December 11 - MAD MAX: FURY ROAD by George Miller (Australia, USA) @ Bio Oko (Prague, Czech Republic), 18:00
So, this week was certainly one in which I got to catch up with those films I told myself I would try to recuperate at all costs. One of these was certainly MAD MAX: FURY ROAD, that has won amazing critical acclaim worldwide throughout the year. I took my friend LUCIEN with me, who is always up for a movie, but I was surprised that he might be interested in attending a film that was going to be graphic novel type of escapist fun.
Its creativity is amazing, and I for one admired its heavy slapstick like tones as well as an underlying theme of female empowerment and a lack of stalling with too much revealing of character backstory. Also, the pace is exciting, and following up to a point I made on the earlier entry for THE WALK, this is definitely a film that will lose some of its appeal when seen on the small screen. I found that in some sequences, some of the wide shots that portrayed the road and all of those glorious cars racing down the desertic landscape, I my eyes kept shifting from one spot to the next, something that I usually do with silent cinema, but rarely in modern cinema. This simple fact to me, is proof of the creativity and overflowing of ideas to be found in GEORGE MILLER's film.
Now, LUCIEN did admit to enjoying it, but also said that this wasn't exactly his cup of tea, and that to him it was just pure escapism. I say that escapism, when it is done well, is amazing. Perhaps the praise this film has been receiving is a little exaggerated, but in terms of what it is, it beats the hell out of films aimed at a similar audience that are released throughout the year.
On a side note, I must say that this was also the first screening I attended at BIO OKO. I had gone a few nights previous to meet the manager of Prague's regular short film programme screening iSHORTS, but this was my first time actually watching a film in there. It is quite an unusual screening room. The seats are pretty much makeshift. The front row is made of bedlike seating, and then there are chairs of strange shapes as well, while the rows of seats in which LUCIEN and I were sitting on were made of iron and little padding. Not the most comfortable, but I love the look, as it probably resembled a more upbeat modern version of the early screening rooms when sometimes people brought their seats from home.
Plus, the ticket for this special screening, only cost me 40 crowns. Happy days!