fredstrassen

A literal biopic of Freud it's not...Freudian it is. An engaging, escapist allegory on the birth of psychoanalysis - covering many of Freud's ideas on dissociation, regression, desire, catharthis and so forth. I really enjoyed it as a diverting work of magic realism in an alternate Vienna with wonderful costumes and sumptuous gothic revival sets.

The traditional 'Sherlockian' genre of amature detectives confounding the police and capturing killers is 'streamed' into 21st Century Poland. in this very watchable series, a group of online sleuths in modern day Lodz use social media to solve crimes by finding the digital traces left by killers online. The initial tensions between the police and the would-be web detectives adds an extra dimension to the usual who-done-it episodes. I found all the central characters very likeable - and found myself willing them on as they challenged bureacracy and tracked down brutal killers. There's plenty of real-life danger - fights and chases - to keep the adrenaline flowing between the digital forensics. Some of the storylines are familiar - but the Polish setting and the web-based investigation gives them a fresh twist.

Similar in tone to Aldous Huxley's Brave New World - the action is divided between a controlled social system that delegates law and order inside the city to a central computer, and an unmonitored outside zone. The design of the city settings is minimalist Stepford-wife suburban and rather stylised (it reminded me a little of the Good Place - a colourful and safe, yet socially stifling and souless utopia). The outside scenes are more redolent of contemporary Brazilian backstreets (or how those are depicted in other Brazilian movies I've seen). I enjoyed the contrast - which is very clear. As another reviewer said, it's essentially a Brazilian Black Mirror. But it has its own flavour and Carla Salle is rather compelling in the central role.