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In the beginning everything is like a fairy tale, Blanche has found her prince charming, but it turns out too good to be true. The whole time I wondered if the film could have the same emotional impact on people who have never experienced the situation it portrays. Even though I experienced only a tenth of what the main character Blanche did, it is a very personal film for me, with strong, real and important themes. I have to praise both actors. Virginie Efira is a beloved star in France and in this film she proves that she has every right to be, and Melvil Poupaud, he's both stunningly charming and terrifying, as manipulators can sometimes be. I also have the piano score etched in my memory, really beautiful music. One of the most impressive dramas of this year's Cannes. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

The best short I saw at Cannes (though I didn’t see all the shorts). It's raw, confusing at times, we don't quite know what is imagination and what is reality, which I didn't mind at all in this rendering. I love Polish cinema, and this budding director can be proud of his film. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

A very sad true story of a six-year-old boy who was torn from the arms of his Jewish family to convert to the Christian faith, one of monstrous practices of the Church. The family has been trying for years to get the boy back home, but to no avail, and little Edgardo has a difficult, almost impossible task ahead of him: to remain faithful to his family and his faith despite years of brainwashing, which results in his utter ambivalence. The most heartbreaking scene is the reunion years later with his mother, who is on her deathbed. The film has a fantastic production design, the performances of all the main actors are admirable, my only criticism would be the running time (I would have cut it by 20 minutes), and the dramatic music is a bit too religious at times, but otherwise it is definitely worth seeing. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

Jessica Hausner presented Little Joe at Cannes 2019, and Emily Beecham won Best Actress. Club Zero left Cannes this year without an award at Cannes, and yet for me it's a more accomplished film. But it's true that maybe it could have been a bit more extreme, like The Wave. Here we follow a group of students who sign up for a "mindful eating" course that ultimately leads to no eating at all. Under Ms. Novak's manipulative influence, the students are very passionate, even sectarian, about their project, and we can observe the reactions of their families. The film opens up many themes: nutrition trends, eating disorders, escalating beliefs (thoughts shape our reality, I can do anything if I think it – best portrayed in a disturbing, absurd yet brilliant vomiting scene). The film is funny, but at the same time tragic and especially brilliantly acted by the young cast. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

I'm pretty clear about the kind of place and time in the past I would never want to live in: the bloodthirsty American Wild West and the court of Henry VIII, with all the intrigue and the paranoia, I like my peace and I really wouldn't have the nerve for that. Anyway, I've always been utterly fascinated by Henry VIII and his women, I loved watching the The Tudors, so I'm always happy to watch any film treatment of that era, and this one is very good. It's very intimate, understated, and kept me entertained the entire time, thanks to the lead acting duo of Alicia Vikander and Jude Law. We have already seen Alicia once in the great historical drama A Royal Affair; she was great there, but here she is even better, the role suits her beautifully. It's quite a turnaround for Jude, though, from a likable pretty boy to a chubby, grumpy, paranoid curmudgeon, I don't think many people will even recognize him! I must also highlight the beautiful sets and costumes, they were a feast for the eyes. I can surely recommend it for lovers of historical dramas. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

What I appreciate the most in May December is the originality. The topic of a mature woman's relationship with a young boy, discussed in the media, is something I may have seen in a TV movie, but certainly not on the big screen. And I've certainly never seen the theme of an actress preparing for a role in a film inspired by a real event. She is to portray the mature woman, and therefore, as part of her research, she briefly intrudes into their lives and privacy. It’s a very good combination and brilliantly acted. The most curious thing about the whole film is the music, it is perhaps overly dramatic, you are expecting some brutal drama, a violent scene, and then something quite ordinary comes along. To illustrate: the scene that sticks in my mind the most is when Julianne Moore is in the kitchen preparing snacks for a garden party and when she opens the fridge and stares staring into it, this brutally dramatic music starts playing, making you think she's found a severed head, or maybe she's going to grab a knife and slit her wrists, only to say that there aren’t enough hot-dogs. The result is very comical, and there are several scenes like that. There is also some drama there, Julianne and Natalie Portman are both great, and as I said, it's all very original. I also enjoyed very much the role of Charles Melton, the young father who begins to analyze and question his life and his relationship with his much older wife. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

We have seen the horrors that took place in concentration and extermination camps many times on the cinema screen, but this time we take an unconventional look from the other side of the wall, at the life of an Auschwitz commander and his family. Well, it's a disgustingly perfect idyll: a lovely home, a beautiful garden with a pool, a house full of servants; the Höss don't lack for anything. What is happening behind the wall is presented to the viewer only in small "icy" details: the young son playing in the beautiful flowering garden and behind him in the house we see only the steam rising from a train arriving at Auschwitz; the family celebrating a birthday in the garden and behind them we see the incinerator in full swing; they are bathing in the river and suddenly ashes start falling down on them. We all know very well what that means, Jonathan Glazer is counting on it, and he manages to create a perfectly chilling contrast. It also presents a picture of a happy family, which is something I thought about many times in the past because I always found it very controversial. We know all too well what monsters the SS could be, but at the same time they could be, and probably were, loving fathers, something that is beautifully portrayed here. Rudolf Höss is a likeable dad (if it weren't for his uniform, he wouldn't be so different from your friends), but then he picks up the phone and starts figuring out how to streamline the final solution to the Jewish question; at a social event his wife asks him who were the people there and he answers that he doesn’t care about the people, that he was thinking how to gas everything, but it was logistically difficult – that was quite hard to stomach. It took me a while to get used to the way the film is shot, it feels a bit documentary-like, and by the end credits I almost ripped my ears off from the accompanying "music" in agony, but it was a very powerful experience. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

My first screening at the Cannes Film Festival and quite a powerful experience. We follow the day-to-day practices of emergency responders in New York City, and how this work affects their mental health and personal lives. The protagonists Ollie (Tye Sheridan) and Gene (Sean Penn) go on all sorts of cases, so we can get a rich idea of the variety and complexity of their calls (from homeless trouble, domestic violence, unwanted help with drug addicts, to street shootings and many more). What rescue workers everywhere have to deal with inspires great admiration in me in general (even on home soil, of course), but I feel like America is on a whole other level. On the one hand, this film is a tribute to these people, but at the same time it shows how terribly unrewarding this work is and how much of a toll it increasingly takes. And then there is the question of the "divine" decision of whether or not it makes sense to save a life in some cases? I don't want to give anything more away, this film is challenging but definitely worth it. I was very impressed by the music by Nicolas Becker and Quentin Sirjacq; and as for the acting performances, Sean Penn is classically very good, but Tye Sheridan leads the way, I found him incredibly good here. [Festival de Cannes 2023]

Western is not one of my favourite genres, but every once in a while a gem comes along that convinces me that it's actually not so bad. The trailer gave me the impression that this was going to be a purely feminist western, but it's not. The whole thing is well balanced and all the important characters, and there are not few of them, have their space. This western doesn't just divide good and evil, the plots and characters are complex, which is why, for example, you'll like the main ruthless villain in his own way. And another thing I have to highlight is the music and cinematography – beautiful visuals and scenery, many slow motion shots with unconventional angles, a feast for the eyes. Certainly recommended.

Another proof that the best stories are written by life itself, and this one is downright fascinating – if it wasn't based on true events, I'd consider it science fiction. Though I had heard about the rescue of the football team from a cave, I didn't know the details, which is why I found the film incredibly suspenseful from start to finish. I don't want to give too much away, I think it's better not to know too much before seeing the film. Hundreds of people were involved in saving those boys and I think this film pays tribute to all of them. What I appreciate most is that the film doesn't slip into heartbreaking pathos. Those divers are heroes, and Howard manages to portray that in a very humble, civil and natural way.