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Friday, August 13, 2010

കിംഗ്‌ സൈസ്

Kingsize(1998)
Dir:Juliusz Machulski
Country:Poland

Kingsize is a fantasy film, made in the late 1980s (the synth-pop soundtrack will clue you in). There is a tribe of mouse-sized people who live in “Drawerland,” which is really the filing cabinets of a long-forgotten office. One of their tiny scientists has developed a formula that will enlarge them to full-sized, normal human beings. (They call our world “Kingsize.”)

The leaders of Drawerland (among them, Jerzy Stuhr) are worried that if the formula is made widely available, their entire population may disappear forever. So the politicians and conservatives want to suppress the formula to keep the populace from fleeing into the larger world. If you wanted to, you could say that Kingsize is an allegory for life under a Communist regime before the fall of the Berlin Wall. Or you could say that it’s just a silly fantasy movie with cute special effects.

And I was often amazed at how good the special effects were. Obviously the film was made on a limited budget (at least by Hollywood standards), but it’s surprising how freeing and inspiring that can be. Most of the “special effects” are simple sets and props. Repeatedly, I would be convinced by the texture and shape of some tiny (and/or gigantic) object. For example, in Drawerland, someone uses a sheet of paper as a blanket. The oversize prop has the exact right stiffness of a real sheet of paper, while still appearing to be as light as a leaf.

വിഞ്ചി

Vincy(2004)
Dir:Juliusz Machulski
Country:Poland
1 win & 2 nominations See more »

Petty thieves plot to purloin a Da Vinci painting in this caper comedy from popular and prolific action-comedy director Juliusz Machulski (Sexmission; Kingsize; Kiler).
Ex-con Cuma is on parole from prison, but a once-in-a-lifetime chance to steal one of the world s most priceless paintings falls into his lap. What s an inveterate thief to do? Cuma tracks down his old partner, Julian, who is reluctant to participate because he has found new employment as a cop. Finally, Julian gives in, the old gang comes together, and the heist is on.
Director Machulski s signature combination of humor and action makes this Polish version of heist films like The Score or The Italian Job highly entertaining.