I get a feeling that I’m about to figure it out.

Weiterlesen „Kislota – Confusing just like being young“ →

Not a Typical Gay Movie – Temblores

am von hagadosin Berlinale 2019, Festival

Pablo has fallen in love with Francisco. No, it is not another coming of age movie about a love affair during the summer vacation. And no, it is not about going to the mountains to secretly explore one’s sexuality. „Temblores“ by Jayro Bustamante from the Panorama section is an ugly truth; it hits you in the face from the first shot: Pablo, a married man in his late 30s has just come out to his deeply religious evangelical family in Guatemala. Pablo has to undergo the therapy session at the local church to become normal again.

I could not stop crying the whole movie. I was torn between different perspectives and it was impossible to choose a side – all of them touched me. I could understand why Pablo’s wife did not allow Pablo to see the children, I could understand why Pablo cannot cut off his ties with the family and the church. Jayro Bustamante is convincing. He also seems to control our emotions visually – the images are hopeless and grim.

Some movies about gay people are all about hot guys making out, but this is not the case here. Jayro Bustamante goes until the end to make you feel the struggle of being gay in Guatemala; sometimes we hear the director’s voice through the children, sometimes he says a lot with a silence. And trust me, both are excruciating. I appreciated that „Temblores“ does not sugarcoat the experience of being gay, and it is up to us to decide if we are ready to face it.

Text by hagados

How nature made me care about brazilian politics.

am von hagadosin Berlinale 2019, Filmkritik

I am holding the ticket for my first movie at Berlinale. I have no expectations since I have not selected the movie myself, and I felt grateful for escaping my regular choices. I had only one clue: the movie is made by the Brazilian director Helvecio Marins, it is in the Forum Section, and its name is “Querencia”.
To be honest, I had several moments when I lost myself in the movie, and wasn’t sure what was happening. I did not hear all the dialogues as the nature kept stealing my attention again and again. The most memorable moments were set during the rodeo shows. Helvecio makes it political, as the main character reflects on the Brazilian politics in the style of rodeo announcements. It’s original, but it didn’t give me enough insight to understand the situation in Brazil. The question is, then, should you educate yourself on the subject of a movie beforehand, or is it supposed to encourage people to read more about it afterwards if they start to care?
The word “Querencia” felt like a summer embrace. It gave me images of a long awaited vacation somewhere in rural Spain, and I was ready to enjoy the sun of Spanish filmmaking no matter what. Helvecio Marins tells a story of a cowboy in rural Brazil who is passionate about rodeo shows. Throughout the whole film, we get to enjoy beautiful landscapes and meditate on the destiny of cowboys as well as cows. And I swear for a moment I felt that I am also there, wearing a big straw hat, and about to see my first rodeo show. Just like the main character, I could not stop looking at the impressive beauty of the bullfighting. And there it was, querencia, the moment when a bull feels unstoppable and strong. I closed my eyes and reminded myself that I am in the cinema. I am safe.
There is no place to escape politics, no matter where you are – in rural Brazil, or in a big city. Helvecio Marins shows how a community finds unity when speaking up during the rodeo shows about the struggle of their nation. But he also gives us space to meditate and reflect on these problems while looking at peaceful fields, and perhaps connecting to nature is the first step towards caring about politics. I would have missed the lands I have seen in “Querencia” if they were destroyed, and I want to protect them by knowing more.

Text by hagados