Ida

Just realised that I forgot to post something about Ida. Which is a shame because I really enjoyed it. And it has so much to it that I can see it being studied on media studies courses for years to come.

Technically it is very clever. Perhaps too clever for me... I understood why it was in black and white but not the 4x3 aspect ratio. Monochrome is great for the atmosphere and also Ida's hair colour is hidden from us at the start. Narrow picture though... Is that supposed to make it claustrophobic? On my TV it was just a bit annoying ... probably a lot better on the big screen.

There are scenes where the framing puts the characters at the bottom of the screen. Which would be great if the subtitles weren't right over their faces. Bit of a mistake in the multilingual department of the process there.

Story-wise it is a real treat too. At the beginning you see a nun and think it might be a bit dull and worthy. Then she meets her aunt and we go off on a real journey of discovery... In several senses.

There are surprises. Some good and some bad. The ending wasn't what I expected... It was better.