Popular reviews

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  Review by Karsten ★★★★½

  This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

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  Review by maria ★★★★ 4

  modern era, colored, 16:9 aspect ratio and english speaking movies are cancelled as of now

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  Review by Lise ★★★★★ 14

  The quick & dirty from TIFF 2013

  Director Pawel Pawlikowski introduced the film and the more he spoke the more I was was falling in love. Here is a man I respect. He's a straight-shooter. He wanted to be clear about something: his film was about the characters. The characters weren't stand-ins for some political agenda, they didn't represent ideological principles, he wasn't making any grandiose statements. What you see is what you get, and what you see is a story about two women and how past decisions influence their current choices. I sat listening to him and wanted nothing more than to go give him a big hug in thanks. I wanted to thank him for being down-to-earth, for declaring…

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  Review by fran hoepfner ★★★★½

  I’m so glad I did not say “okay, me vibes” aloud when the aunt is walking around in a robe blasting Mozart

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  Review by CinemaVoid 🏴‍☠️ ★★★★½ 4

  A pilgrimage through monochrome memories, where silence condemns, light confesses, and history watches from the edges of every frame.

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  Review by Eli Hayes ★★★★½ 12

  I mean, My Summer of Love was very, very solid, but... what the hell, Pawel Pawlikowski? Where did this come from!? A seriously astonishing work of beauty from a filmmaker that just jumped from being good to being great, at least in my book. The perfect framing of each wonderfully crafted scene; the fascinating dynamic between the two protagonists; everything. Everything about this movie was just gorgeous, and the third act was particularly astonishing. Almost reminded me a bit of Bergman at times, which I don't mean as anything but an enormous compliment. Ida slowly absorbs you with its spell until you don't even realize that it has stolen you completely away from reality and into its bleak, dichotomous world.…

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  Review by ScreeningNotes ★★★★ 22

  [I try to promote my blog as little as possible, but in this case the images are better integrated into the review over there.]

  "This is so Róża. Fancy stained glass next to cow shit."

  Ida is structured around a central visual conceit, and as such it will likely split audiences into those that find it enhances the experience of the film and those that find it distracting. For me, it plays into Ida's preoccupation with religion. The film is shot in 1.33:1 full screen aspect ratio, creating a taller and thinner image which often leaves a large amount of space above Ida's head. This space symbolizes the presence of God: the picture leaves room for Him within the frame.…

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  Review by SilentDawn ★★★½ 1

  Continuously a cinematographic triumph and a moody study of a crossroads of faith; Ida is a film that kept me quietly in a state of enrapture and focus. While it'll never be a film I will watch again, mainly because of the distressing and dense subject matter that didn't really resonate with me, I cannot deny that I was in consistent awe throughout the brisk 82 minute runtime. Visually, It's a stunner. Emotionally, It's quite distant.

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  Review by davidehrlich ★★★ 2

  the only thing this nun ever vowed...is revenge! no? gorgeously monochromatic but sketchy look at psychic fallout of holocaust. just needed to be a *bit* more filled in to really connect and make the decisions that precipitate its ending feel more significant.

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  Review by Naughty aka Juli Norwood ★★★ 4

  Breathtaking black and white cinematography that can't compare to the striking beauty of Agata Trzebuchowska (Ida)! I could see people flocking to this alter repeatedly to worship her extraordinary presence!

  Compelling storyline about a novice nun discovering a secret about her heritage that sadly barely scratches below the surface of a tragic tale. The film like the Tin Man had no heart! It always kept me at arms length which ultimately left me cold and indifferent!

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  Review by Alice Stoehr ★★½ 2

  “I’m a slut,” says the world-weary Wanda to her convent-raised niece, “and you’re a little saint.” It’s a line spoken with contempt for Anna/Ida’s presumed piety, but it’s also conveniently indicative of the easy polarities that structure the film. The would-be nun knows nothing of the world; her abrasive aunt knows too much of it. When they’re forced into close proximity during a road trip, the latter begins to rub off on her innocent charge. As they literally dig up the buried past, Ida begins to discover herself: as a Jew, as a woman, as a sexual being. But the power of her journey is dampened because it’s schematic, premised on extreme contrasts, and (especially toward the end of the…

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  Review by siobhan ★★★★

  paweł pawlikowski, polish king of black-and-white period pieces with a 4:3 aspect ratio 😌