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Reviews
365 dni (2020)
What a cliche, but...
Ok, so I obviously belong to people who took some time to review this, as, no matter how disturbing it was, we need to acknowledge that there IS something we should talk about:
1. To everyone wondering, why this movie is No 1 in their country: OBVIOUS thing - we've been in a lockdown for weeks, everyone is longing fo a hug OR MORE. So don't judge the moviemakers to give you a taste of basic intimacy we are all longing for. BUT...
2. To everyone feeling "THIS FEELS SO WRONG, BUT I WANT TO SEE, WHERE THIS IS GOING"- please don't feel wrong. Yes, I guess, like some of you, being aware of all the debates on gender equality, I counted the times she was on top of him vs. him on her. Yes, I found it disturbing, that every intimate moment between a man and a woman has to start with oral sex provided by the woman. Yes, I judged the message, that marrying an "alpha guy" (after having unprotected sex) is the ultimate goal for every woman (not even questioning, that everything a woman wants is a marriage and a child). BUT everyone of us needs to question - and this is what I think the role of this movie is - why we find it so intriguing and why most reviews are so bad? Obviously, most of the 1-star reviewers didn't switch it off after 20 min, meaning there was a reason to watch? And for me, I have the answer why. I believe the movie had a good purpose after all: I had to question my own values, watching some, IN MY WORLD, old-fashioned ideas and making me question, why all stories of submissive women are still being binge-watched? And I figured, it is because the majority of us is still not there yet - to think a woman and a man can actually ask for love in an EQUAL way, EQUAL meaning, in a way that they define being EQUAL for THEM. So if we all agree that all she and him wanted is what we saw, why should we rate the movie with 1 star? Do we need to have the same understanding of equality, or shall we leave it in our own (their) bedroom? Isn't it the ultimate freedom we are looking for?
3. A message that got lost in all this soft porn, and that deserves a star, is that, a true friend's company will always help - no matter, if they are saying yes or no to what you do - they do it out of love for you.
PS And btw, a good reminder for me - going to hairdresser after a break up, will, most of the times, do you no good.
Russian Doll (2019)
Self-help for all depressed people out there
Well, Russian doll is genius, because it hits the sweet spot - the thing most of Netflix binge-watchers' are suffering from: depression. Not judging, as I am definitely counting myself in.
So - two complements to the makers:
First, the details - maybe only my way of interpreting it, because each scene, each dialogue in some way explains depression and its roots in a dark, but simultaneously humorous way. For me it's of course first of all the time loop. Such a great metaphor for the ongoing fight against this feeling of being stuck with one's own feelings and feeling powerless against them. It's like you wake up everyday, hating your job, hating yourself, your body, your life and you feel like you will never find a way out. There is a great build up that reflects a typical depression: first, she feels annoyed, doesn't know how to handle it, there is pressure from outside (the knocking on the door), the guests and her friends who try to reach out, but she cuts them off, one by one, not willing to accept or to see a helping hand, no mirror for self-hatred, as nothing is relevant anymore when you are at the edge. And at the same time the one and only explanation of where the feelings are coming from: consumption (drugs) or lack of it (eating disorder), which are on the other hand just a consequence from missing one key thing in the characters' lives: love.
Second, dear makers of the series, thank you, for giving it a happy ending. For showing that getting and accepting help actually helps. For not killing one of the characters to give it an art-house murderous twist, that lots of producers love these days. Thanks for letting Natascha to get to the "smallest doll", the core of a matreshka, that explained where all the pain is coming from. Thanks for realizing, that with your audience you have a responsibility- maybe not to cure depression, but not to push people to the extremes.
That being said, I enjoyed it because I could feel it, not because of the bittersweet humor or well-played characters. I'd rather describe it as a reflection of my own face I stare at every day in the mirror - I look at it, I know what's bothering me, one day I can do something about it, another I can't. But at least I am aware of this ups and downs - this is what the series teaches you, and this is a good start, right?