Poll

The Poll Diaries raises a lot of conflicting feelings in me and I am torn about what rating to ultimately give it. A certain part of me rebels against giving it 3 stars and says that a film with such potential does not even deserve an average rating, even though the details can be praised and even talked about in superlatives. The film has excellent camera work, it is set in beautiful exteriors, the technical aspects run like clockwork, and I can only praise the music, so someone please explain to me why the result resembles such a mess... While watching The Poll Diaries, I was reminded of Vláčil's Adelheid and I think that the confrontation between these two films clearly shows the difference between an excellent and an average film. Adelheid is a minimalist work, with much fewer dialogues and actually any events than in The Poll Diaries, and yet it doesn't bore for even a second, quite the opposite. The Poll Diaries is as drawn out as a parliamentary debate and offers plenty of drama and emotions, but presented so detachedly that I somehow cannot share them with the film characters as their story deserves. Despite all the effort and immense potential, it is sometimes simply a case of noble boredom. Overall impression: 50%. I am really giving that third star by sheer willpower... (2014.06.15)