Floating Skyscrapers (2013)

Really Surprised!

best movie i've ever seen.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

"Freier Fall" (2013), anyone? I can't help mentioning another movie at the beginning of this review, as the two movies have more or less the same plot. However, it doesn't mean that those who have watched "Freier Fall" should spare their time on this movie, for "Floating Skyscrapers" has raised a lot of thought-provoking questions.**** Spoiler alert ****My biggest question is "Why does the woman choose to cling onto the man?" Why would any woman want to keep a man who has homosexual tendencies? Just let him go! The relationship is damaged anyway. How can the couple survive the relationship? Things only get complicated with the baby, like in "Freier Fall", but at least the woman in "Freier Fall" is smart enough to dump her husband. Is it a Polish thing to never let go of a man, I wonder?Another question is that "What the hell is the man thinking?" He is digging his own grave when he invites the man over for lunch, and then dumb enough to have three people go on a trip together, only to get intimate with his love interest in the same tent that his girlfriend is sleeping in. WHAT? You either choose the man or the woman! At least the male lead in "Freier Fall" tries to hide his male love interest from his wife, which makes the situation plausible. Okay, I get it: there is no happy ending for gay couples. That's the only possible explanation for the abrupt ending, except that it is unfortunately quite plausible. Hey: we're talking about Poland! Not just in Poland, things like this happen all the time! I wonder if this is all karma - if the male lead didn't beat up one of the gang members, maybe his love interest will not get revenged. Perhaps this is his consequence for being insecure about his sexuality? I don't have a definite answer for that.But the ending only leaves me thinking more. Won't the man miss his love interest? How is he going to handle his family, when he obviously desires men now? This is not his first homosexual encounter either; won't he be tempted to have sexual relationships with men in the future? There are so many questions that can be raised from the movie, and the movie does not offer any answers for that. There are plentiful explicit scenes, straight sex involved; prepare your fast-forward button if you don't want to see the male lead sucking the female lead's p***y. But bravo for both the male and female lead! They are willing to show it all, which is quite a brave thing to do. Especially for Mateusz Banasiuk, who is a straight actor; he has played well the indecisiveness and the emotional conflicts of the character. Go see this movie if you want to see how a man's world got turned completely upside down. Not a happy ending, but it leaves you thinking.

What a completely frustrating experience this film was! The frustration comes mostly from the lead character, Kuba, who is an attractive, athletic young man who can't seem to get out of his own way. Kuba has a sexy girlfriend, Sylwia that he enjoys, although he has secrets that he keeps from her. Their relationship takes a bit of a turn when Kuba meets the beautiful Mikal and they become fast friends. As their friendship deepens into a truly emotional connection, Kuba's sometimes violent self-loathing and shame kicks in and won't let him act on his desires. Obligation and guilt keep him tied to his girlfriend and domineering, no-nonsense mother and he refuses to take the leap that will ultimately make him happy. He and Mikal become so physically close at one point that I found myself yelling at the television screen, "Kiss him, already!" Instead, Kuba spends every waking moment afraid, ashamed and full of self-hatred, even in those illicit moments he sometimes spends in public restrooms. When the truth about Kuba and Mikal becomes too obvious for Sylwia to ignore, gauntlets are thrown down and ultimatums are given. Mikal, whose only crime was falling in love with his best friend is having his own struggles and is inadvertently affected by Kuba's actions. And as one can imagine, this is not a feel-good movie.As the film ended, I as a viewer was unsure of what the filmmaker intended to say with his story. Some of the characters get what they want, some of them don't, but none of them seem satisfied with the way things end up. What was the filmmaker's message? Was it, "life sucks and then you die?" I have never watched a gay-themed film that ended up being so decidedly and anti-gay as this one did. The five stars I give this film are for the compelling performances of the actors. And if you're looking for some skin, there a couple of scenes that won't disappoint. The movie is effectively shot. But where the movie fails is in it's heart-breaking cynicism. Does it want to champion these people, or condemn them? Does it want to hold them up as examples or as cautionary characters? A film that leaves you with more questions than answers isn't always a good thing, but it's exactly what this one does. You are left with questions.............and frustration.

In many post communist countries, where people used to have lives lined up and where the one who was standing out was the enemy of the society - such perception still exists. The proof is that in several countries lately, the constitution was adjusted to a union between a man and a woman solely. Poland is a very religious country and related prejudice against sexual minority is certainly projected into the questioning men which keeps them in the closet - such as in the example of a main character Kuba who is exploring not only the water of professional swimming facility but also his sexuality. In a way, he represents the society's ideal of a man: if one behaves as a male, has a woman (or women) around, then he is fine. Even though, deep inside, he might be feeling differently. On the other side, the character Mihal represents a more progressive minority person since he is out to himself and has a close relationship with his mother. Unfortunately, sometimes the visible guys such Mihal gain more attention from the radical group members as well. Other characters portray misconception, stereotypes and misunderstandings about homosexuality – which are still present in the contemporary post-communist societies, such as in the statement (about homosexuality) of Kuba's girlfriend, "Why do you do this to me?"

Kuba (Mateusz Banasiuk) is a promising competitive swimmer who spends his time training, refereeing between his argumentative mother and girlfriend, and getting blowjobs in the changing room toilets (supposedly from other young men, although the sound effects make it seem like he's got a hungry labrador in there with him). Then he meets Michał, and perhaps both young men will come out of the closet. But in Poland, that's not necessarily an easy thing to do...There are too many padding scenes in this - shots of cars driving through multi-storey car-parks or of Polish underpasses add little and could easily have been cut (or perhaps replaced with further shots of the fortunately-endowed Mr Banasiuk in the shower). But it's a pleasing enough film: not a new story by any stretch of the imagination, but seeing a well-worn plot set in a different location always adds an air of originality. And the nudity - both male and female - is nice! Banasiuk does well in the lead role, seeming remote and unemotional until the affair with Michał starts, whereupon he warms noticeably (although one suspects he's never going to be the life and soul of the party). But acting honours go to Marta Nieradkiewicz as the wronged girlfriend held prisoner by the love she realises is hopeless, and to Katarzyna Herman as the clingy yet realistic mother.Heralded as Poland's first-ever 'gay film', this is worth watching not just for its novelty, not just for the nudity (or did I mention that already?), but also because it is an engrossing human interest drama that's a good way to spend 93 minutes.