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Retired civil engineer Duszejko lives a secluded life in a mountain village close to the border between Poland and the Czech Republic. She is charismatic and eccentric, a passionate astrologer and a strict vegetarian. One day her beloved dogs disappear. On a snowy winter's night shortly afterwards she discovers the dead body of her neighbour and, next to it, deer tracks. More men die in a similarly mysterious way. All of them were pillars of the village community, and all were passionate hunters. Were these men killed by wild animals? Or has someone been provoked to pursue a bloody vendetta? At some point Duszejko herself comes under suspicion... (Berlinale)
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A jerk of a hunter businessman, a jerk of a poacher, an ultra jerk of a priest, a jerk of a chairman, and lazy police jerks. A man here is essentially just a legislatively protected chauvinistic jerk until a few oddballs gradually appear to side with the fauna and the occasionally hysterical wild woman Janina. The way characters are developed and the style in which genres are glued into a cohesive whole lag behind the visual aspect and moral perspectives beyond crossing the Rubicon. It’s brushed over like the genocide of a crimson woodsman. By the way, why is the stoned entomologist from Olomouc singing "House of the Rising Sun?"
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I can’t say how much I was looking forward to this film. For me, Agnieszka Holland is the guarantee of quality, so I knew that Spoor would not be bad at all. I was also looking forward to Miroslav Krobot, who, according to the poster, seemed to have one of the lead roles. However, during watching the film, I quickly realized that it is not the case. The lead role here is played by the landscape of Kłodzko and Agnieszka Mandat. Although she is not bad at all, the film in which she plays is hard to define. Actually, Agnieszka Holland herself confirmed after the screening that this is a mix of several genres. And that description really fits this movie. A little bit of everything, but together it is nothing. It’s not a crime movie, because they’re not investigating anything. It’s not a horror movie either, because there’s nothing to be afraid of. It’s not completely psychological either, because you don’t really tap into the emotions of the characters except for the last fifteen minutes. So what is left is a lot of atmosphere, in this case it really overflows with it, and black humor, which is almost absent in the first half of the film and, in contrast, unusually common in the second half of the film. All in all, this is an interesting film, in which I enjoyed watching the shots of Kłodzko and wild animals, but it was difficult to focus on the story itself, as it flows somehow independently of its surroundings and in the last fifteen minutes it reveals itself with the time loops. By the way, allusions to the church are very good and, according to what Agnieszka said, very justified. The pastor was really sickening!
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A forest esoteric version of John Wick which attempts to flourish organically, subversively erode the roots of civilization, but instead chaotically weaves using crooked legs. Hollande was only able to create, from an apparently inspiring masterpiece, an absurd deer goulash full of literality, bluntly used cinematic speech and grotesqueness, which is sometimes targeted, but infects almost the entire film, no matter what genre position it is in. Unconceptual rhythmization through a hunting calendar, Krobot's invasion, which evokes Tomáš Vorel's films, a histrionic main character where it doesn’t matter if he deliberately overplays his beliefs, because the story doesn't make much sense (which, despite all the didactics, should get an award for an artistic contribution, hello Berlin). A literal translation of the Polish title would be appropriate. This is a total dismissal of justice.
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Gallery (38)
Photo © Robert Pałka
![Spoor - Photos](http://image.pmgstatic.com/cache/resized/w663/files/images/film/photos/161/366/161366392_abd202.jpg)
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