BKonthescene

THE REEDS

It was the world premiere feature from Istanbul director, Cemil Ağacıkoğlu.The cinematography was captivating from the opening shot, throughout the movie. The screener is centered around the small village of Bolvadin in Turkey, where humble villagers depend on cutting reeds for survival. But greed, bullying, and threats are all part of the daily routine for these impoverished workers, where the underworld and selfish bosses control the fearful reed cutters.

The lead character from an Anatolian village, Ali and his wife Aysel live a simple farmer’s impoverished life. Ali is fed up with the gangsters controlling him and a chance altercation with one of the underworld hoods ends in a horrific tragedy. Ali must reflect on this event, compelling him and his wife try to get out of poverty.

The daily mundane life is changed forever after this; timidness, acceptance of this life and many changes are what defines Ali. Kudos to the actors and director Ağacıkoğlu for this film.

HOMECOMING

It was the world premiere from Finland, Norway from Suvi West and Anssi Kömi, about Sámi artifacts. An emotional ride for Suvi West, as she travels to museums in Germany and Sweden looking for her family’s property, often not a pleasant outcome.

The movie starts at the Helsinki museum, returning to Sápmi, the Sámi nation in northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia. Sámi relics are housed in museums worldwide, many of the items that were seized or claimed over the centuries, including everyday things such as: shoes, clothing, kitchen items and tools… these collections also include drums, other musical instruments and human remains such as bones/skulls.

Great cinematography showing the heritage and capturing the emotions of indigenous culture while bringing artifacts back to their homeland.

DUMB MONEY

Dumb Money is the high profile financial story of the amateur investors and hedge fund billionaires that became the infamous GameStop Wall Street scandal. The high profile cast includes: Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Vincent D’Onofrio, Shailene Woodley, and America Ferrera. Director Craig Gillespie has stars Paul Dano and Seth Rogen battling each other with a David vs. Goliath financial fairy tale story.

GameStop was a struggling business and with the pandemic, it would appear that the writing was on the wall. Hedge fund managers Gabe Plotkin (Seth Rogen) put billions on the hope that it does “tank”. Keith Gill (Paul Dano) thinks otherwise and shares with his online followers that the stock of GameStop is undervalued.

Gill operating out of his home basement as an on line amateur investor was so convinced for years that the company is a great investment, and he was posting regular charts, updates and videos online to make his point. His online followers, who are run of the mill average people, start to believe him and start to buy the so called undervalued stock. Everyone from Gamestop employees, nurses, Gill’s family and university students jump into the frenzy of buying the stock.

It’s an amazing story that makes the kings of Wall Street close shop and the underdogs making millions. The David Vs. Goliath tale that really happened is a funny story to add to director Gillespie’s filmography.

SMUGGLERS

It’s a time piece movie set in 1970’s South Korea, where smuggling is rampant and considered a heinous crime. However, it might be the only option for some haenyeo — women free divers who have harvested shellfish and other sea treasures for hundreds of years — suffering a threat to their livelihoods after a chemical factory opens in their seaside village.

Using their speciality in diving and knowledge of the waters, old friends Choon-ja (Kim Hye-soo) and Jin-sook (Yum Jung-ah) start to smuggle goods. But when notorious smuggler and criminal Mr. Kwon (Zo In-sung) expands into their territory, a violent confrontation results. With the help of Jin-sook and their haenyeo friends, Choon-ja risks her life to plan for the most mind-bending and dangerous job, one that could become her biggest break — or the end of it all.

Ryoo Seung-wan directs Kim and Yum in a strong female-led action film that’s filled with smart tactics, deceptive mind games, and exciting action choreography — some underwater. This is a fresh approach to the crime-action genre that takes viewers on a rollercoaster ride of sheer entertainment.

Colourfully recreating the period aesthetics, the costumes, the sets, and even the music submerge us in a different time and place, a seaside town that once feigned innocence.

CONCRETE UTOPIA

Korean director, Um Tae-hwa’s Concrete Utopia, is a story of survival in the aftermath of a disastrous earthquake, with a storyline that includes murder, corruption, deceit, lies, slick violence and astronomical challenges. The disaster movie focuses on the survivors as they try to create a some sense law in the last apartment complex still standing in Seoul. With rations and necessities diminishing, and no sign of help arriving from the outside world, someone needs to take charge of the situation.

Kim Young-Tak (Lee Byung-Hun) is elected “Mr. Delegate” for the complex, and is soon laying down the law and arranging rationing. Also a policy that the complex should be for residents only, with everyone else, were referred to as outcast and rats, banished to their fate in the freezing cold ruins of Seoul.

The film shows that even an apartment is your domain and always worth defending, no matter what. A very somber mood through out the movie and how resilience can prevail in such extraordinary circumstances. The quest to survive, corrupt leaders, and things we take for granted; hope and honor, are all showcased in this post apocalyptic film.