What's going on lately?

"A quiet little town not far from here " I decided to share my thoughts with you about a not-so-new movie called Dogville,  this time. I really liked it even though I'm skeptical about Lars von Trier movies. In fact, I enjoyed Dancer in the Dark, The Idiots, The House That Jack Built too, but some of his movies, well... I'm not a big fan of them. Anyway, Dogville joined the club of the movies I love.  Dogville Dogville is the first part of the US Land of Opportunities trilogy, followed by Manderlay (2005) and is projected to be completed with Washington . It stars   Nicole Kidm an ,  Lauren Bacall ,  Paul Bettany ,  Chloë Sevigny ,  Stellan Skarsgård ,  Udo Kier ,  Ben Gazzara ,  Harriet Andersson , and   James Caan. So, this avant-garde film uses an extremely minimal, stage-like set to tell the story of Grace Mulligan, which is hiding from the criminals who pursue her. The town and its inhabitants agree to harbor h er as long...

Don't look up the title given, this book has never been published in English. However, Czy psychodeliki uratują świat was. I'm just trying to keep this English vibe here, okay? This popular science book, written by Maciej Lorenc is really eye-opening. Maciej Lorenc talks to leading experts responsible for resuming research and explores with them various issues connected to neuroscience, psychopharmacology, psychology, anthropology, religious studies, and of course, drug policy. The book is written in the form of an interview with people from academia, which presents a scientific approach to psychedelics, especially psilocybin, LSD, MDMA, and DMT. credits: empik Research shows that psychedelics can help treat depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction, anxiety related to terminal illness, but also improve quality of life in people who do not have any medical conditions. Maybe for some people it won't be a discovery, but it's the first such book in P...

  Shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize, A Whole Life is a marvelous novel! The fact that Sylwia Chutnik wrote a blurb on the back cover should be a decent recommendation, isn't it? Andreas Egger is a simple man. He leads a calm life, full of work and breathtaking views since he lives in the heart of the Austrian Alps. He's trying to be in a symbiotic relationship with nature although it doesn't always have a positive attitude. It's not grateful to him. Nothing can destroy his monotony routine. Even love. When civilization enters the valley, the idyllic world changes irreversibly. In fact, one thing that is certain in life is a change.

As I mentioned at the beginning, this blog is not all about movies. It's about things worth seeing or reading. So let me introduce my recent delight: Le sari vert ( The green sari - this is how would the novel be entitled in English. It's a literal translation, as far as I know, there's no official English translation. Howeve r, I genu inely hope it will happen soon. Then y'all can read it!). So, Le sari vert is written by  Ananda Devi, a Mauritian writer. ( Where is  Mauritius f or Christ's sake, r ight? So,  is an  island nation  in the  Indian Ocean  about 2,000 kilometres off the southeast coast of the  African  continent, east of  Madagascar .)   It's her very first novel translated into Polish; moreover, it's one of her the most important and original works. It was originally published by Gallimard (2009) in the prestigious "Collection blanche" series. In 2010, she was awarded the Prix Louis-Guilloux.  I'll be honest. ...

The very last post concerning movies I saw during 20th New Horizons International Film Festival will be about the documentary Purple Sea (2020). Photos for this film were made with a waterproof camera attached to the wrist of Amal Alzakout, a Syrian refugee who in 2015, after the overcrowding of the boat sank, with other passengers in the sea, was drifting somewhere on the Greek coast. She had basically one goal: to stay afloat. The camera follows her gestures. Since they're all blue, the sky and the sea change places, we lose sight of the horizon, we emerge and dive, as Amal did. When the arms of Alzakout reach above the surface, we hear shouts and whistles, we see heads and life jackets. Above all, there is an insanely blue sky that brings to mind tourist brochures advertising vacations by the sea. Amel Alzakout and Khaled Abdulwahed in their personal film show not only the tragedy but also the absurd and surrealism of the situation. Bear in mind that millions die  in front of th...