AnaHude

This reminded me of my childhood, when we had an apartment with Polish contractors living next door. My memories have mostly faded, but I remember being scared of them. Those men were quiet and loud at the same time, they were surrounded by smoke from their cigarettes, and they looked at me with anger on their face when I was playing outside. Today I think about those stares and realize that maybe it wasn't anger, and if it was, it was accompanied with sadness. Sadness about being away from home. Not seeing the people you love. Getting barely paid, but still doing better than you would at home. Taking all that emotional weight to make life better. And that, I think, is what this film portrays really, really well.

Went into this completely blind and it was a good decision. The theme surprised me completely. Amazing dark comedy. I was laughing so much about the absurd reactions, and cringy tension, until towards the end the film had me squirming. Emma was maybe the only decent human being in this one. The others, not so much. Of course, the worst being Rachel, closely followed by that new DJ. (The latter for personal reasons.)

Loved it, didn't understand anything. If an alien came to me and asked to me explain what dreams are, I'd show them this. I'm sorry for every other time I've thought a film was very surreal. THIS is surreal.

The Criterion Challenge 2026 30/52 It's hard to put this art piece into words. A film about lives overlooked, filled with feeling, both heartwarming and devastating. Malaika's letter was soul-crushing. That synth will come to my dreams.