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The Grand Budapest Hotel
2014, USA-Germany. A very unhinged film, executed in the most paradoxical manner that I love so much. A comedic "spy" action movie, and at the same time — a success story. It grabs you from the first minutes and doesn't let go; there's not much to say here.
Vabank
For some reason, I got a recommendation for this film with the words "Similar to The Grand Budapest Hotel." No, actually. Not similar. This one is done in a more classical manner, but — it's also a comedy, and also a crime one. If you like old French comedies, then this is something as close to them as possible, so I can recommend it in that case.
The Secret of Kells
"The Secret of Kells" (Brendan et le Secret de Kells, 2009 France-Ireland-Belgium)
This is just... Wow. I wrote down the director's name, Tomm Moore. I'll be watching a lot more of his work, I reckon.
This animated film makes you fall in love with it from the very first frames, telling from an unusual angle about an unusual craft — the creation of book illuminations in Christian monasteries. But not only about that, of course... A tale based on a real historical period, place, and even a real book turned out emphatically stylized and fairy-tale invented, yet so harmonious that I watched it breathlessly. It tears apart the familiar Disney templates we all know — not only through its plot structure, but also because there isn't a single evil, or even slightly bad, or at least caricatured character (except for faceless evil itself). Everyone has clear and quite respectable motivation.
The art seems simplistic, but I came to love it too, and only later realized what it reminded me of:
Yes, these are book engravings
In particular, from that very book, like here.All in all, this is one of those cases where a solid 10 comes without any complaints or doubts.
Far North
For some reason, I thought the director was the same here, but I checked — no, it's someone else. The art here is already too off-putting in its simplicity, of course, but overall I liked this animated film too. It's atmospheric — first it conveys the atmosphere of Russian aristocracy well (though how would I know, heh, but it looks historically plausible), and then — the spirit of travel. I love the north, what can I say. And that era of Arctic exploration clearly deserves representation in culture.
I especially appreciated the sound designer's work. Where the animation couldn't carry things visually, it perfectly conveyed what was happening through sounds (this is probably the first time I've seriously paid attention to audio).
The plot is relatively banal; I've seen plenty like it.
Overall Good/10