Beautiful! (2025)

This is quite an entertaining portmanteau style of story that introduces us to half a dozen women who all have their problems to face and have different ways of dealing - with varying degrees of success - with these life and lifestyle challenges. Some of the scenarios do appear a little contrived, but somehow that only serves to emphasise just how little things can affect how we behave with each other, and that’s maybe best exemplified here by teacher “Agata” (Katarzyna Herman) who takes a shine to her colleague, the dashing PE teacher “Kuba” (Konrad Eleryk) but seems terrified of anything even close to commitment - whilst he proves not to be a one night stand type of guy. Then there’s the long-married “Krystyna” (Hanna Sleszynska) who can’t seem to spice things up with her loving but set-in-his-ways husband “Wladek” (Olaf Lubaszenko) - even when she dresses alluringly and wears her best perfume, or daringly enrols them for tango lessons. Each character plays a little to stereotype, but it is that very presentation that gives this a degree of authenticity dealing with plausible issues for the young and old as they struggle to keep their relationships active, interesting and relevant to each other. It’s quite humorously scripted with a degree of earthiness that makes it a little cringingly close to the mark at times and though it is written essentially from a woman’s perspective, it could easily put the shoe on the other foot and take a male position too. It’s a fun series of observations that exacerbate the silly and the earnest, the embryonic, the thriving and the redundant natures of evolving relationships and I quite enjoyed it.