FOREIGN CINEMA. “The Follies.” / “Dream Story.” / “Train to Busan.” / “The Commune.” / “I, Olga Hepnarová.”

“The Follies” (2025, Netflix) Mexican anthology drama. The film follows a series of people pushed to their limits as they rebel against confinement, self-censorship, and family pressure. I am not a fan of most of Rodrigo Garcia's work but this one got me.



 

       A series of stories unfold in Mexico City that embrace the intensity and authenticity of human emotions when pushed to the limit, exploring the challenges of family expectations, social pressures, freedom, courage, and the imposition of self-censorship.

       Well-crafted, well-acted and unapologetically disturbing. The provocation is more talkative than visual. Still, this is a movie that ignites an intense discourse, or fight, in the living room, LOL! And it's not even political. But I digress. 🎥💻📽


“Dream Story” (2024, Tubi) German psychological (supposedly) thriller. A jealous husband in Berlin who, after his wife admits to fantasies, delves into a secret, erotic masked ball and underground world, blurring lines between desire, reality, and delusion in a dark odyssey that tests his marriage and sanity. 



This movie is adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s 1926 novella of the same name. 

       A more famous adaptation was 1999's “Eyes Wide Shut” by Stanley Kubrick, which was one of the revered filmmakers' not-so-great work, regardless of Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

       This German take by Florian Frerichs elevated or plummet the book's adaptation mischief further to the trash bin. I almost didn't finish it.

       Note: The lead actor, Nikolai Kinski, is the son of the great Klaus and brother to Nastassja and Pola. 🎭👎🎬


“Train to Busan” (2016, Sling) South Korean action horror film, which mostly takes place on a KTX from Seoul to Busan as a zombie apocalypse suddenly breaks out in the country and threatens the safety of the passengers. 



       Undoubtedly, Yeon Sang-ho and writer Park Joo-suk delivered an odd but plausible (given the genre) and hugely entertaining zombie ride. The social commentary bit is not new but the choreographed action and contained thrills are craftily-staged. 

       The global audience agreed. For a budget of $8.5 million, this movie's box-office take is a gargantuan $98.5 million! 🎥👍📽


“The Commune” (2016, Tubi) Danish drama. Erik, an architect, and Anna, a TV presenter, are an academic couple with a dream. Along with their daughter Freja, they set up a commune in Erik's huge house in an upmarket area of Copenhagen. 


       Thought-provoking, yes. I have seen/navigated the same premise in other better-crafted projects. “The Commune” is not as engaging as Thomas Vinterberg's other movies. Try the more current “Far from the Madding Crowd” (2015) and “Another Round” (2020). 

       But I concede, Trine Dyrholm (as the distraught Anna) is an excellent performer; I'd align her with early Meryl Streep. Check out Ms Dyrholm in 2019's “Queen of Hearts.” 🎥💻📽


“I, Olga Hepnarová” (2016, Plex) Czech drama about Olga Hepnarová (1951–1975), a Czechoslovakian mass murderer, who on 10 July 1973, killed eight people with a truck in Prague. 



       Rotten Tomatoes holds aloft an approval rating of 78 percent for this movie. The website's critical consensus: "As stark and riveting as its cinematography, (this film) takes a sober, haunting look at the life leading up to a woman's horrific real-life crime.” And so on and so forth. I beg to disagree. 

       Sure, the cinematography is cool, but mainly for romanticizing black&white vis a vis color. But this project, despite its powerful premise and an involved performance by Michalina Olszańska in the title role, is unimaginatively bland (sic). Apart from Ms Olszańska, the rest seem like A.I.s, lifeless. Don’t tell me, that’s the subliminal message, please. The scene, Olga sweeping through a crowd, was supposedly a focal sequence. Nope. 🎭👎🎬

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