Sweat

I liked the trailer. I have pretty good experience of being able to determine from the trailer whether a film is worth seeing. It didn't dissappoint. It's not usual to see Warsaw in a contemporary film - I've never been there, now I can imagine what it's like. The trailer portrays a beautiful young 'influencer' who is really lonely and sad and you go out of curiosity to see what this film has to say about social media and 'popularity' plus it is a colourful film filled with energetic music.

This is a European film as opposed to British or American. It has a clear narrative but allows time to show intimacy or lack of it in human relationships before grabbing you by the neck and hurtling you though a tonne of plot like Amazon or Netflix.

Apart from making me think about the world of social media and 'oversharing', I was intrigued by the relationhip between Sylwia and her family. The tough, critical catholic mother who provides no comfort in her time of need, who would have grown up in a totally differnt world to the one Sylwia is living in and therefore has no sympathy for her troubles. It is not just about not having a partner, there is no intimacy from her family and oddly, going against the grain of what you might think this film is going to be about, she gets that connection from her audience.

Sweat: Sylwia (Magdalena Kolesnik) is a Fitness Trainer and Instagram Influencer. While she does suffer from the attention of a real life and online stalker/creep some of her colleagues aren't much better. Her family, in particular her mother, don't realise how real online harassment can become. The constant pressure of trying to smile all the time - a sponsor is concerned when Sylwia cries on a vid - takes it out of her. Even when going upstairs she posts selfie vids. Sylwia is not a victim though, neither is she a narcissist. A very human film with great performances from Magdalena and her dog, Jackson. Written & Directed by Magnus von Horn. 8/10.

Sweat shines on so many levels and is a breath of fresh air in so many ways. The combination of intense close up facial camera work and hyper realistic acting give this movie a modern, uncomfortable, interrogational edge in keeping with the forensic scrutiny of anyone living in the modern media influencer bubble. The excellent, nuanced lead performance of Magdalena Kolesnik as Sylwia has plenty of other great performances to bounce off of, particularly her mother, played by Aleksandra Kolieczna. The intimate, unflinching, naturalistic directional style of Magnus Von Horn is showed off to maximum effect in the conversational scenes between Sylwia and an old school acquaintance in a shopping mall and later with a large family group around a dinner table. In both cases all performers seem totally natural and oblivious to the camera giving the film a wonderfully voyeuristic overtone... loved it.

Raising but not wholly dealing with a range of issues, this could be a good film to discuss with a group of friends that have all seen it.

Over and above the brutal "fitness" regime, being an always-on Instagram influencer looks like *very* hard work, and this film (and the lead actor) illustrates that excellently, in my view. Where I'm less sure about it is in the handling of the various side-issues... for example her relationship with her mother and the mall conversation with the schoolfriend - the latter was quite affecting but then they seemed to just "move on". Also, I'm sure that someone that glamorous and high-profile would attract more than one stalker... and I'm unsure about the handling of her culpability in what happens to him.

Nevertheless, it was more interesting than I expected and had a nice circular arc between the opening and closing scenes. Worth a look.

A movie that delves into the life of a successful fitness influencer. The trappings of fame... The loneliness of online popularity... The dangers of opening yourself up to public obsession... All of those are interesting subjects that could make for a riveting story. "Sweat" doesn't quite hold the attention well enough to recommend. It all feels shallow and underdeveloped. A decent try -- well acted -- but hollow.